Šimun-Čarli Botica (b. 1997, Sinj) is one of the most promising young Croatian composers of his generation. He began composing at the age of ten and, after completing primary and secondary music education in guitar, went on to earn a degree in Music Pedagogy and a Master’s degree at the Arts Academy in Split with a thesis on Bartók’s Suite for Piano, Op. 14 orchestrated for string orchestra. He is currently completing his studies in Composition under Professor Ivan Božičević at the same institution, where he also works as an assistant at the Department of Theory and Composition.

Botica has received the highest number of Rector’s Awards ever granted to an individual at the University of Split — for excellence (2022), special achievements (2023), and artistic work (2024) — as well as two Dean’s Awards. His works have been awarded at numerous festivals and competitions. With Es Verdad (2022) and Salvum me (2023), he won first prizes at the International Choral Festival CRO PATRIA. He has also been recognized with the Young Composer Award of the Rudolf and Margita Matz Fund (2024) and a special prize from the Split Youth Music Association for his contribution to the mo. Vinko Lesić concert cycle.

In 2025, his orchestral work Passacaglia won the composition competition of the Zagreb Music Spring Festival, organized by the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall and the Zagreb Philharmonic. Selected anonymously by a distinguished jury, the work was premiered by the Zagreb Philharmonic under chief conductor Dawid Runtz, marking a significant milestone in Botica’s career.

His music has been performed by ensembles and soloists such as Splitski virtuozi, Duo Tudor & Režić, Montenegrin Guitar Duo, Thorwald Jørgensen, Kalamos Quintet, Petar Čulić, Silvio Bilić, and many others. His catalogue already includes around one hundred compositions, ranging from solo and chamber works to choral and orchestral pieces, often exploring human experience and contemporary themes through a neomodernist lens.

In addition to his compositional work, Botica is active in pedagogy, teaching harmony and assisting in composition studies at the Arts Academy in Split. He continues to develop a distinctive voice rooted in tradition yet open to new sound worlds, positioning himself as a vital representative of Croatia’s new generation of composers.

Thomas Fellow is a musician of remarkable versatility – a first-class acoustic guitarist, composer, educator, and musical innovator. Renowned for his signature sound and breathtaking virtuosity, he is considered one of the finest collaborators on the instrument.

After studying classical guitar with Monika and Jürgen Rost at the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” in Weimar, he performed internationally as a concert guitarist and prizewinner, before turning his focus to original projects. With his duos Friend ’n Fellow and Hands on Strings, and as a founding member of the European Guitar Quartet (with Zoran Dukić, Pavel Steidl, and Reentko Dirks), he has performed nearly 3,000 concerts in more than 30 countries, appearing in world-class venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, and Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York. He has shared the stage with legendary artists including Luther Allison, Ray Charles, Al Jarreau, and Tommy Emmanuel.

A prolific composer, Fellow’s works are published by Schott Music in the Fellow Guitar Music Collection. His pioneering Fellow Guitar Book is now regarded as a standard text for guitar accompaniment and his music is performed worldwide, with some works included in the Trinity College London syllabus.

As Professor of Acoustic Guitar at the University of Music “Carl Maria von Weber” in Dresden, Fellow created a groundbreaking program that integrates classical, jazz, world, and popular music, and in 2018 he received the Saxonian Teaching Prize for his innovative contribution to music education. He is also the artistic director of the European Guitar Award and remains an in-demand teacher and lecturer at leading institutions and festivals worldwide.

Thomas Fellow is a D’Addario Artist and continues to inspire as a performer, composer, and educator whose creative energy bridges genres and generations.

Anđela Jerkunica  completed her secondary music education under the mentorship of Professor Marijo Peručić and later graduated from the Academy of Music in Zagreb in the class of Professor Ante Čagalj. She further refined her artistry through training with Professor Goran Listeš and masterclasses with distinguished pedagogues including Zoran Dukić, Darko Petrinjak, and Carlo Marchione.

In 2001, Anđela received the Annual Award of the Croatian Association of Music and Dance Educators for her significant contribution to music education. Her students have consistently achieved success, winning numerous prizes at competitions in Croatia and abroad.

Her passion for chamber music is expressed through various ensembles, most notably the Amicorde Guitar Trio, in which she has performed since 2009. She is active as a jury member at regional and international competitions and frequently appears as a lecturer at seminars and masterclasses. Since 2011, she has been a member of the Croatian Association of Guitar Pedagogues and the Examination Committee for professional certification. She has also contributed extensively to the organization of the Daleki Akordi competition for young musicians and, in recognition of her teaching excellence, was awarded the title of Professor Advisor in 2021.

Since 2009, Anđela Jerkunica has been teaching at the Josip Hatze School of Music in Split, where she serves as Head of the Guitar, Mandolin, and Harp Department.

Mislav Režić is one of Croatia’s most prominent classical guitarists, celebrated for his rich international career as both a soloist and chamber musician. His versatile artistry, spanning period and modern instruments — including the electric guitar — allows him to collaborate across genres and with diverse ensembles. Passionate about contemporary music, he frequently commissions and premieres new works, expanding the guitar’s repertoire. Several composers, including Vlado Sunko, Nikoleta Chatzopoulou, Michalis Paraskakis, and Sofia Avramidou, have dedicated solo pieces to him.

Režić is a founding member of the ensembles Machetes (Netherlands) and Tetttix (Greece), both dedicated to contemporary music. He has performed with leading artists such as percussionists Pepe Garcia and Diego Espinosa, harpsichordist Cvetanka Sozovska, mezzo-soprano Tanja Šimić, soprano Georgia Balabini, baritone Jussi Lehtipuu, violinist Laura Vadjon, flutists Antigoni Tsalla and Gregor Schulenburg, and saxophonists Gordan Tudor and Guido de Flaviis. His concerts have taken him to major venues and festivals across Europe, Africa, and North America, including Split Summer, Korkyra Baroque, Smash Salamanca, Bridges, Tectonics, Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Eleusis European Capital of Culture 2023, Time of Music (Viitasaari, Finland), the Greek National Opera, Onassis Cultural Center, St. Peter’s Cathedral (Rabat, Morocco), The Knoll at Stanford University, the Center for New Music in San Francisco, and the European Parliament in Brussels.

A graduate of the Academy of Arts in Split, Režić went on to earn Master’s degrees from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the Conservatory of Maastricht. He is the winner of numerous awards, including the Croatian Society of Music Prize (2003) and first prizes at international competitions in Zwolle (2002) and Enschede (2007).

As co-founder and artistic director of the chamber music festival Musical Evening at St. Jerome’s in Kaštela, Croatia, he curates its international summer guitar course. His debut album Auburn (DNA label, 2017) presents a wide-ranging program of contemporary works for guitar. In duo with saxophonist Gordan Tudor, he was awarded the Concert Hall Ivo Tijardović – Hrvatski dom Split Prize for the 2023/24 season, leading to an artist-in-residence engagement for 2024/25 at Concert Hall Split. Their first album, featuring contemporary Croatian repertoire, was released in May 2025 by HDS – Cantus.

Mislav Režić is a Hannabach and Hatzinikolaou Guitars artist.

Zoran Dukić is recognized as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of our time. He began playing the guitar at the age of six and went on to study at the Zagreb Academy of Music under Darko Petrinjak, later completing his studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne with Hubert Käppel.

His solo and orchestral performances captivate audiences and critics alike. He has appeared on the world’s most prestigious stages, including the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Carnegie Hall in New York, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow.

As a competitor, Dukić achieved extraordinary success, winning some of the most prestigious international guitar competitions such as Andrés Segovia (Granada and Palma de Mallorca), Fernando Sor, Manuel Ponce, Manuel de Falla, and Francisco Tárrega. A landmark moment in his career came at the Madrid competition under the patronage of the Spanish Royal Family, where he not only received First Prize but also the special award for the best interpretation of Spanish music – the first time this honor was granted to a non-Spanish guitarist. These achievements launched his international career.

Equally devoted to performance and teaching, Dukić has nurtured generations of young guitarists. He leads one of the most successful guitar classes in Europe at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, and is also a visiting professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He has previously taught at the Escuela Superior in Barcelona and the Hochschule für Musik in Aachen.

As an active chamber musician, Dukić is a founding member of the European Guitar Quartet, the Croatian Guitar Quartet, and Trio Cologne, and also performs in duo with Aniello Desiderio. His discography includes recordings for labels across Germany, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, and Canada, featuring albums such as Bach-Piazzolla, Balkan Muses, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s 24 Caprichos de Goya, DEWA, as well as works by Tárrega, Antonio José, Bach, and Takemitsu.

Since 2011, Zoran Dukić has been a D’Addario artist.