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Daniella among

AMERICAN TRADITIONS COMPETITION QUARTERFINALISTS

Hello All,
Hope you're enjoying the warm winter rays of the "global heater" (:
Please come and join me and share the beauty of love and giving on
Feb 14 at the Greenwich VIllage Bistro,
13 Carmine Street (bet Bleecker and 6th Ave) a 8pm.
I will be expecting you there with a handfull of romantic tunes.
Bring the paper tissues!

My loyal fans: support me in spirit as I embark on the path to Savannah Music Festival this March to compete for the Best Vocalist at the Eckberg American Traditions Comeptition this March. More details at:www.savannahmusicfestival.org
Thanx!
Peace & Love,
Daniella

************************************************
If we take time to look into our hearts, we will
ultimately feel complete and connected...
within ourself and as part of the human family.

Danijela Macesic
cell: 917 539 1347
web: lella.iuma.com

American Traditions Competition

Sponsored by Dick & Judy Eckburg

The American Traditions Competition celebrates the repertoire that represents the art and popular cultures of the United States. It subscribes to the belief that these American musical genres evolved to incorporate identifiable characteristics of excellence and artistic integrity. It is the goal of the Competition to foster heightened appreciation and celebration of these American genres.

PLEASE NOTE: THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS TO THE 2004 AMERICAN TRADITIONS COMPETITION HAS PASSED. OUR 2004 QUARTERFINALISTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED JANUARY 15, 2004.

Should you wish to be placed on the newsletter or email list for the 2005 competition please contact:
mary@savannahmusicfestival.org
General Information

1.) The 11th Annual American Traditions Competition is in Savannah, Georgia on March 20-27, 2004. There are eight Entrance Categories to choose from.
2.) The competition is open, regardless of nationality to women and men, age 16 and older.
3.) Applicants for this competition agree to adhere to the competition rules, the regulations on performance and decisions of the Judges.

Application Procedure:
1) Please return the completed application form with the following enclosures:
a) two 8 ˝ x 10 glossy photographs. Digital files scanned at 300dpi are preferred.
b) 150-word biography
c) professional profile
d) $80 application fee (cashiers check, money order, VISA MasterCard, AMEX ONLY)
e) High quality CD with a backup (may be a cassette)

All application materials and enclosures must be postmarked by: December 1, 2003.
2.) Applicants selected for the Quarterfinals will be contacted on or by January 15, 2004.

The application form, enclosures, and Preliminary Round recording will NOT be returned.

Competition Schedule: 1.) The VeriSign American Traditions Competition will be divided into four rounds:
-Preliminary Round
-Quarterfinal Round March 22/23, 2004
-Semifinal Round March 24, 2004
-Final Round March 27, 2004

2.) Twenty-five to thirty contestants will be selected in the Preliminary Round, to participate in the Quarterfinal Round. Twelve to fifteen Quarterfinalists will advance to the Semifinal Round. Five or six Semifinalists will advance to the Finals.

3.) The ATC Project Manager will assign an accompanist to the competitors. Every competitor is entitled to one 30-minute rehearsal before each round of competition with his or her assigned accompanist. Any additional rehearsal time must be arranged and paid for by the individual competitor. Rehearsals for the Quarterfinals will begin March 20, 2004 in Savannah, GA.

Program: 1.) Each applicant must enter his/her competition program on the submitted application form. Once the application and program are received no changes will be allowed.

Preliminary Round:
o Each contestant should submit a 15-minute high quality recording of the best selections from the larger 9 to 11 piece program. All CDs must be submitted with a backup recording (the back up may be a cassette tape) to insure your entry is judged.

Quarterfinal Round:
o Contestants advancing to the Quarterfinals will present a live performance of the material submitted on the Preliminary Round CD. NO PROGRAM SUBSTITUTIONS OR CHANGES ARE ALLOWED. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Semifinal Round:
o Based upon the 9 to 11 piece program submitted on the contestant application the judges will select 3 or 4 pieces to be performed live during the semifinal rounds. The judges do reserve the right to request just one or any portion of the selected pieces during the performance.
o Contestants will be informed of the judges selections the morning after the announcement of the Semifinalists.

Final Round:
o Prepare a 15-minute program of your BEST category repertoire. Finalists may use material from the Quarterfinals, Preliminary rounds or any unutilized remaining repertoire from the original 9 to 11 piece program.

PERFORMANCE RULES: 1.) All competition pieces should be performed from memory.
2.) No canned/pre-recorded musical accompaniment will be permitted during competition.
3.) All the competition events will be open to the public. The audience is asked to observe any instructions announced at the beginning of each round of competition.
JUDGING:
Contestants will be judged using the following criterion: stage presence, technique, intonation, artistry, and the ability to communicate while singing.

PRIZES:
Oxnard Gold Medal $10,000
Solomons Silver Medal $5,000
Stanton Bronze Medal $2,500
Finalists $1,000
Semifinalists $500
Quarterfinalists $250

Contestants receive only ONE cash award.

AMERICAN TRADITIONS COMPETITION QUARTERFINALISTS

Danijela Macesic

Lead singer for Elvis Stanic Group and Think Positive Band, and recipient of the Young Jazz Masters Award Marjan Marjanovic, Daniella moved to New York two years ago to share with a wider audience extraordinary talent as a singer and songwriter. Long before she could even understand or speak English, six years old Daniella would swing along with Satchmo and Ella and other Jazz Greats every Friday night in front of her TV set. At the age of 16, she formed her first rock & roll band. After exploring the blues form, Jazz was the following step on her musical path. Daniella has studied with Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton, among others; attended Berklee Summer School in Italy and completed The Vocal Performance Class at The New School in New York City. She has performed in clubs and restaurant all over Europe, as well as in numerous New York City clubs and restaurants, sang on Miles Jayes Jazz Festival in Atlantic City, appeared numerous times on Joe Franklins Radio Show Memory Lane on WOR 710AM, and recently performed at Madison Square Garden in New York as a part of the New York International Music Festival.

Sean Anderson

A native of Akron, Ohio, Sean Anderson made his solo operatic debut as Harry at age 10 in Albert Herring, with the University of Akrons Opera Theatre. Since then he has performed in over 40 productions from opera to Shakespeare. Most recently, Mr. Anderson covered the role of Marcello in Baz Luhrmanns Broadway production of La Boheme while it ran at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. Last summer, he sang the title role in the Italian premier of Dominick Argentos opera Casanovas Homecoming, presented by the Opera Theatre/Music Festival of Lucca, Italy. Mr. Anderson is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he also did his Bachelors and Masters degrees. There, he has performed in many award winning main stage and studio operas, including the May 2003 production of Debussys Pelléas and Mélisande as Golaud for which he received the Samuel Adams Award for Outstanding Performance. Mr. Anderson lives in Cincinnati with his wife Erika.

Phillip Lamar Boykin

Phillip a native of Greenville, SC, attended North Carolina School of the Arts where he began his studies in opera. He transferred to the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut and earned his Bachelor of Music degree. He then entered Howard University seeking a Masters in Jazz Vocal/Vocal performance.
Phillip performed the roles: Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia, Don Alfonso in Cosě fan T utte, and Joe in the National tour of Showboat. Solo appearances include, The Lincoln Center, Cleveland Opera, Connecticut Opera Express, Washington Operas Schools Program, Hartford Symphony, Bristol Symphony, Greenville Symphony and the Kennedy Center features in Black Nativity. Phillip has toured Europe as Crown in Porgy and Bess, as a director with Harlem Gospel Singers and as the Star of The Golden Gospel Singers.
The late Dr. William Warfield declared, Phillip has an extraordinary gift. Im extremely proud to have worked with him.

Matthew Carey

2003 ATC Semi-finalist Matt Carey has been a member of the voice faculty at Arkansas State University since 1997. He is the music director for the ASU Theater Department's Fall Musical and co-hosts the radio program "Spotlight on the Arts". Spanning a career in which he has performed over 40 roles, Matt has sung with opera companies throughout the US and in Germany where he was principle baritone at the Theater Lübeck from 1992-1996. He was last seen on stage as Victor Velasco in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park and Will Rogers in The Will Rogers Follies. He has sung with symphony orchestras in the US, Germany and Scandinavia, and performs recitals and coffee houses in which he programs classical song cycles, musical theater and popular standards. Matt lives in Jonesboro, Arkansas with his wife Corinne and two children, Sean and Jillian.

Maria Clark

Soprano, Maria Clark graduated with a Bachelors degree in Vocal Performance from Manhattan School of Music, and also attended Florida State Universitys School of Music, after having received scholarship offers from both schools. Maria has also received various other scholarships such as the Color Purple Scholarship, the Georgia Merit Scholarship, and the Tallahassee Music Guild, and NAACP Scholarships. She has completed a US tour of Gershwins Porgy and Bess, while playing the principle role of Clara. She has also sung in several other operatic productions such as Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario, Susannah in The Marriage of Figaro, and Monica in The Medium.

Maria Clark was also a winner in the West Palm Beach Opera Competition and NATS vocal competitions, and a finalist in both the Mobile Opera, and DAngelo Vocal Competitions. Maria has also performed The Messiah with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, and is a staff singer at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta. She is a promising talent whose ultimate goal is to achieve international success as an operatic singer.

Catherine E. Clarke

Catherine Clarke, soprano, is originally from Maysville, Kentucky. She received her BM in Vocal Performance from the University of Kentucky and her MM in Vocal Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Having performed in both the musical theater and opera genres, roles include: Sarah Brown from Guys and Dolls, Contessa from Le Nozze di Figaro, First Lady from Die Zauberflöte, La Ciesca from Gianni Schicchi, and Fiordiligi from Cosi fan tutte. Most recently, Miss Clarke performed Adina from LElisir dAmore in Italy with Operafestival di Roma. She has performed extensively in oratorio, including Mozarts Requiem, Handels Messiah, Haydns Lord Nelson Mass and Orffs Carmina Burana . Miss Clarke made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Lexington Singers in 1999. In the springs of 2000 & 2001, Miss Clarke was a district finalist in the Rocky Mountain District Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions and was twice a recipient of a Denver Lyric Opera Guild scholarship. Miss Clarke was a member of Chautauqua School of Music and Aspen Opera Theater Center for 2 summers each and currently is a student of Irene Gubrud.

Daniel C. Cohen

As a practicing trail attorney, Danny returns to the ATC stage again as a quarterfinalist. Danny attended Presbyterian College on a voice scholarship, receiving a degree in voice performance cum laude.

Active in music theater, Danny has appeared in Shenandoah, Flower Drum Song, Brigadoon, The Fantasticks, and I Do! I Do!. A NATS regional winner, Danny has performed lead rules in Menottis Old Maid and the Thief, The Telephone, and Amahl and the Night Visitors. He has appeared as soloist with the Savannah Symphony in Schuberts Mass in G, Haydns The Creation, and Haydns Mass in Time of War. He also appeared as soloist in the Faure Requiem, Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem and Handels Messiah. Danny recorded The Solitary by American/Czech composer Vera Kistler.

Danny has been affiliated with Savannah professional chorale ensemble I Cantori for the past 10 years.

Catherine Davis Cox

Catherine Davis Cox has a three octave range and the ability to float between classical and contemporary music. She just appeared at the Ford Ampitheatre as the scat coloratura soloist in Duke Ellingtons jazz piece, Sacred Music. She has played locally at the Cinegrill in An Evening of Gilbert & Sullivan and recently appeared on a bill with Fritz Coleman, the NBC weatherman, as a benefit for the Red Cross. Catherine has been a soloist for masterworks by Handel, Bach, Mozart and Haydn. She can be heard on Brian Setzers Rockin Christmas, Fritz Heedes Wings of Healing and has her own Christmas CD with her girls jazz trio. She has been the singing voice of animated characters for HBO and Nickelodeon and on radio for an NPR Irish Christmas special. She and tenor Philip McNiven are appearing together now in a two person concert, A Time for Romance, combining classical and pop music with the theme of romance.

Elizabeth Croy

Elizabeth Croy, soprano, is active as an art song recitalist and teacher. As a dedicated promoter of art song, she twice received national awards from the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS Artist Awards). She frequently appears as a soloist with regional orchestras and has had operatic roles with the Intermountain Opera Company in Bozeman. Elizabeth was one of the seven finalists in the 2002 American Traditions Competition in Savannah, Georgia.
With pianist Julie Gosswiller, Elizabeth was chosen nationally to participate in the 2002 Art Song Festival at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the first Internet Art Song Contest, CyberSing, Julie and Elizabeth won several awards. You can hear their performance at www.lottelehmann.org/artsong/CyberSing/index.cfm.
Ms. Croy is Professor of Music at Montana State University in Bozeman where she teaches studio voice, vocal pedagogy and diction. She received her Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degrees from the University of Colorado-Boulder, where she studied with renowned vocal pedagogue, Dr. Barbara Doscher. Elizabeth makes her home in Bozeman, Montana with her husband and her two daughters.

Jacquelyn Culpepper

Jacquelyn Culpeppers lyric soprano voice has taken her across the United States and Europe. Highlights of her experience include 85 roles in opera and oratorio and 4 concert tours of American music in Europe, where she was lauded by critics for her lyrical voice and exceptional musicianship and where she performed for the American Embassy in Bonn, Germany as well as for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and Luxemborg. Featured in 3 national public television specials, and national premieres of several operas and oratorios, Culpeppers performances have taken her to prestigious concert venues such as Washingtons John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to Atlantas Symphony Hall, and in performances with the late, internationally-renowned conductor Robert Shaw. Jacquelyn has appeared many times on public and commercial television and radio stations. An Evening with Cole Porter has been popular and broadcast for several years on PBS. She was featured in a Salute to Masterpiece Theatre with Jean Marsh and also recorded a recital for the South Carolina Television Network. Currently, Ms. Culpepper teaches voice at Davidson College where she is artist associate in the music department.

Christine Heath

Christine Marie Heath, originally from Kaneville, IL, has performed with several theatre companies including The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players at City Center, Sarasota Opera, Toledo Opera, Ashlawn-Highland Opera Festival and Ohio Light Opera. Equally at home with opera and musical theatre, her perfomed roles include Kate in Kiss Me Kate, Gianetta in The Gondoliers, Sarah Brown in Guys & Dolls, Frasquita in Carmen, and Annina in A Night in Venice, which was released on compact disc by Newport Classics. In March 2003, she made her International debut at La Gran Theatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, where she played the lead role of Amy in A Little Sondheim Music. Upcoming engagements include the role of Magnolia in Show Boat with Natchez Opera Festival, A Tribute to Barbara Streisand concert series with the Opera Theatre of Philadelphia/Gulf Coast Symphony, and a solo concert hosted by The Naomi Artist Management Group in New York City. Christine earned her Masters degree at the Maryland Opera Studio and a Bachelors degree at Illinois State University, both in Music Performance.

Laurie Krauz

Laurie Krauz' early career took her from Medical Social Work to the world of Finance. In 1980, while working on Wall Street, Laurie took a singing course as a lark and found her calling. Since then, she has expanded her musical studies with course work at New School University in New York City and private coachings. Over the years, her teachers have included Mark Murphy, Daryl Kojak, Carla White, Woody Mann, Stephen Tarshis and Jay Bianchi. She has performed with a number of jazz luminaries including George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Cameron Brown and Warren Vaché and has appeared at such legendary venues as The Blue Note, Town Hall, S.O.B.'s, Sardi's and The Rainbow Room. Catch Me If You Can (LML Records), Laurie's long-awaited debut CD, was released in 2001. Featuring George Coleman on tenor sax, the recording has received accolades throughout the jazz world.

Cherresa V. Lawson

Cherresa V. Lawson, soprano, is active as a performer and teacher. Cherresa has performed jazz, blues, opera, and pop music at numerous venues across the Midwest for the past fifteen years. As vocalist for the Caribbean Consort Steel Band, she regularly performs throughout Indiana for public and private events. She is also active as a performer of sacred music and can often be heard singing at area church services and weddings. While attending Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana), Cherresa studied with Professor Mary Hagopian. As a student, she appeared in numerous university jazz and classical performances, including Porgy and Bess. Cherresa was chosen to compete in the Savannah Onstage competition in 2002. Under her direction, the choirs at Kokomo High School have appeared throughout the United States and have earned numerous awards and recognitions.

Yolanda Hall Long

Yolanda Hall was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1968, though her lifelong home has been Durham, North Carolina. Yolanda, who began singing at the age of 12, got her musical start as a classical singer. She studied under renowned mezzo-soprano Betty Allen at The North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina after completing High school.
While studying classical music, her musical focus would expand after seeing Durham Jazz Pianist Yusef Salim and Carol Sloane performing at Duke University one night. It was destiny that night says Yolanda, Jazz chose me, it was in my blood waiting to flow out.
In the time since her calling as a Jazz Singer, Yolanda began to sing professionally throughout North Carolina, playing in Jazz Clubs, with big bands and orchestras. She later traveled to Europe and played in Jazz Clubs and festivals throughout England and Italy.
Yolanda returned to North Carolina and began teaching jazz vocal technique to students at Saint Augustines College, where she obtained her B.A. in Public Relations and Broadcasting, her minor was in music.
Yolanda currently continues performing as her first love, and is preparing original compositions for the compilation of her first album.

Jimmie Nettles

Jimmie is a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University where he earned his Bachelor of Music in vocal performance. He went on to study vocal pedagogy at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and obtain a Master of Church Music degree. Since 1985 he has served as a minister of music for churches in Louisiana, Virginia and Georgia. He is currently serving as Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church of Albany GA. He has also been Adjunct Voice Faculty at Chowan College in North Carolina, and currently, Darton College in Albany GA. Jimmie has been a soloist for a variety of venues including community concerts, churches, and colleges. He is a member of and tours with The Centurymen, an auditioned male chorus from across the US. He is married to Anne and has two daughters. Jimmie is deeply committed to church ministry and strives to bring a variety of styles and programming to the church and community where he serves.

Lyle K. Nicholson

Lyle Nicholson attended the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, Illinois.He has sung with the Chicago Symphony Chorus under Margaret Hillis, presently with Lyric Opera Chorus under Donald Palumbo, roles with Chamber Opera Chicago, DuPage Opera Theatre, Grant Park Symphony, Green Bay Symphony, South Shore Chicago Symphony, Goodman Theatre Chicago and in 1994, joined the North American Tour of "Showboat" for 4 years understudying the role of Joe and made his debut in the lead role in Los Angeles with Cloris Leachman and Ned Beatty. Upon returning to Chicago, Lyle ventured onto the screen and adds to his credit, commercials for Scrubbing bubbles, Shoney Resturants, Chicago Tribune, Gateway Chevrolet, Ford Credit, voiceovers for Shoneys Resturants, Day Quil, ABN Financial Services, and numerous on-camera and voice-over industrials. Lyle will soon join the Chicago Lyric Opera Education Department in their "Meet the Artist" program.

Dexter Porter

Dexter Porter was born in Eatonton, Georgia on August 29th, 1963. He began performing musical theatre at Northside High School, a school which has a reputation for producing Broadway caliber shows, in Warner Robins, Georgia. There, Dexter received a solid foundation in stage performance. As a result of the training from Northside, Porter had the confidence to seek and complete a BFA degree in Theatre at Valdosta State University, yet another school with a reputation of excellence in the theatre. He has since studied under Geoffrey Owens, formerly of the Cosby Show. Currently, he is receiving training in vocal performance under Franny Burke in New York City. Porter has personally produced two CDs: A Taste of Good Music and Jazz Classics. There is a work currently in progress entitled Dexter Porter Sings Good Music. Dexter is looking forward to sharing his good music with you.

Wendy Reynolds

American soprano Wendy Reynolds enjoys a multifaceted career that spans opera, oratorio, song recital and musical theatre. She has appeared as Golde in Fiddler on the Roof and Sarah in Company, and wowed audiences and critics alike with her portrayal of Kate in Kiss Me, Kate. The Parkland Forum/EastSider (FL) wrote, Reynolds is excellent and convincing. She not only has audience-pleasing vocal chords but is a good actress as well.

In Palm Beach Opera productions, she appeared in the title role of Lehár's The Merry Widow, Musetta in Puccinis La bohčme, and Poussette in Massenets Manon. The Palm Beach Daily News wrote: Wendy Reynolds performed with great energy and personality and possesses a beautiful soprano voice, with excellent ringing tones and a lovely spin to the sound. She has a great future in the opera world.

Most recently, Ms. Reynolds was featured at Borders Books & Music for the launch of her CD entitled "Wings of Healing".

Diana Rogers

Diana Rogers sang the blues on Bourbon Street before venturing to the Big Apple, where her career has blossomed and continues to ripen through exposure and time. You will be infatuated with the warm surrender of emotions she gives through her songs as she concedes intimacy with her audience. Diana has enjoyed a long engagement at the established Ninos Restaurant at 1354 1st Avenue, since its opening in 1990. Also, she performs at the Maidstone Arms in East Hampton during the summer. Dianas cabaret show is designed to muse the past with the music of Porter, Gershwin, Rogers and Hart, and take you into the present with great songs from the current musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim. In any event, Diana Rogers will give an exciting show, and as the curtain rises, she will wish you love and fascinate you with intrigue.

Huxsie Scott

Huxsie began her career as a jazz vocalist in 1973. During the next fourteen years she performed with many of the areas premiere jazz ensembles and symphony orchestras. She was features opener for jazz greats such as the late Lionel Hampton and McCoy Tyner. Huxsie worked for a number of years as vocalist for jazz great and Savannah resident, bassist Ben Tucker. In 1987, she came full circle and went back to her roots, singing Gospel and inspirational music. Huxsie has recorded three independent solo projects and she is featured on recent releases by DRT productions and local jazz trombonist Teddy Adams. Huxsie is currently the featured performer with the Savannah Theatre Project. In 2003 the company completed two very successful seasons of Lost in the Fifties, Savannahs longest running musical to date. Huxsies singing style is a unique blend of jazz and traditional/contemporary Gospel.

Alysa Smith

A featured soloist with the Savannah Symphony Chorus, Alysa Smith has performed extensively in the Savannah area. Her solo work includes the Faure Requiem, the Gounod St. Cecilia Mass, the Vivaldi Gloria, the Schubert Mass in G and Vaughn Williams' Serenade to Music. In 2002, she presented a recital as a guest artist on the Brenau University Concert Series in Gainesville, Georgia and sang the Aria from Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 with the Coastal Symphony Orchestra of Georgia. She has offered solo recitals of classical repertoire for Savannah audiences over the last two years. Presently, she sings with the Savannah Choral Society. Since 1982, she has performed with multiple choral groups: the Savannah Counterpoint Madrigal Singers, I Cantori, and Holiday Harmonies, a professional octet.

Ms. Smith received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from East Carolina University and M.M. in vocal performance from Georgia Southern University. She is the choral director at Johnson High School in Savannah.

Michelle Sundwall

Michelle S. Sundwalls great love is musical theatre. Recently she has been seen as Fraulein in a new musical of Heidi and Yum Yum in The Mikado. She also loves sacred music as she can express her deepest feelings of gratitude and faith through this medium.

Michelle has a bachelors degree in music from The University of Utah.She has been a judge of vocal competitions and pageants and has received manyhonors and awards. Of those honors, a favorite is placing as a semifinalist in the 2003 American Traditions Competition.

Michelles greatest achievements are her happy marriage and four children. Whether lullabying babies to sleep, singing in church or performing on the stage, Michelle shares her voice generously. As Utahs well-known paper, The Deseret News, has stated, Michelle has a truly stellar voice.

Rosemary Tarquinio

Rosemary Tarquinio has been singing all her life but has made a career as a film and television executive in Los Angeles. Entering the American Traditions Competition is Rosemarys return to music and singing. Rosemary has sung The National Anthem for the Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, Clippers and Kings and has performed a vocal number on the television series, Quantum Leap. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Rosemary now resides in Los Angeles and continues to study opera privately but her great loves are musical theatre and standards which she will perform in the American Traditions Competition.

Karen Young

Karen Young, Lyric Soprano, was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She holds a B.A.degree in vocal performance from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where she is an adjunct vocal instructor. She also maintains a private studio of 20 students at Ars Nova School of the Arts, a music school located in Huntsville. Ms. Youngs most recent roles include Desdemona in Verdis Otello, Maddalena in Verdis Rigoletto, and Suzuki in Puccinis Madama Butterfly. In her career, Ms. Young has been coached by some of the finest vocal instructors, including Joan Dornemann and Nico Castel of the Metropolitan Opera, Virginia Zeani of Indiana University, and Richard Miller of Oberlin Conservatory. Ms. Young also pursues her love of jazz music, an interest that was handed down by her mother, a local jazz pianist and singer. Karen has performed with various jazz artists in Atlanta, Nashville, and other areas in the Southeast.

Andrej Urem

ibenik

Croatian Artisits Exhibit in NYC

The following review of an exhibit in New York City mentions a number of
Croatian artists whose works are included in the exhibit being held at
the Austrian Cultural Forum. John Kraljic

February 6, 2004
ART REVIEW | 'PARALLEL ACTIONS'
Once Upon a Time in Central Europe, When Unruly Was the Rule
By KEN JOHNSON

Conceptualism, the most easily transportable artistic practice, spread
like a highly contagious virus all over the world in the late 1960's and
70's. "Parallel Actions: Conceptual Tendencies in Central European Art
From 1965 to 1980," an exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Forum,
focuses on that one region where it flourished - parallel, as the title
suggests, to its occurrence elsewhere.

The show was organized by Hedwig Saxenhuber and Georg Schoellhammer, who
are Viennese curators and magazine editors. Few of the more than a dozen
artists represented will be familiar to New Yorkers. Their countries
include Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Slovenia. Among
the participants, Valie Export of Austria, who once famously invited
passers-by to feel her breasts inside a cardboard box covering her
chest, is the best known in the United States.

This show's visual interest is minimal: various forms of paper make up
most of what is displayed - photographs, collages, posters and other
printed matter, as well as some grainy, semiabstract films shown on
video monitors. There is already a look of antiquity about most of this
material. And without a catalog to fill in artistic, social and
political backgrounds, much of it remains enigmatic to a contemporary
New York viewer.

Still, the show provides an intriguing glimpse of what some radically
minded people thought was worth doing in the name of art at a certain
moment in history and in places remote from the Western world's major
urban art centers.

Among the works on view are black-and-white photographs with typewritten
texts documenting absurdist performances by Jiri Kovanda of the Czech
Republic, which recall 1960's performances by American artists like Vito
Acconci and Adrian Piper. The caption for one picture, of Mr. Kovanda
apparently doing nothing in particular, explains that he was performing
actions scripted so that passers-by would not realize he was doing an
art performance. In another case he rides up an escalator while standing
backward and locking eyes with the person behind him.

Some art historical context might help at this point. Conceptualism is a
late development in a centuries-old debate about whether artists should
be seen as mere artisans or as intellectuals on a par with poets,
philosophers and scientists. Modernism advanced the debate by devaluing
craft and repositioning the artist as an innovator of ways of seeing and
thinking about art, the self, society and the world.

Meanwhile, from modern philosophy, the idea arose that reality is not
fixed but is shaped or constructed by the way people think, what they
believe and how they describe the world. This gave Conceptualism its
traction: if you could change the way people ordinarily think, you could
change the world.

And to do that, you needn't do much. Slight but purposeful deviations
from ordinary modes of thought or behavior, like those performed by Mr.
Kovanda, might conceivably alter whole cultural and social landscapes.
It is the art world's version of the butterfly effect.

One instance of this line of thought is Milenko Matanovic's "Collective
Fixing of the Point." In the gallery, Mr. Matanovic's work appears as a
small photograph of an antique statue on a tall column, with a little
circle inscribed just above the statue's head. A text invites people to
concentrate on an imaginary point above the statue in Slovenia, the
country where the artist lived; this is to be done from 11 a.m. to noon
on a certain date and thereby "inscribe the point into the memory of the
world." As the artists of the Fluxus movement had come to believe, going
from individual imagination to global reality might not be such a great
leap.

Another strategy was to focus on art world conventions. For his 1971
exhibition Goran Trbuljak of Croatia simply put up posters announcing,
"I do not wish to show anything new and original." In theory, at least,
Mr. Trbuljak's Bartlebyesque renunciation would cause viewers to reflect
critically and subversively on the arbitrary nature of the art system
and its connection to broader, equally arbitrary systems - academic,
economic, governmental and otherwise.

Sanja Ivekovic, a Croatian artist, confronted contemporary politics and
power directly in a 1979 performance called "Triangle," documented by
photographs and text. The prose explains that while President Tito of
Yugoslavia was going by in a motorcade outside Ms. Ivekovic's apartment,
she sat on her balcony reading, sipping whiskey and pretending to
masturbate in full view of a surveillance officer stationed in a
building across the street. The police quickly came to her door and
ordered her to stop. What, if any, further consequences followed we are
not told.

This is the big question raised by an exhibition of this sort. Unlike
paintings and sculptures, which are comparatively self-sufficient, the
kind of activities addressed here do not travel well without good
supplementary information.

Julius Koller, a Slovakian who invented something called the
anti-happening, organized a group of young artists into a Ping-Pong
club, founded an organization called U.F.O. (for "Universal
Futurological Operations") and continues to make an annual absurd
photographic self-portrait as a "U.F.O.-naut." He looks like an artist
worth getting to know better, and others may be also.

But without more information about the contexts that these artists
worked within and what influence, if any, their works had in the world,
one feels more baffled than informed. And the skeptic is allowed too
easily to conclude that it all might amount to not very much.

India, Croatia discuss trade, economic ties

New Delhi, Feb. 06 (PTI): To further enhance and diversify bilateral trade, India and Croatia have proposed agreements in the fields of biotechnology, tourism, health and medicine.

This was indicated at the just concluded seventh Indo-Croatian Joint Committee on Trade and Economics at Zagreb, Croatia, an official release said here today.

The Indian side was led by Special Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, and the Croatian side by State Secretary, Ministry of Economy, Vladimir Vrankovic, it said.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/00206161561.htm

NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS IN CROATIA

(AGI) - Rome, Italy, Feb 6th - Deputy Minister for Productive Activities in charge of foreign trade Adolfo Urso is due to meet with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and senior officials of the newly-appointed Croatian cabinet in Zagreb on Monday Feb 9th and Tuesday Feb 10th. After the election in November last year, the Croatian cabinet is led by an Hdz Party minority. Also attending the meeting will be Managing Director of Unicredito Bank, Alessandro Profumo, and chairman of Save Aeroporti of Venice, Enrico Marchi. On February 10th Mr. Urso and Croatian Secretary of State will take part in a meeting on industrial districts. The meeting will also be attended by leading trade union members of the three production sectors which will benefit from the 'Memorandum of Understanding' submitted by the Italian Ministry for Productive Activities to the Croatian government namely, Anci, representing Italian shoe manufacturers, Federlegno representing wooden furniture manufacturers and Smi representing textile and clothing industries. Representatives of Simest and Finest enterprises will attend the meeting joined by some of their Croatian share-holders. We are extremely satisfied with the improvement in bilateral economic relations with Croatia, Mr. Urso said. Italy has been the main commercial partner of Croatia since the year 2000. With regards to exports, Croatia is the second importer of Italian goods in South-Eastern Europe and the Balkans after Romania. Our direct investments in Croatia in the first 10 months of 2003 amount to nearly 20 million Euro. Italy has a leading role in the Croatian banking sector and in industrial gas distribution, Mr. Urso continued. Our enterprises are now aiming at creating new industrial districts specialising in the fashion and furniture sectors.
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061904 FEB 04

http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200402061904-1196-RT1-CRO-0-NF82&page=0&id=agionline-eng.italyonline

Sundov would rather play in CBA than ride bench in NBA
Feb. 5, 2004

By Michael Osipoff / Post-Tribune staff writer

Ask CBA players about their ultimate goal and most, if not all, will say to make it to the NBA.

Bruno Sundov, the Steelheads newly-signed 7-foot-2 center, has been there, done that. But he wants more, wants to do it on his terms. He wants to play in the NBA.

For five-plus seasons, Sundov has bounced around and landed on five NBA rosters, from the Mavericks to the Pacers to the Celtics to the Cavaliers to the Knicks. In that time, he essentially has played one full season: 81 games, averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds in 5.6 minutes.

To him, thats unacceptable.

With the NBA, I was just sick and tired of doing nothing, he said. Its fun, but if you dont play, its not fun. It was enough. I just want to play. This is a good situation. I need to get my game back, and help the team get wins.

He thought his game plateaued, has been accumulating rust. A native of Croatia, he considered offers to play overseas. He preferred the exposure of playing domestically.

Not that he would jump at the first NBA offer to come his way. As Steelheads coach Duane Ticknor said, He could still be in the NBA right now, but he wants to play. Most of the guys here are trying to get there; hes trying to become a factor. With five years (in the NBA), moneys not an issue. Its more playing time.

So, if it means playing the rest of the season with the Steelheads, then working over the summer and seeing what happens when next NBA season rolls around, so be it. He has opted to sacrifice in the short-term, hoping he will be rewarded in the longer-term.

If its just for practice, I wouldnt go (to the NBA), Sundov said. If its 10, 15 minutes in the rotation, Ill go. With my background, I can ask for that. You have to earn minutes, I know that. But I never got a chance to show what I can do.

Coaches decisions and injuries have combined to limit his chances.

Sundov, who turns 24 on Feb. 10, was selected by the Mavericks in the second round (35th overall) in the 1998 NBA Draft. At 19, he became the youngest player in Dallas history when he made his first appearance on April 21, 1999. This came after he didnt sign until March 29, and then spending until April 17 on the injured list. He spent time on the injured list in 1999-2000, and missed 52 games in 2000-01 with assorted ailments.

With the injuries behind him, the most games he has played in a single season is 26, with the Celtics last season. Most recently, he completed a 10-day contract with the Knicks, appearing in one game, after appearing in four with the Cavaliers early in the season.

He seemed pleased after Tuesdays practice, his first with the Steelheads.

The NBA doesnt practice like this banging, up and down, like a game situation, he said.

The pace is up a little bit. Its not what Im used to. But I can adjust quick. You have to adjust to all types.

From his experience, NBA practices focused more on tactics, game review, personnel review. Some teams had individual workouts with their players, but it wasnt the same as live competition.

Lets get the ball and lets go, Sundov said. I wanna help this team go all the way. You have to set high goals and shoot for them.

Like not just making it to the NBA, but contributing.

http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/sports/z1/02-05-04_z1_spor_02.html

'CroatianSensation' lands in Gary

Steelheads sign CBA's tallest player

Times Staff Report

PRO BASKETBALL

Coach Duane Ticknor added size and NBA experience to his front line Tuesday by signing 7-foot-2, 250-pound center Bruno Sundov, the tallest player in Steelheads history.

The five-year NBA veteran most recently played with the New York Knicks after beginning the 2003-04 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has also played with the Boston Celtics, the Pacers and the Dallas Mavericks.

"Bruno gives us added size and strength on the front line," Ticknor said. "In our playoff push, we will need to be strong on the boards and Bruno gives us that advantage."

Sundov takes the place of 6-foot-11 Leon Smith, who was released by the team.

A native of Croatia, Sundov was the youngest player in Mavericks' history when he made his NBA debut at age 19. He was Dallas' second-round pick (35th overall) in the 1998 draft.

Sundov helped Croatia's Junior National Team to a 3-0 record and first place in the 1998 International Junior Tournament and currently is the tallest player in the Continental Basketball Association this season.

Sundov also is the tallest player to ever wear a Steelheads' uniform. Lorenzo Coleman, at 7-1, played for the Steelies during the 2000-01 season.

Sundov will join his new team during today's practice at the Gary Genesis Center.

The third-place Steelheads (18-14) play three games in as many days this week. They are at Rockford on Thursday and Saturday nights with a Friday home game against the league-leading Dakota Wizards.

The Steelheads also placed forward Galen Young, their leading scorer, on the inactive reserve list so he could accept a lucrative offer to play in the Philippines.

Denmark backs Croatian membership in EU, NATO

05 February 2004

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller expressed Thursday his support for Croatia's membership in the European Union and NATO in the coming years, saying the country was "progressing very fast".

"It is (now) only a question of when Croatia is joining the EU and NATO. Denmark is doing what we can to help Croatia into the family as we are helping the Western Balkans with a new membership program," Moeller told reporters following talks with his Croatian counterpart Miomir Zuzul.

"It was a good discussion which has given me reason to believe that it will be possible for Croatia to catch up with all of us," Moeller said.

Croatia, a former Yugoslav republic bordering Slovenia and Hungary, hopes to start accession negotiations with the EU later this year and to join the Union by 2007. It also hopes to join NATO in 2006.

Moeller said it was important for the international community to support the Croatian bids, as there were "disturbing signs around the Balkans", an indirect reference to the rise of ultra-nationalists in former Yugoslavia.

Zuzul said meanwhile that more time was needed to stabilize the entire western Balkans.

"We do see that Croatia can play a role in the stabilization of the region," he said.

http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040205162603.h66ijzl4

Američki povjesničar tvrdi da su u srednjoj Bosni muslimani bili - agresori

Povijest naglavačke
Američki povjesničar tvrdi da su u srednjoj Bosni muslimani bili - agresori

"Ratna zbivanja u sredinjoj Bosni ispričana su 'naglavačke', jer se hrvatska vojska - ustvari - branila, dok su muslimanske snage bile agresori" - tvrdi povjesničar i umirovljeni časnik američke vojske Charles R. Shrader u nedavno objavljenoj knizi o hrvatsko-bonjačkom sukobu u Bosni i Hercegovini pod naslovom "The Muslim-Croat Civil War in Central Bosnia". "Prvi izvjetaji, uključujući i teorije koje su se koristile u Sudu za ratne zločine u Den Haagu, kao i propaganda koju je irila muslimanska vlast, utjecali su na formiranje sadanjih stajalita. Ona su se, međutim, temeljila na djelomičnim informacijama... Samo se pogledom unatrag moe sagledati sve činjenice zajedno - i na taj sam način i ja shvatio da je cijela priča ispričana naglavačke", kae Shrader. On smatra da će s vremenom biti preispitane neke od kazni izrečene pred Hakim tribunalom za ratne zločine. Glas Amerike

http://www.voanews.com/Croatian/article.cfm?objectID=9EA2372C-F708-4EBE-A112283FA4422186&title=Shrad ...

Rumsfeld scheduled to travel to Zagreb, Croatia on Sunday

Rumsfeld says he does not regret 'old Europe' remark

By ROBERT BURNS, AP MILITARY WRITER

MUNICH, Germany (AP) - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Friday he does not regret having referred to France and Germany as "old Europe," a comment in 2003 that many Europeans took as an insult. "I'm too old to have regrets," Rumsfeld said in an interview with several European journalists shortly before the start of a NATO defense ministers meeting. "No, I don't regret it."
Although his remark may add fuel to an old fire, Rumsfeld said he had not meant to denigrate traditional U.S. allies Germany and France. He said his intention had been to distinguish between "old NATO" with its membership of 19 countries and the "new NATO" that is adding seven more.

In Friday's NATO talks, Rumsfeld was expected to endorse a plan to expand NATO's troop presence in Afghanistan over the next few months and to repeat his suggestion that the alliance consider eventually taking over the entire military operation in Afghanistan. The ministers were expected to approve setting up five new civil-military reconstruction teams in Afghanistan this spring.

In the interview with the European journalists, Rumsfeld also blasted the Arab satellite TV network al-Jazeera.

"We are being hurt by al-Jazeera in the Arab world," he said. "There is no question about it. The quality of the journalism is outrageous - inexcusably biased - and there is nothing you can do about it except try to counteract it." He said it was turning Arabs against the United States.

"You could say it causes the loss of life," he added. "It's causing Iraqi people to be killed" by inflaming anti-American passions and encouraging attacks against Iraqis who assist the Americans, he added.

On Thursday, Rumsfeld said U.S. relations with Europe, which were badly strained by the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq, have returned to being "fairly normal."

Setting out Thursday on a three-nation European tour that started in Munich, Rumsfeld said that differences between allies are inevitable, and he dismissed suggestions that a major diplomatic effort will be required to mend fences.

On Saturday Rumsfeld planned to attend the yearly Munich Conference on Security Policy, which attracts officials, analysts and military leaders from around the globe.

Throughout NATO's 55-year history, he said, the trans-Atlantic relationship "has gone from little difficulties to things better, from little difficulties to things better - it's been a pattern over my entire adult lifetime."

"I would say the relationships right now are fairly normal."

Rumsfeld also said that although NATO may get more involved in Iraq at some point, "Its first task really is to do well (in) the Afghanistan task" of leading the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, the Afghan capital, and managing civil aid teams in several provinces.

Rumsfeld said he expected Iraq to be a major topic of discussion during his two days in Munich. On Sunday he is scheduled to travel to Zagreb, Croatia, followed by meetings in London on Monday.

When speaking at the Munich conference a year ago, Rumsfeld was critical of Europeans who favored giving United Nations inspectors more time to determine whether Iraq possessed chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. Delay, Rumsfeld said, "could well make war more likely, not less, because delaying preparations (for war) sends a signal of uncertainty instead of a signal of resolve."

Almost a month later, U.S. forces invaded, toppling Saddam Hussein's regime. So far, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq. The head of the U.S. search team, David Kay, told Congress last week that it appears that the administration's prewar claims were erroneous.

http://newsobserver.com/24hour/world/story/1141156p-7948232c.html