BELEF Opening Ceremony

Friday, June 23, Courtyard of the Student Cultural Centre at 9 PM

CONCERT OF SANJA ILIĆ & BALKANIKA

Sanja Ilic & Balkanika came into existence in 2000. Its musical style combines elements of world music, based on the powerful rhythms of the Balkans and adapted to the modern sense and sensibility. Two female ethno singers and a male rock singer together with hard electronic sounds and ancient Balkan instruments create a modern and original sound that is unique not only on the Balkan but on the world music scene as well. Albums Balkan 2000 and Balkan Concept have been one of the best-selling projects in the last 15 years in Serbia. Album CEEEPAJ was also one of the greatest music projects in Serbia and the region. The titles like Balkanika – Urban Ethno Explosion and Balkanika - Fire of Balkan present in the best manner what Balkanika really stands for. In the last two years the band held more than 100 concerts in a number of countries on all continents.

Aleksandar Sanja Ilić was born in Belgrade. He attended composition classes with Professor Rajčić at the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade. He received many awards at various domestic festivals. Sanja`s songs were sung by the first-rate Yugoslav musicians. Simultaneously with festivals he wrote music for theatre plays, films and TV series. In 1987 together with Sloba Marković he did the instrumental album called Delta Project. Very soon it became one of the best-selling albums of domestic instrumental music in Serbia. For the last fifteen years he has been writing music under the influence of the Balkan region. In 2012 Ilić finished his musical-theatrical work Constantinus Magnus to commemorate the 1700 year anniversary of the Edict of Milan. For this important anniversary, the project composer was joined by a large number of renowned international co-authors and performers. In 2013 he won the following awards: Zlatni vitez (The Golden Knight) at the International Film Forum in Khabarovsk, Russia, and Zlatna Afrodita (The Golden Aphrodite) at the International Festival of Independent Film in Nicosia, Cyprus, for the best film music composed for Led (The Ice), directed by Jelena Bajić – Jočić. In 2014 he won a Grand Prix, Violetta d’Oro, at Parma International Music Film Festival, Italy. Sanja Ilić has the status of Distinguished Artist. He is a member of GEMA, AFAS (The Academy of Filmographic Arts and Sciences) and the Composers` Association of Serbia, where he has been a member of the board several times.