VaClaF: Our Story
The first classical music concert, Children of Vareš play for Vareš, was held in 2009 in the beautiful old church of St. Michael in Vareš [Varesch], an old mining town under the mountain Zvijezda (Star) in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After tremendous success, it became our traditional annual “Miholjski Concert.”
In 2013, on its fifth anniversary, VaClaF: Vareš Classic Festival was launched with great enthusiasm by violinist/violist/conductor Andrea Nikolić, its general and artistic director, with the support of Petar Jelić as co-founder. The “Miholjski concert” transitioned into its final, most celebratory concert.
Since then, VaClaF has grown exponentially, becoming a festival of international significance for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and earning global recognition.
It has collaborated with some of the most prestigious cultural institutions from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, The Netherlands, France, Germany, China, the EU, and many more, making its audience a part of a proud global community.
Connecting fantastic artists from all around the world and people of diverse backgrounds through the universal language of music, VaClaF has become an interdisciplinary, socially engaging artistic movement.
It curates musical programmes and broadens them to theatre, literature, and visual arts in a fresh and contemporary context. Its mission is to bring the highest quality music and art to the broadest possible audience, achieved through collaborations with top-class artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and worldwide, promising an exciting and enriching experience unlike any other.
In the unique environment of Vareš’s beautiful locations, such as the historic Old Church—the oldest in BH—the new St. Mihovil Church, the Mill, Radnički dom (Workers Home) - Center for Culture and Education Vareš, churches, outdoor and unusual remote locations in Borovica, Vijaka, and old blacksmith workshops in Oćevija, VaClaF offers highest quality of art surrounded by nature. It offers its content almost completely free of charge and is designed to be accessible to all, ensuring everyone feels welcome.
VaClaF has presented over 60 original concepts and programs throughout the Vareš region, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and abroad. Vareš has hosted hundreds of artists of all generations from Bosnia and Herzegovina and worldwide, significantly impacting the local and international art scene.
In 2023, to mark the beginning of the second decade, VaClaF has developed a new concept:
Festival—Academy—Residencies—On Tour.
This concept emphasizes the importance of local development and cultural offerings, the education of new generations, the creation of original works of art, cultural heritage, and schools of thought, and the presentation of selected “the best of” programmes throughout BiH and abroad. It is a continuation of the original idea since the festival's inception, which has been growing over the years, and the theme of the edition, “Back to the Roots,” presented our ethos in the best possible way.
2023 also brought a new and highly synergetic partnership with the renowned Austrian composer, pianist, and curator Belma Bešlić-Gál, VaClaF Composer in Residence 2023.
Thus, the series of resident artists continued: composers, performers, writers, architects, and visual artists who, over the past decade, have created in and for VaClaF.
This has provided a special impetus for boldly stepping into the festival’s second decade.
“Dreams to Come True” 2024
In collaboration with the 5th edition of the Vienna-based new music festival WISE Rebel! CRO-ArT Festival in Austria and the 1st edition of the artist residency “Stardust Trails” in Mijakovići, Bosnia and Herzegovina, we created a special festival edition under the shared theme “Dreams to Come True”, featuring more than 25 diverse events over the course of five months, across Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Vienna, Austria.
The program began in Vienna from May 17 to June 18, continued at various locations across the Municipality of Vareš and throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina from July 3 to October 3, and concludes in Vienna with “Echoes of Vareš” on October 17.
You can find the detailed program [here].
In 2024, the Zvjezdane staze artist residency program, in partnership with VaClaF: Vareš Classic Festival – run by the Association of Friends of Music Emil Milo Cipra Vareš as the legal project holder – and in collaboration with Kammermusikverein WISE and sp ce – a non-profit organization for art and transdisciplinarity – reached a historic milestone by receiving prestigious support from the EU mobility program Culture Moves Europe, as part of the second call for residency hosts 2023/2024. This marks the first time that an artist residency project from Bosnia and Herzegovina has been awarded funding under the Culture Moves Europe program, implemented by the Goethe-Institut, further highlighting the significance and unique role of this project in the cultural sector.
Zvjezdane staze, is an independent and non-profit initiative founded by Belma Bešlić-Gal in 2019. It is located in the mountainous landscape of central Bosnia and Herzegovina, in one of the country’s most beautiful villages: Mijakovići – Vareš. Its long-term mission is to bring together internationally recognized professionals and emerging artists near the historic site of Bobovac – the former royal seat of the Bosnian Kotromanić dynasty – to collaboratively create new artistic works, some of which are also featured in the VaClaF festival program.
“Music Building Bridges” 2025
In collaboration with the 6th edition of the Vienna-based new music festival WISE Rebel! CRO-ArT Festival, we continue our international festival journey with the 13th edition of VaClaF.
In a world that now more than ever longs for unity, peace, and understanding – it is music that builds bridges.
The program is framed by concerts in Vienna (May 27–June 25 and October 21, “Echoes of Vareš”), while from August 20 to October 16, through a variety of events at yet unexplored locations in Vareš and across Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are creating yet another special edition of VaClaF:
Music Building Bridges: Festival – Academy – Residencies – On Tour!
You can find the detailed VaClaF 2025 program [here].
