Ivan Josip Skender
Ivan Josip Skender, a versatile musician, was born in Varaždin in 1981. After graduating from high school in 1997, he enrolled in the composition program at the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb in the class of Professor Željko Brkanović, becoming the youngest composition student in the history of the Academy. In 1999, he began parallel studies in conducting under Professor Vjekoslav Šutej. He further refined his skills through conducting seminars and workshops with Klaus Arp, Bertrand de Billy, Zubin Mehta and others, as well as composition workshops with Michael Jarrell and József Soproni. He received the Rector’s Award for his composition Heads and Tails. From 2010 to 2012, he attended a two-year postgraduate program in orchestral conducting in Vienna under Professor Uroš Lajovic.
His compositions have been performed throughout nearly all countries of Western and Central Europe, as well as in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In 2012, he became the first Croatian composer to represent Croatia at the European multimedia festival MusMA (Music Masters on Air). He is also a laureate of the Rudolf and Margita Matz Scholarship for young composers.
His broad and diverse oeuvre includes around 150 works for soloists, chamber ensembles, orchestras, and choirs, as well as music for theatre productions, a musical, and the opera Šuma Striborova, which, with 27 performances, is by far the most frequently performed contemporary Croatian opera. He is also active as an editor of music editions and as an arranger.
As a conductor, he has collaborated with numerous Croatian and international ensembles, with a particular dedication to premieres and performances of contemporary music, especially works by Croatian composers. He has conducted or premiered several hundred compositions by contemporary Croatian composers with nearly all professional ensembles in the Republic of Croatia. Selected performances have also been released on audio recordings. Among his more recent achievements was the honor of conducting the historic opening of the new stage of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, HNK2. He also conducted the first production premiered on the new stage, Cabaret.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work, including the Award of the University Professors and Scientists in Zagreb (2013), the Stjepan Šulek Award (2017), the Milka Trnina Award of the Croatian Association of Music Artists (2023), and the Boris Papandopulo Award of the Croatian Composers’ Society (2025). In 2024, he received the Croatian national Vladimir Nazor Award for his overall achievements in composition and conducting.
From 2005 to 2014, he was employed at the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb as chorus master, participating in all opera productions as chorus master, assistant conductor, or conductor. In 2009, he became an assistant to Professor Uroš Lajovic at the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb. In 2012, the members of the contemporary music ensemble Cantus Ensemble selected him as their permanent conductor. He served as Artistic Director of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb for the 2013/2014 season. From the 2014/2015 season until the 2019/2020 season, he worked as a conductor of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.
He is currently permanently employed at the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb as Associate Professor in the conducting department. Since 2019, he has been a member of the artistic council of the Music Biennale Zagreb, and in 2024 he was appointed Vice President of the Croatian Composers’ Society. He is also one of the three artistic directors of the Music Biennale Zagreb for the 2025 and 2027 editions, alongside colleagues T. Oliver and D. B. Vincze. Since 2024, he has been an associate member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.