The scholarship holders of the Hastor Foundation face many challenges on a daily basis, which are offering them the opportunity to express their own abilities and capabilities. Challenges arise in the form of faculty obligations, extracurricular activities, volunteer activities with younger scholars, as well as volunteer engagements in local communities. Often it is our scholarship holders who initiate changes by pushing their own boundaries and always taking a step further. The activities of our scholarship holders are best illustrated by their successes from various competitions. Below we are proud to present our scholarship holder Nejla Komar, a fourth-year student at the Music Academy in Sarajevo, and her well-deserved third place in the Samnium competition.
During the summer, our scholarship holder applied for an audition to participate in the Samnium Symphony Orchestra, which operates within the Samnium University of Vienna. This orchestra operates in one of the world’s most important centers of art music. Samnium International University of Music is an integral part of the International Orchestra Auditions Awards art and education program, and Samnium wants to prepare artists, without age restrictions, who come from all over the world, to become professional musicians.
Due to the overall situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s international competition was held online. A jury made up of experts and talented internationally renowned masters had the opportunity to select the best musicians from around the world to be part of the Samnium Orchestra, following a specific education program involving other universities and art / music associations around the world. An important part of the project is the opportunity to express artistic work through performances in the most important European theaters, including the Musikverein Theater in Vienna.
Our scholarship holder recognized her opportunity in this competition, which resulted in a high third place:
“I decided to audition and in early September I found out that I had passed the first round of the competition. But only after that came the real excitement and preparations for the final round. We were provided with material that we had to process and prepare ourselves and send to the commission within the given deadline. It was unusual and harder to do it all online rather than live, because the music lives on in the moment. Still, it was just one reminder of how we might have taken art for granted in living space and time at times. Although only the first and second place imply going to Vienna and collaborating with Samnium University and their orchestra, I am proud that in the first contact with such a significant competition, where there were over 60 participating countries, I managed to place third. It was an exciting experience and definitely a wind in the back for re-entering this and similar competitions in the future.”
So far, Nejla has had the opportunity to participate in many domestic and international concerts and projects, such as the opening of the renovated Sarajevo City Hall, Sarajevo Winter, book promotions, exhibitions, and has had the honor of organizing several humanitarian evening concerts in Mostar and Sarajevo. She is a scholarship holder of the Hastor Foundation for the third year, where she stands out with her constant readiness for work, creativity and resourcefulness in all the tasks that lie ahead of her:
„Ever since I became part of the Foundation, my life experiences have been built on a completely secure and solid foundations. When you know that someone is always behind you in the ways that the Foundation is, you have no fear of stepping in and taking risks, stepping out of your comfort zone and thus stringing together successes. We are all bound by a common ideology, moral principles and beliefs, work and discipline that build us and make us worthy and socially responsible members of our communities. I am grateful for the values they instilled in us, but also for every moment spent in the context of the Foundation – volunteer meetings, monthly meetings, and gatherings that arose from them. Being part of this family is truly a special responsibility and honor!“
