The success of the Hastor Foundation scholarship holders is recognized and valued both within the national border and internationally. They remain noticed wherever they appear, either as individuals or as bearers of their profession. This time we present to you the story of Alek Isaković.

Alek was born in 1998 in Sarajevo. He is currently a student of the second cycle of studies at the Music Academy of the University of Sarajevo at the Department of Conducting. He ended the first cycle of studies at said department with the highest grade, thanks to which he won the Golden Badge of the University of Sarajevo, as one of the best first cycle students.

In addition to his regular student obligations, he has been performing the function of a student demonstrator at the Department of Conducting since October 2019. As a conductor, he performed with the Sarajevo Philharmonic, the Choir and Orchestra of the Music Academy in Sarajevo, the Sarajevo Chamber Youth Orchestra and the Mixed Choir “Camerata Slovenica”, of which he is also the artistic director and conductor since March 2019.

During his education, he participated in competitions for music students in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he won six awards, as well as in numerous projects, such as the opera “Hasanaginica”, participating in the Days of Bosnian and Herzegovinian culture in Austria (Wels) and the Days of BH culture in Turkey (Istanbul). Alek participated in the Bihać Summer Festival, New Year’s concerts sponsored by the City of Sarajevo (2017-2019), the opening ceremony of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), as well as the reopening of Sarajevo City Hall in 2014. He has participated in many seminars and conferences. He was an organizer and a lecturer at the first international seminar for Slovenian choirs and leaders of Slovenian choirs. Alek is also engaged in research and writing in the field of conducting analysis and musicology. The first results of this research were published in the student magazine “Modus Musicus” and the second part should be published in the next issue.

About how he won a gold medal together with his choir, Alek says:

As the conductor of MePZ “Camerata Slovenica”, I received an invitation to participate in the Organizing Committee of the 20th Choir Festival “May Music Festival” in Bijeljina. Since large gatherings were not allowed, the choir competition, where there are many choirs in one place, could not be held live as in previous years. For these reasons, the applications were sent in the form of recordings made in the period from last year to the current year, which corresponds to the appropriate propositions for a certain category. The expert jury selected our choir to win the gold medal with 92 points in the category Chamber Mixed Choirs. Our choir won a gold medal in the same category at last year’s edition of the Festival as well.

But the pandemic has not stopped our conductor from crossing borders. He came across open applications for the International Conducting Competition “Lányi”. It involved two stages, lasting a total of two months. In the first stage, almost 300 conductors were registered, and Alek was in the finals.

As for plans for the future, Alek continues his education at the Academy of Music in the third cycle of studies. He plans to dedicate himself more intensively to scientific research work, but also to gain experience through student exchange programs within the Erasmus program. We hope that Alek will enrich the world scene with his talents and work, which he performs at various competitions.

The Hastor Foundation is a great support for Alek:

It’s nice to know that you’re part of a family that will stand behind you and stand up for you in every way. Since I have been a part of the Foundation, I no longer believe in stories that our society does not celebrate success and that one should not express their success publically. On the contrary, one should try to get out of one’s comfort zone as much as possible and proudly point out one’s success, but only if it is acquired through honest and hard work and effort.

Of course, the goal of every foundation is to acquire better and more successful scholarship holders, but the difference between our Hastor Foundation and others is that our Foundation encourages success for our own sake, not for their promotion. First of all, it encourages us to be better people, moral and honest, and then active members of our social communities and to acquire as much knowledge and experience as possible in order to be the best experts in our professions. That is why I thank the Foundation from the bottom of my heart, it is really a great honor, but also a responsibility to be a part of this family and attempt to represent its every action in the best light, just as it is.

Fatima Gazić