Kočoperenje/Wonderful Slovenia

Da li sam vam ikada pričala o mjuziklu koji smo stvorili sa profesorima iz naše škole i kompozitorima? Ne? Trebalo bi da me je sramota! U ovom postu ću se odužiti za to.

Sve je počelo u oktobru 2011. godine, kada sam na oglasnoj tabli u mojoj školi primetila okačeno obaveštenje da će se održati audicija za uloge u mjuziklu koji će se ubuduće raditi i sve što je potrebno je da se pripremi pesma ili dve i da se otpeva pred komisijom - naš profesor i profesorica srpskog jezika i dva kompozitora. 

Svi su me pitali da li ću ići na tu audiciju, međutim, nisam htela da odem, zato što nisam bila dovoljno sigurna u sebe. Ja da dobijem ulogu u nekom mjuziklu? Ma kakvi. Ne znam dobro da glumim i verovatno ću se previše uplašiti na toj audiciji, pa samim tim, neću dobro ni otpevati te pesme.

Međutim, na dan audicije sam pomislila "Ma idem tamo bar da pokušam, ništa neću izgubiti.", zgrabila sam gitaru i otišla u školu. Otpevala sam dve pesme i zaista sam dala sve od sebe, pa neka bude šta bude.

Došao je trenutak kada su od nas 100 prozvali 11 izabranih uloga i, kada su pročitali moje ime, htela sam da skočim do neba od sreće. To je bila jedna ogromna prilika za mene, da se pokažem u sasvim novom svetlu.

Mjuzikl se zove "Kočoperitis izvesne dame u pubertetu" i prikladan je za sve uzraste i svako se može pronaći u ulogama.

U narednih 7-8 meseci rada na mjuziklu i proba, svi smo se zbližili kao ekipa, postali smo jedna celina koja diše istim tempom.

18. maja 2012. imali smo veliku premijeru u Pozorištu mladih, na koju je došlo preko 500 ljudi. To je bila jedna od najlepših večeri u mom životu. Toliko energije, toliko smejanja, toliko ovacija... To veče je bilo nešto za šta smo živeli tih par meseci vežbanja.

Ali tu nije bio kraj. Proširili smo se i van Novog Sada. Do danas smo nastupali u Kuli, Novom Bečeju, Starom Bečeju, Novom Kneževcu, Zrenjaninu i tek ćemo nastupati na drugim mestima. Međutim, ne samo van Novog Sada, već van Srbije.

Prošle nedelje smo par dana proveli u divnom gradu u Sloveniji - Velenju. Mesecima pre toga smo se radovali putovanju i, zaista se isplatilo.

Divna priroda Slovenije,
25.09.2013.

Na svakom brdašcu može se naći po koji dvor.
25.09.2013.

Velelepni most
25.09.2013.

Odsjaj. Podseća na kontrabas.
25.09.2013.

Sutradan smo išli u obilazak muzičke škole u Velenju. Muzička škola im je kao prostranstvo. Imaju 5 koncertnih sala, među njima i salu sa orguljama što me je posebno oduševilo!
Zgrada škole je novija, izgrađena je 1985. godine, zahvaljujući svakom građanu Velenja ponaosob, koji su finansijski doprineli tome da se, danas ta divna škola, izgradi. Više o muzičkoj školi "Fran Korun Koželjski" možete saznati ovde. 

Plakat koji je najavljivao naš mjuzikl u muzičkoj školi u Velenju. Zbog lošeg svetla, neka slova su mutna.
26.09.2013.

Nakon probe koju smo imali u njihovoj svečanoj sali, imali smo slobodno vreme koje smo iskoristili za obilazak Velenja.

Pogled sa dvorca
26.09.2013.

Dvorac, koji je zapravo muzej. Nažalost, nismo imali dovoljno vremena da uđemo u njega.
26.09.2013.

Stare ulice Velenja
26.09.2013.

Spomenik žrtvama fašistiškog nasilja za vreme Drugog svetskog rata. Ispisana su imena i godine rođenja svih 668 žrtava.

Spomenik Nestlu Žganku, graditelju Velenja. Pomažem mu malo oko makete grada, heheh.
26.09.2013.

A uveče, u 19:30, izveli smo mjuzikl. Mogu reći da nam je to bilo jedno od najboljih izvođenja do sada! Publika je bila veoma zadovoljna, kao i naši profesori, a i mi sami. Ovako je to sve izgledalo.

Sutradan smo iskoristili slobodu na najbolji način.

Ujutru smo otišli u posetu Muzeju rudarstva. Dobili smo priliku da na sat i po vremena i mi sami budemo rudari. Obukli smo jakne, stavili šlemove, dobili smo ručak za kasnije i krenuli ka liftu, koji nas je vodio dole, 163 metara ispod nivoa zemlje. Slušali smo priče o prvim rudarima i kako se to pre radilo, pre nastanka tehnologije. Dobili smo priliku da vidimo svakodnevnu atmosferu u rudniku, rudare koji su čavrljali pri radu, smejali se pri ručku, a takođe smo imali i simulaciju nesreće u rudniku. Gledali smo scenu oronulog kamenja i tlo pod nama se zatreslo. U isto vreme smo slušali i potresnu priču o rudarima koji su izgubili život.
Nakon toga smo otišli da predahnemo uz "rudarski ručak". Tu smo još malo pričali i družili se. Nakon toga smo išli na razgledanje raznih sprava koje se danas koriste u rudarstvu i prevencija za slučaj nesreća. Ušli smo u rudarski vozić, koji nas je odveo nazad do lifta.
Nažalost, ništa od svega toga nismo smeli da uslikamo, ali, nije bilo ni potrebno, jer to je nešto što se pamti.

Ulaz u muzej
27.09.2013.

Rudari. :)
27.09.2013.

Taj dan je bio hladan i kišovit, međutim, mene su idalje zapanjivali velenjski pejzaži.

Posle posete rudniku, otišli smo da posetimo izvesni festival Pipi Duge Čarape, tj. "Pikin festival", koji se za to vreme održavao u Velenju i, koji je najveći festival za decu u Sloveniji. Iako je bilo kišovito, deca su dolazila sa svih strana Slovenije. Devojčice sa kosama vezanim u kikice i pegicama i dečake sa majmunčićima oko vrata smo viđali na sve strane. Taj festival je zaista bio jedan poseban gradić za decu.

Sledećeg dana, 28. septembra, spakovali smo kofere i posle doručka smo krenuli za Novi Sad.

Ovo mi je bilo jedno od najlepših putovanja do sada. Kao ekipa mjuzikla, još više smo se zbližili.

I nadam se da ćemo još dugo nastaviti da nastupamo, da se zajedno smejemo i budemo tu jedni za druge, jer će mi drugari iz mjuzikla ostati drugari za ceo život, a mjuzikl jedno od najlepših iskustava u životu.

Weekly music: Rachmaninoff

I've decided to start this topic and post every week about a certain artist/composer/band that I like and their best songs of my choice.
So I will start with a composer.

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music.
Early influences of other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom that included a pronounced lyricism, expressive breadth, structural ingenuity, and a tonal palette of rich, distinctive orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output. He made a point of using his own skills as a performer to explore fully the expressive possibilities of the instrument. Even in his earliest works he revealed a sure grasp of idiomatic piano writing and a striking gift for melody.
Rachmaninoff's style showed initially the influence of Tchaikovsky. Beginning in the mid-1890s, his compositions began showing a more individual tone. His First Symphony has many original features. Its brutal gestures and uncompromising power of expression were unprecedented in Russian music at the time. Its flexible rhythms, sweeping lyricism and stringent economy of thematic material were all features he kept and refined in subsequent works. After the three fallow years following the poor reception of the symphony, Rachmaninoff's style began developing significantly. He started leaning towards sumptuous harmonies and broadly lyrical, often passionate melodies. His orchestration became subtler and more varied, with textures carefully contrasted, and his writing on the whole became more concise.
He was born on April 1, 1873 and died of melanoma on March 28, 1943.

source: Wikipedia

I could say that Rachmaninoff is my favorite composer. His performance on the piano is so passionate and you can feel that in his every piece. He strictly makes contrasts between the dramatic and the lyric. I enjoy listening to his pieces at every time, when I feel sad, they cheer me up, when I feel happy, they make me feel even more happy.

My personal favorite is his Prelude in G Minor op. 23 no. 5. The harmonies in this prelude are just... magnificent, as well as the slow and lyric part in the middle, which is a "sigh of relief" between two tense parts. I would recommend you all to listen to this while drinking your coffee and reading your book (or anything else) and enjoy the rest of this day! :)

Sunny Belgrade part 2

So, my sister and I visited Belgrade again this weekend and these are some things that I have captured.
Next weekend, we are probably going back again, do the cruising that we hadn't made to book this weekend, visit Kalemegdan fortress and go to the Beer Fest.

Statue dedicated to Knez Mihailo. And us.

My sister in front of Belgrade's famous hotel "Moscow". Fun fact is that, in Moscow, there is a hotel named "Belgrade". Those hotels represent the friendship between the two cities.

Interesting graffiti in Belgrade metro station

Part of the beautiful Zemun quay

Life in Danube

The streets

The Art of the Vocal

The oldest and the most perfect instrument that a human kind has ever known for is - the human voice.
Composers have written music for vocals since ever and, in the renaissance period, vocal music was very preserved.
But in 1597, on the very beginning of the next era - baroque, the very first opera was composed. It was called "Dafne" at it was composed by Jacopo Peri on the libretto which was written by Ottavio Rinuccini.
Baroque era was marked by the beginning, development and a huge success of the, then new, vocal-instrumental genre - opera, which later, in classicism, romanticism and up until today has been the most popular music genre ever.
Opera has all the elements - singing, playing instruments, dancing, acting, even talking at some points. And believe me, it takes years for the whole assemble to practice and cultivate one piece like that.
I've always liked opera singing. When I was in 4th grade of music school, my choir took a part in the 2nd act of opera "La Boheme" which was performed at Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad. After that 2nd act would had finished, we would have used the 15 minute pause to change our clothes and take the seats in front rows and have watched the whole opera till the end. I loved listening to the vocals and that's when I've realized that I want to sing like that as well.
I participated the entering exam for elementary opera singing department, passed it and next school year, began with the classes.
Ever since I've started with opera singing, my voice has observably developed, my tone range has expanded and the color of my voice has become clearer.
This year I've finished the elementary opera singing school and in September I'm continuing the high opera singing school and I just can't wait. So many beautiful songs to sing and competitions and manifestations to attend. This is going to be the ride of my lifetime and something that I have always wanted!

The following video is my performance at a school concert in May. This is the hardest aria I've sung up till now. I was practicing it since September and, well, this is the fruit of my hard work and practice I've put into it. You can hear it if you want to.

I imagine myself somewhere in Vienna, Italy, France or Russia, singing arias in huge concert halls and getting lots of ovations. I really hope that my dream will come true and I will give the best of me for that to happen!

Sunny Belgrade

Last week I was in Smederevo in visit to my cousins. On Sunday, on my way back home, I met my sister in Belgrade and we spent the whole day together there.
Literally, we were in the city whole day. And we weren't using any vehicles - we went everywhere by foot!
We've done some shopping, visited Knez Mihailova, drunk coffee there, eaten a Caribic ice cream, and, of course, we've taken lots of photos!
So here's Belgrade from my perspective. This is the first part because this weekend, we're visiting Belgrade again! Although the forecast says the weather will be bad, we have a cruising in plan, playing guitar in the centre, eating a new ice cream, day spa... Can't wait!
I had a wonderful time on Sunday and I can't wait for tomorrow!

I have arrived! It was 6:45 in the morning and I felt wonderful since I've slept for only an hour and a half the night before.

Heading for New Belgrade

View from the bridge - on Belgrade's fortress Kalemegdan

Well, I guess this is me

Ušće park. This picture reminds me of this song

:)

Do you want to be happy?
WELL THEN, BE!!! :)

I ran into this graffiti when I was walking with my best friend few days ago. And yes, this is so true!
People mostly search for reasons to be sad about than to be happy about, while the path to happiness is so simple. Even the smallest things in life are enough. Be grateful every day for your family, your friends, your goals, be grateful every day that you are alive! So many challenges are out there, waiting for us, and we should never give up on anything, because all the effort we put in always pays off.
Even though today is going to be rainy, enjoy this day, read a book, eat an ice cream, invite a friend over. Be happy. :)

Novi Sad

The most beautiful city in my country.

It is also known as the capital of culture, and that's why people also call it "Serbian Athens".

Every year, Novi Sad hosts lots of cultural manifestations, free concerts at center square, exhibitions, festivals and sports competitions.

People here are very pleasant and I always look forward to meet someone new.

I've been living here for 10 years exactly, and yet this is the first time I've taken few proper photos of Novi Sad.

Catholic cathedral in the city center

Sunset above Novi Sad (view from Petrovaradin fortress)

Petrovaradin fortress' clock.

This is the picture that represents me for these past 10 years since I've been living in Novi Sad.