Berislav Šipuš
artistic director, conductor
Composer and conductor Berislav Šipuš (Zagreb, 1958) is leading Cantus Ensemble from the year 2001.
Šipuš studied art history and composition. He graduated in composition from Music Academy, under Stanko Horvat, in 1987 and continued further training under Gilbert Bosco in Udine, as well as under François Bernard Mâche and Iannis Xenakis at the UPIC in Paris. He attended conducting courses held by Vladimir Kranjčević, Željko Brkanović and Krešimir Šipuš in Zagreb, as well as Milan Horvat at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Graz.
He worked as an assistant-pianist at the Croatian National Theatre Ballet, and the Bermuda Civic Ballet, taught theory at the Elly Bašić Music School in Zagreb, and worked as a producer at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall. Šipuš was the managing director of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra (2001-2005). He was a producer of the Music Biennale Zagreb and its artistic director from 1997 until 2011. He lived in Milan, working at the Teatro alla Scala as a rehearsal coach, then orchestra conductor, for ballet productions, and pianist, rehearsal coach and conducting assistant in the opera. He is a full professor at the Zagreb Academy of Music.
He received a number prizes for his works, among which the Seven Secretaries of SKOJ Award and the Josip Štolcer Slavenski Award. In 2004 he was decorated Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France. In December 2011 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture and from April 2015 until January 2016 he was the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.