/ˈdrɑʃko ˈaʤitʃ/
Draško holds a doctoral degree in composition which he obtained from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, under the supervision of academician Isidora Žebeljan. He works as associate professor of composition at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. His pieces have been performed across Europe, in the US, and Armenia at a wide variety of venues. His theatre music has been a part of over 60 productions across south-eastern Europe and Germany, including Staatstheater Stuttgart, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Slovenian National Theatre Drama, Zagreb Youth Theatre, Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc etc.
detailed bio below ↓
Notable works include:
Zlakusanka – ein Technosalon für Kammerensemble und Live-Elektronik | performed by Draško Adžić (live electronics), Dobrivoje Milijanović (live electronics), Rastko Uzunović (clarinets), Ivan Marjanović (percussion), Luka Lopičić (accordion) and Aleksandar Latković (cello) | supported by The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Heartefact Fund, 2024
The End Of The World In Three Acts, incidental music for theatre | co-produced by The Creative Europe Programme (CREA), Zagreb Youth Theatre, Maribor Theatre Festival and The Belgrade Drama Theatre (dir. Selma Spahić), 2024
Mistake These Walls For Skin, a soliloquy for symphony orchestra after Ocean Vuong | performed by the RTS Symphony Orchestra, 2023
Excursion, music for a feature film (dir. Una Gunjak) | premiered at Locarno International Film Festival, 2023
I Talk Of Dreams, three songs from Romeo and Juliet for voice, viola and string orchestra, incidental music for theatre | performed by Draško Adžić and the Metamorphosis Ensemble, 2022
Smederevo 1941, incidental music for theatre, Serbian National Theatre Novi Sad (dir. Ana Đorđević) | awarded with Sterija Award for best incidental music, 2020
B. Matinée, an aubade for string orchestra, bass drum and fixed media | last performed by the No Borders Orchestra at Berghain, Berlin, 2019
Thallus, A Catalogue of Oronyms for Symphony Orchestra | commissioned and performed by the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, 2016
Workers Die Singing, incidental music for theatre, Bitef Theatre Belgrade (dir. Anđelka Nikolić) | awarded with Sterija Award for best incidental music, 2012
The Dance of the Moirae, for two trumpets and piano | performed by Hans Leeuw and Gijs Levelt (trumpets) and Ere Lievonen (piano) at Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ in Amsterdam | shortlisted for The Gaudeamus International Composers Award, 2009
Draško is a composer of contemporary classical and incidental music.
Initially self-taught, Draško Adžić took up piano at age 20 and, eventually, without prior formal education in music, became a composition professor at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade — a singular achievement in Serbia since the founding of the Faculty in 1937.
Draško Adžić, DMA, obtained his degree in composition from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, under the mentorship of academician Isidora Žebeljan. His oeuvre encompasses a broad array of styles, ranging from orchestral, chamber, and choral works to music for theatre and film. He has composed incidental music for over 60 productions staged in Serbia, the Balkans, and Germany.
His works have been performed throughout Europe, North America, and Armenia, at venues such as Berghain (Berlin), Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ and Uilenburger Synagoge (Amsterdam), Salão Nobre da Escola de Música do Conservatório Nacional (Lisbon), and Narodowe Forum Muzyki (Wrocław), among others.
His music has been featured at festivals including Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Berlinale, Berlin Herbstsalon, Month of Contemporary Music in Berlin, Neue Stücke aus Europa, Raindance, Locarno Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Music Biennale Zagreb, Prague Quadrennial, Sarajevo Film Festival, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, MESS, and Bitef.
He has collaborated with ensembles such as the Belgrade Philharmonic, Symphony Orchestra of Radio Television of Serbia, No Borders Orchestra, Cantus Ensemble, and St. George Strings, among others. The majority of these collaborations were commissions.
Adžić represented Serbia at the 13th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space and was later selected as a mentor for the Students’ Section at the 14th edition. He is currently Composer in Residence at the Belgrade Chamber Orchestra.
His scores are published by Universal Edition.
Draško Adžić has received several awards, notably the Sterija Award — Serbia’s highest recognition for theatre music — twice, in 2012 and 2020. In 2023, he won third prize at the Caneres International Music Competition (Vienna) for his Symphony 1, and was a finalist at the Amadeus Composition Award for I Talk of Dreams. Earlier, he was shortlisted for the Gaudeamus Prize (2009) for The Dance of the Moirae, and awarded at Koor&Stem’s Choral Convention (Ghent, 2008), which resulted in the publication of his choral work Glas Gospodenj by Edition Ferrimontana in Frankfurt (Verlag-Nr.: EF3378).
He has also been granted a bursary for the film music course at Dartington College of Arts (UK) and a scholarship for the Internationale Sommerakademie PragWienBudapest.
In 2024, Adžić was invited to the NY Lopud Foundation Artist Retreat for a month-long residency on Lopud Island (Croatia), where he gave a concert dedicated to his theatre music.
He has attended masterclasses with Heiner Goebbels, Nigel Osborne, Luca Francesconi, and Miguel Mera.
Draško Adžić is currently Associate Professor of Composition at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, and has also taught Applied Music at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (2017–2018). He occasionally performs as a singer, conductor, and pianist. In 2017, he served as a jury member for Bitef – Belgrade International Theatre Festival, and is a member of the Board of Directors of SOKOJ – Serbian Music Authors’ Organization. He also chaired the Artistic Board of the inaugural Isidora Žebeljan International Festival in 2021.