From August 29 to 31, the breathtaking scenery and relaxed atmosphere of Lopud will provide an inspiring setting for world-class musicians and young professionals, offering them the unique opportunity to learn from some of the finest jazz masters through a series of masterclasses.

In its second edition, the Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival brings a series of lectures led by internationally renowned jazz virtuosos. This year, the role of jazz master will be held by Kenny Werner, a renowned Grammy-nominated pianist and composer and the Artistic Director of the Effortless Mastery Institute at Berklee College of Music. In addition, masterclasses will be conducted by drummer and four-time Grammy winner Antonio Sánchez, known for his composition work on the Oscar-winning film Birdman, five-time Grammy winner Michael League, and Thana Alexa, a Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist, composer, and arranger, who also serves as the Artistic Director of the Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival.

One of the goals of the festival is to connect young professional musicians with already internationally recognized performers through a series of lectures and workshops. This year, the festival has expanded its reach, drawing participants from around the globe to the island of Lopud. Below is the list of participants:

Agona Shporta is a vocalist and arranger in her final year of a master’s program in Creative Music Production at the Catalyst Institute in Berlin. Her upcoming debut album, Hape Portën, recorded alongside jazz and classical musicians from Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, features arrangements of folk songs from Kosovo and Albania.

Alba Nacinovich is a graduate jazz singer who has been awarded multiple times in the fields of jazz, pop, electronic, and film music. She has performed on numerous prestigious stages, such as Vienna’s Porgy & Bess club, the Pula Arena, and the Auditorium Ennio Morricone in Rome. She has also collaborated with the jazz orchestras of Croatian and Slovenian Radio and Television and the Ivan Zajc Croatian National Theatre. In 2024, she became the first vocalist to receive the Status Award for Excellence in Musicianship from the Croatian Musicians Union.

Andrea Mircheska is a prominent jazz double bassist currently completing her postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. She is the recipient of the Golden Oryx award for the best young jazz musician in 2019, awarded by the Skopje Jazz Festival, and is active in the Macedonian music scene across various genres with multiple bands.

Bruno Bišćan is a jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger, and the winner of the 2023 DownBeat Student Music Award for Best Arrangement for Jazz Orchestra for his arrangement of Theloniuos Monk’s Ruby My Dear . Since 2018, he has led the Bjelovar Big Band, which, under his direction, was nominated for the Porin Award in 2022 with the album Izbirljivo i namjerno. He also collaborates with the Croatian Radio and Television Jazz Orchestra.

Cristina Miguel Martínez is a saxophonist, composer, and educator who has performed at various festivals in numerous European cities and the United States. In 2018, she was entrusted with leading, composing, and arranging music for a concert with Sheila Jordan and a string orchestra, and in 2020, she presented her original music album Ramé Project with her octet, followed by the 2021 release of the saxophone duo album Transcendit Terram.

Hrvoje Ćaćulović is a bassist who has been involved in music from an early age and quickly became part of the local music scene during his studies in Mostar. He plays in numerous bands and participates in various projects such as Black Chicken Leg, Bad Blues Band, and Zoster. Since 2019, he has been the head of the bass guitar department at the Mostar Rock School.

Jens Meijer was encouraged by his professors during his studies at Codarts University for the Arts in Rotterdam to develop his musical ideas and incorporate his interest in philosophy and conceptual thinking into his compositions. Since 2020, he has been part of Batavierhuis, an initiative for talent development in Rotterdam.

Luka Malko has been involved in theatre performances as a musician and actor, as well as an organizer of cultural and musical events for years. After graduating from the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade, he became one of the founders of the Youth Jazz and Rock Festival in Subotica. He participates in various groups, projects, and album recordings with both professors and young musicians.

Maja Grgić, a vocalist now performing under the artistic name NIM, has been passionate about music since early childhood. In 2013, she graduated from the London Centre for Contemporary Music at Middlesex University. She is the recipient of the Porin Award for best jazz composition in 2009 and the professional Status Award for best young vocal jazz instrumentalist.

Manuel Contrera is a pianist, keyboardist, composer, producer, and a three-time winner of the national MEC music award, granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Uruguay. He currently leads his own project, a blend of jazz and popular Uruguayan music like candombe, in which he performs original music.

Maria Cecilia Collaço is a Brazilian drummer, composer, and educator. During her undergraduate and postgraduate studies, she led two research projects, one on Tutty Moreno and the other on Antonio Sanchez’s soundtrack for the film Birdman (2014). She is currently composing and arranging her first original album, which will be her final master’s project.

Nevena Pejčić attended primary and secondary music school in Subotica, focusing on jazz and classical piano, where she won numerous awards at classical piano competitions. In 2021, she enrolled in a master’s program at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, and during her studies, she participated in the Shared Planet 9 project as a composer, conductor, and pianist. In 2024, the project resulted in the recording of an album at the Jazz Institute Berlin.

Rok Zalokar is a pianist, composer, and producer who has emerged as a key figure in Ljubljana’s alt-jazz scene. He leads his spiritual jazz collective Zhlehtet and has a distinct sound as a solo performer on piano, electronics, and pipe organ. Since 2013, he has released 15 albums as the leader or co-leader of bands for prestigious labels such as ZARŠ, Celinka, RTV ZKP, Kamizdat, and Nature Scene Records.

Viktor Tumbas graduated from high school in 2018 at the vocal and instrumental department, majoring in cello, and then in the same year enrolled at the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade. During his undergraduate studies, he founded his original ensemble, the Viktor Tumbas Quintet. The band has performed at various music events and festivals in Serbia, such as the Belgrade Jazz Festival, Novi Sad Jazz Festival, Jazz for Jazz concert series, Musicology Sessions, Green Town Jazz Festival, and Youth Jazz and Rock Festival.

Admission to the jazz concerts is free for all visitors. During the festival, from August 29 to 31, free boat transfers will be organized for the audience from Dubrovnik. The Argosy boat will depart daily from Lapadska Obala 7 (bus stop in front of the Faculty of Economics) and from Lopud in front of the Lafodia Hotel.

Ponta Lopud Creative Platform hosts and presents three summer cultural programs in 2024, welcoming all art lovers, especially those passionate about film, music, and literature. Ponta Lopud Summer Screenings, celebrating the art of film, was the first of three events held from June 27 to 29. The second event, which will attract music lovers to the island from August 29 to 31, is the popular Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival. The third, new addition to the creative platform is the Ponta Lopud Book Bridge, a festival running from September 27 to 29, rounding off the summer festivities and closing Lopud’s cultural-artistic season.

For more information about the program, schedule, and screenings, visit jazz.pontalopud.hr and follow the Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival on social media.