Ivan Stefanović was born in Belgrade, former Yugoslavia, and began his violin studies at the age of five. At age 16, he came to the United States to continue his education at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with David Cerone, Victor Danchenko, David Updegraff and Kathleen Winkler. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1989 and an Artist Diploma in 1991, both with honors, from the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2003, the Cleveland Institute of Music awarded him an Alumni Achievement Award “in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the fields of Violin Orchestral and Chamber Music Performance.”
At the age of 21, Mr. Stefanović joined the second violin section of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under David Zinman, moving up to a third chair position a year later. In 2004, Yuri Temirkanov gave him the title of Assistant Principal Second Violin. He was promoted to Associate Principal Second Violin by Marin Alsop in 2012.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Mr. Stefanović has won many first prizes in local and national competitions in Yugoslavia. He has performed numerous times as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony and Baltimore Chamber Orchestras, as well as with the Symphony Orchestra of Radio and TV Belgrade, The Londontowne Symphony Orchestra, and the Columbia Orchestra. He has made live recordings for Radio and TV Belgrade, Radio Yugoslavia, and WCLV in Cleveland, in addition to giving numerous solo and chamber music recitals in Yugoslavia, Spain, and the United States. He has performed as a substitute in many American orchestras.
Some of the reviews of his performances include:
“The surprise star was Stefanovic…breathtaking agility”-Portland Press Herald (Maine) “Deftly virtuosic and musically compelling”-Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Golden tone and tender phrasing; considerable technical flair”; “particularly dynamic”- The Baltimore Sun
Mr. Stefanović is a member of the Clipper Mill String Quartet, baroque violinist in Pro Musica Rara, and former Principal Second Violin and Acting Concertmaster of Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. He is a co-founder and co-Artistic Director of “Chamber Music by Candlelight,” a series featuring BSO members. Mr Stefanović is on the faculty of the Preparatory Department of the Peabody Conservatory of Music and Baltimore School for the Arts, where he teaches violin, coaches chamber music, and conducts orchestra sectionals.
He has conducted master classes in the United States and Japan. At the invitations of their respective Music Directors, Ivan has served numerous times as Guest Concertmaster with Ft. Wayne Philharmonic , Symphony Orchestra Augusta (GA), Lubbock Symphony (TX), in addition to other ensembles. He has served on the faculty as a coach and a conductor at Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Utah Summer Music Festival and School, and Peabody Chamber Week. He has participated in numerous live PBS recordings as a member of the All Star Orchestra, formed with some of the best orchestral professionals in the United States.
Mr. Stefanović plays on a 2021 violin made by Ryan T. Fini of Baltimore, Maryland.
