User:DGulamovic/sandbox/Samra Gulamovic

Samra Gulamović is a prominent Bosnian orchestral conductor.

Overview

Gulamović was born in Sarajevo where she studied conducting under academic Teodor Romanic at the Sarajevo Music academy before she obtained her Master of Music degree in Professor Julio Maric’s class.

From 1995 to 2007 she was the Art Director of the Sarajevo vocal octet, Preporod. She is a founder and art director of the all-female vocal ensemble, Allegro with whom she has won numerous awards at international festivals and competitions including the Silver Medal at the Choir Olympics. She attended summer sessions in the School of Conducting at Basel and Lion. As a student she led the Choir of Sarajevo National Theater while at the same time working with Bosnian National Television.

Since 1998 she has been employed by Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, which is the only professional orchestra in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In two terms from 2008 – 2016 she was the director general of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra. While in this position, she led the Orchestra away from the war and postwar method of operation and way of thinking to a new and vibrant method of operation and forward thinking mentality as required in 21ST century. For the first time in several decades she implemented a project to refurbish and/or acquire new instruments for the entire orchestra. She initiated and edited the first monograph of SAPH published on the 90th anniversary of the Sarajevo Philharmonic. Samra has initiated and changed visual identity for the orchestra created numerous orchestral programs for children and young adults who will become the next generation of lovers of classical music. The resulting increased interest in classical music among Sarajevo’s youth is palpable and confirmed by their growing attendance at philharmonic events.

As a conductor she is a proven interpreter of note, encompassing all the rigorous standards of classical repertoires. Under her baton she has successfully collaborated with a number of soloists, among whom are, Ivo Pogorelich, Sergey Krylov, Vadym Kholodenko, Alena Baeva, Ann Gastinel, Alexander Buzlov, Stefan Milenkovich, to the great acclaim of the philharmonic’s patrons.

With Miha Pogacnik, violinist and Cultural Ambassador of Slovenia she is working as a conductor involved in his motivational “Art and Business” project where he uses music to enhance understanding of the most pressing demands of business and demonstrates that art is significant force for productivity, creativity and organizational renewal.

In addition to her many successful performances within Bosnia and Herzegovina, she has also met acclaim for her work abroad.

Since 2009 Samra has been engaged as the conductor of the Ballet of Sarajevo National Theater with whom she conducted a number of premieres including Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Dame with Camellias, Gisele, Carmen, The Wayward Daughter. This noteworthy achievement has earned her the honor of not only the conductor of the Sarajevo National Philharmonic but also the leading ballet conductor of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Currently she is the resident conductor of the most significant classical music festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the “Sarajevo Evenings of Music”. The influential magazine, “Zena 21” declared her to be the most successful woman in the field of art in year 2001. She is a recipient of the Freedom Award presented by the International  Peace Center Sarajevo and member of Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Science.