We recently connected with Iva Ugrcic and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Iva thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew pretty early on that I will be living a life creative. My first contact with the flute occurred while I was returning from my ballet lesson when I was 7 years old (I attended ballet classes for eight years). While I was taking off my rigid ballet shoes in the classroom at the school of music where the classes were held, a young flute professor entered the room. It was the first time I heard those sounds that were so mesmerizing to me. My fascination with the sound and the beauty of this instrument was instantaneous ­­­­­—love at first sight. Those mere few minutes were enough to make me give up ballet lessons and start learning to play the flute. I cannot express the pleasure and thrill which I felt upon the first real contact with my instrument. That magic has continued all my life!

After completing my Bachelor degree at the University of Belgrade (Serbia), I moved to Paris (France) for my Masters degree. In 2014, I received a prestigious Paul Collins Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and I moved to Madison to pursue my doctoral program. I now I am here, living a healthy and productive life of a creative!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I enjoy unique and versatile career as a performer, teacher, entrepreneur, and music advocate. Since moving to the US, I Since moving to Madison, I have performed with many regional, national and international chamber groups and orchestras.

As an avid supporter of new music, I frequently collaborates with composers on the creation of new works to expand the flute repertoire. I am especially passionate about embracing diversity in my performances by elevating music featuring underrepresented perspectives and lived experiences, with a special focus on collaborating with women composers. This lead to a creation of LunART, Inc., a nonprofit organization with the mission of celebrating and promoting women’s creativity in the arts. In 2022 alone, under my leadership, LunART received the Silver Lining Award for her outstanding leadership and creative endeavors and the Programing Award from the National Alliance for Women in Music.

In addition to my position as the Founder and CEO/Artistic Director of LunART, I currently serve as the Artistic Director of the Rural Musicians Forum, am a member of the Career & Artistic Development Committee of the National Flute Association and serves as a Young Artists Program mentor, and I hold the position of Board Liaison & Strategy Manager role at Overture Center for the Arts. My latest

Lastly, I am in the process of launching a new coaching business focusing on financial and artistic development for musicians, Artistic Wealth Coach. My mission is simple: helping creatives achieve financial and career goals.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

As a young musician from the Ex-Yugoslav Republic of Serbia, I experienced many troubling situations that nearly stopped me from pursuing music. While poor political and economic situations were among the issues that ultimately led to my departure of Serbia, one of the most troubling problems I faced was gender inequality, mental and emotional abuse, and sexual harassment, issues that would follow me through my Master studies in France and Germany.
All this experience led me to focusing my doctoral study on unveiling and presenting life and compositional output of an extraordinary woman from Eastern Europe. The intent of my dissertation “Doina Rotaru – The Voice of Romania,” was to introduce this Romanian composer to the U.S., giving her music the recognition, it so richly deserves. The immensely positive responses I received validated my belief that there are many women artists who have much to say, but have not had the opportunity to share their voices with the world. This was the catalyst for the creation of LunART.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

A career path of a creative is not easy but it is fun, adventurous, challenging, and filled with emotions. No one is successful without without investing a lot of work, thought, and creativity in their work. The best thing you can do is come to events and bring your friends and family; buy artwork and hire musicians; and share their work with the world!

Contact Info:

• Website: ivaugrcic.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ivaugrcic/
• Facebook: facebook.com/iva.ugrcic
• Youtube: youtube.com/@IvaUgrcic
• LunART Website: lunartfestival.org

Image Credits
Azena Photography, Anya Kubilus Photography, Beth Skogen Photography