Biography

Vanja Gjumar Nikolovski graduated with majors in conducting and composition from the Saints Cyril and Methods University of Skopje Faculty of Music, Macedonia. He gained and specialization in orchestral and symphonic conducting at the Rimski-Korsakov State Conservatory in 1995/96. He earned his Doctorate of Music Arts in Conducting from Arizona State University in 2018. Until the end of the 2020 he was working as a Yamaha Certified Instructor at East Valley Yamaha Music School. Recent Conductor/Music Director of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra, Chandler, Arizona. Maestro Nikolovski was principal conductor of the Macedonian Opera and Ballet, guest conductor with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Macedonian Radio Choir, and also conducted in cities as diverse as St. Petersburg, Belgrade, Zadar, Split (Croatia), as well as Portugal to USA - Washington DC, San Diego, Los Angeles, and his hometown of Phoenix, AZ. His compositions have won Macedonian national awards, with his symphonic "Kartchner Caverns Magic" winning first prize in the national contest in the Republic of Macedonia in 2014, also chamber "The Dance of the Gallstones" winning third prize, 2015 first prize for piece for choir and orchestra "Kliment" and his "Zigurati" which won the Panche Peshev prize in 2000. His works have been performed in several European countries including Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Turkey, Poland, Great Britain, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, and the United States of America; they have been featured annually on "Days of Macedonian Music", "Skopje Summer Music Festival", and "Ohrid Summer Music Festival".

Vanja and his family currently live in Arizona where he works as a Music Director & Conductor of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra.

Curriculum Vitae

Vanja Gjumar Nikolovski
Conductor & Composer

Education

DMA in Conducting
Arizona State University, United States | Spring 2018
Studied under professors William Reber and Brian DeMaris

Specialization in Conducting
Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, Russia | Summer 1997
Studied under professors Mikhail Kukushkin and Ilya Musin

Bachelor in Conducting
Faculty of Music in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Fall 1992
Studied under professor Fimco Muratovski

Bachelor in Composition
Faculty of Music in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Fall 1993
Studied under professor Vlastimir Nikolovski

Teaching and Work Experience

Skopje, Macedonia:

Principal Conductor of the Academic Choir “Mirce Acev” SkopjePerformances with the University Symphony Orchestra Performances with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor of the Macedonian Radio Choir Assistant Conductor of maestro Vancho Chavdarski, maestro Angel Shurev and maestro Alexander Lekovski within the Macedonian OperaPrincipal Conductor of the Macedonian Opera House

St. Petersburg, Russia: 

Assistant conductor of the Conservatory Symphony Orchestra under Mihail Kukushkin and Ilija Musin; involved in an active collaboration with maestros Yuri Temirkanov and Valery Gergiev

Phoenix, Arizona and Los Angeles, California:

Currently hold the position of the Music Director/Conductor of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra, Chandler, AZ; Regular guest conductor and clinician for the Junior Original Concert under the Yamaha Corporation of America Clinician 2016 – Present at the Arizona Piano Institute Yamaha Certified Instructor; working as a teacher 2001 – 2020 and conducting all major events at East Valley Yamaha Music School Assistant Conductor of the ASU Opera; conducted Hansel and Gretel (E. Humperdinck), The Marriage of Figaro (W. A. Mozart), Dido and Aeneas (H. Purcell), and Guadalupe (J. DeMars). Research Assistant of Conducting under William Reber and Brian DeMaris of the Arizona State University

Yamaha Education System Certification

Grade Examinations: 

Fundamental Grade 5 & 4
Piano Grade 5 & 4

International Performances as a Conductor

St. Petersburg, Russia 1996; Belgrade, Serbia 1997; Vienna, Austria 1998; Zadar, Croatia 2000; Split, Croatia 2000; Porto, Portugal 2001; Phoenix, Arizona 2002, 2003, 2004; San Diego, California 2005; Washington D.C. 2006; Los Angeles, California 2008, 2015, 2017; Macedonian Musical Youth Orchestra Macedonian Culture Center – Mandolin Orchestra; Macedonian National Guard Orchestra Macedonian Chamber Choir; “St. Zlata Meglenska”Living Word Bible Church – Mesa, Arizona;
Chandler Symphony Orchestra, Chandler, Arizona, 2018, 2019, 2020

International Festivals

Ohrid Summer Festival, Macedonia 2007; May Opera Evenings, Macedonia 2016

Compositional Highlights

“Requiem” for soloists, chorus and orchestra;
“Victim” Symphony;
“Zigurati” for symphony orchestra;
“Trio Sonata” for violin, viola and piano;
“Variations” for piano;
“Intima” for voice and piano;
“Nocturno and Scherzo” for violin (viola) and piano;
“Satiricum crebile” for violin and piano;
“Perverzum Mobile” for double-bass and piano;
“NusBarok Suita” for woodwind quintet;
“Iscon” for string orchestra;
“Piano Concerto” for piano and orchestra;
“Kartchner Caverns Magic” for symphony orchestra;
“Parody Rondo” for two flutes and piano;
“Kliment” for mixed choir and orchestra;
“Koljo…” for mixed choir;
”Macedance” for piano;

Performances as a Composer

Compositions performed annually at:

“Days of Macedonian Music”, Skopje, Macedonia;
“Skopje Summer Music Festival”, Macedonia;
“Ohrid Summer Music Festival”, Macedonia;
“Annual Meetings of the Yugoslavian Music Academies”
Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Prishtina, Opatija, Skopje, also Russia, Poland, Austria, France, England, USA…

Language Skills

Spoken fluently:

English, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian

Awards and Honors

“Zigurati” won the composition prize “Panche Peshev” in the Republic of Macedonia, 2000 From the National Contest in the Republic of Macedonia;
“Kartchner Caverns Magic”, a symphonic piece – first prize, 2014;
“Koljo…” for mixed choir – third prize, 2015;
“Kliment” for mixed choir and orchestra – first prize, 2016;
“From the Composer’s Opus” – CD produced from the Composers Association of Macedonia (SOCOM), 2017;
National award for composing an anthem for the first Macedonian newspaper “Nova Makedonija”, 2014;
Award in recognition of outstanding contribution as a teacher from Yamaha U.S. National Original Concert, 2017