Ivan Burka, DMA
Ivan Burka (1979) graduated viola at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad with professor Dušica Polovina (2004). At the same institution he also graduated percussion instruments with professors Nebojša Jovan Živković and Srđan Palačković (2010). He finished his doctoral studies in percussion in 2023. at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade under the mentorship of DMA Srđan Palacković.
In the Orchestra of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad, he spent the period from 2004. to 2023. as a freelance collaborator on percussion (2004-2007), and later as a permanently employed solo timpanist. He has been a permanent collaborator with the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra as a solo timpanist since 2007.
His work in education began in 2008. as a teacher at the “Isidor Bajić” Music School in Novi Sad, teaching subjects such as percussion, chamber music, sight-reading, and preparing students to participate in symphony orchestra activities within school and extracurricular activities.
In the field of performance, Ivan Burka is active as a soloist and chamber musician. His ongoing performing activities are closely tied to his collaboration with composer Szilard Mezei. Apart from ten official releases, his work with Mezei has led to numerous significant performances both domestically and internationally, including notable appearances in Budapest (BMC, 2018, 2019, 2023), Moscow (Dom 2019), Vienna (Celeste, 2023), and a performance with Evelyn Glennie and the Silard Mezei Polar Quartet in Novi Sad in 2022.
In recent years (since 2017), including the present moment, as a logical continuation of his collaboration with Silard Mezei, Ivan Burka has been developing an authentic performing expression within musical practices that involve genre blending.
A particularly important aspect that goes beyond the specified framework is his work in the ensemble Šaht Maht. The ensemble’s activity revolves around creating original works that involve a multimedia approach and the use of electronics. The realization of these principles has resulted in projects such as “Four in the Morning” (2018), “Failure is a Possibility” (2019), and “Pendulum” (2021/22), which have been presented both in the country and abroad (Novi Sad, Sombor, Salzburg).