Mrs. MARIA MIKULIĆ ŠTIMAC, Ph.D.—Executive Director
Maria Mikulić Štimac, pianist, graduated from the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, where she studied in the classes of Prof. J. Murina and Prof. P. Jegorova. At the same conservatory, she was also trained in the class of Prof. V. Visnjevski. She received her Master of Arts degree at the Hochschule für Musik in Graz (prof. A. Satz’s class), where she defended her scientific work at the Department of Performance Practice (Institut für Aufführungspraxis) and the Zagreb Academy of Music. In addition, she completed her doctoral studies in humanities at the University of Split, Faculty of Philosophy, with a doctoral thesis entitled Piano Music and chamber instrumental music with piano by Antun Dobronić.
As an independent artist, Dr. Mikulić Štimac performed all over Croatia and abroad (Russia, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Austria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Japan), as a soloist and in a chamber ensemble. She performed at national and international festivals: Osor Music Evenings, Rovinj Summer Festival, Poreč Summer Events, Music Evenings in Sveti Donat in Zadar, Rab Music Evenings, Novi Vinodolski International Classical Music Festival, A. Dobronić Evenings in Jelsa, Days of Croatian Culture in Rome, Sarajevo Winter International Festival, Chamber Music Festival in Bergamo. On several occasions, she recorded for Croatian Radio and Television.
In a long-term collaboration with the Japanese violist Masatoshi Hiran, she performed a series of concerts in Croatia and Japan. The result of this collaboration is three joint CDs, one of which contains works by Croatian authors. It is worth mentioning that Miroslav Miletić’s Lullaby was dedicated to Their Imperial Highnesses, then Crown Prince of Japan (today the Emperor) Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako on the occasion of the birth of their daughter Aiko. In addition, in cooperation with the violinist Taras Pecheny, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Osijek, Dr. Mikulić Štimac recorded a CD with the works of the Croatian violinist Franjo Krežma. Her first independent CD—with works by Schumann, Pejačević, and Ravel—was released by the publishing house Dinaton, and the next one—with works by Brahms, Josipović, and Schumann—by the publishing house Aquarius Records. (I. Josipović’s composition was nominated for the Porin Award).
Dr. Mikulić Štimac performed on two occasions as part of the Days of Croatian Culture in Rome. She also performed as part of the concerts dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Croatian renowned pianist Melita Lorković. In the course of her artistic activity as an independent artist, she taught compulsory piano at the Zagreb Academy of Music as a title lecturer for ten years. In her capacity as artistic director, she organized and launched the International Classical Music Festival ”Art Novi” in Novi Vinodolski, which has been held continuously for many years. Together with the pianist Slađana Buklijaš, she led Piano Art Workshops in Zagreb, the participants of which won numerous prizes at international and domestic piano competitions. They also worked together as a piano duo.
On three occasions, Dr. Mikulić Štimac participated in the online conference on applied pianism, the 5th, 6th, and 7th international gathering of pianists at UAEM, Mexico, with a concert and an educational theme. She received professional training at numerous seminars, including those of A. Valdma, M. Kandelaki, K. Bogino, G. Gruzman, and others. She works as an accompanist and professor of piano with the title of mentor at Pavao Markovac Music School in Zagreb.