IN THE PRESS
BRAVA Magazine
Iva Ugrcic named "Women to Watch 2022"
January 2022
Iva Ugrcic: Music That Matters
The first time that Iva Ugrcic heard the flute, her world changed. Growing up in war-torn Serbia, she says the airy, delicate sounds of the instrument “transported her to another universe.” Now, Ugrcic is using her passion for music and her experiences in the field to be an advocate for other female musicians and creatives.
By Mason Braasch | Photography by Hillary Schave
SPECTRUM NEWS 1
Nine-Year-Old Inspires Art Show Highlighting Young Girls’ Work
March 2021
It started in 2020 when nine-year-old Natalie Pauls asked her mom for a favor. She asked for the address of her mom’s friend and colleague, Iva Ugrcic. Ugrcic is the founder of LunARTS, a festival focused on women artists.
By Savanna Tomei
WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
Watch now: How a letter from a 9-year-old inspired an art show
March 2021
LunART founder and CEO Iva Ugrcic has set up plenty of virtual events this past year. But when she got a letter proposing a special art exhibition online, she knew she had to set up one more.
By Gayle Worland
TONE MADISON
Still sweating with Iva Ugrčić and Satoko Hayami
February 2021
The flutist and pianist will perform an adventurous classical program on February 21 through the online Wisconsin Sound Series.
By Emili Earhart
Two adventurous concert musicians, flutist Dr. Iva Ugrčić and pianist Satoko Hayami, will team up on February 21 for the second installation of the Wisconsin Union Theater's live-streamed Wisconsin Sound Series.
The Badger Herald
2020 LunART Festival focuses on COVID-19, civil rights while empowering feminine experience
October 2020
Women-focused arts festival takes 2020 season online!
Like countless other events canceled this year due to the coronavirus, Madison-based art festival LunART has moved its proceedings online... LunART was the brainchild of Ugrcic ever since her childhood in Serbia, where she was faced with a number of challenges involving gender inequity in her struggle to become a professional musician.
Madison Magazine
Virtual LunART Festival 2020 celebrates Black women artists Oct 10 & 17 at 7 PM CT
October 2020
“LunART has always advocated for radical inclusivity and diversity in our efforts working toward gender equality in the arts,” says LunART founder and organizer Iva Urgcic. “However, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement we felt it was important to acknowledge that Black women have been doubly marginalized in many artistic spaces.”
By Sam Jones
Music in Africa: Call for scores 2020 LunART Festival in the US
Launched in 2018, the festival seeks to support, inspire, promote and celebrate women in the arts through public performances, exhibitions, workshops and interdisciplinary collaboration thus creating space for learning and experimentation.
“We welcome participation by people who self-identify as women, cultivating a positive experience for artists and audiences alike,” LunART Festival said.
PANCEVAC
Slobodan Let Talentovane Pancevke (Interview in Serbian)
By Mirjana Maric
August 2019
Madison Magazine
Collaborative art exhibit aims to unite women against hate
June 2019
The opening reception for “Women Against Hate, United by Love” on June 5 kicked off the 2019 LunART Festival, a celebration of women in the arts featuring galleries, concerts, recitals, poetry readings and master classes around Madison.
An art exhibit aimed at uniting women against bigotry, intolerance and racism is now in Madison but intended to travel throughout Wisconsin, gaining collaborators along the way.
By Claire VanValkenburg
Channel 3000
LunART Festival supports women through art
June 2019
Artists from across the country came to the Overture Center of the Arts to show off their artwork at the second annual LunART Festival.
“Our mission is to support, promote and celebrate women’s creativity in the arts,” Ugrcic said. “So we’re trying to create a platform when women artists will come, share their voices and collaborate.”
By Emilie Burditt
Iva Ugrcic wins the C.R.E.A.T.E. Project Competition at the 46th Annual Flute Association Convention in Orlando, FL
August 2018
"Over the moon for winning the 1st prize at the The National Flute AssociationC.R.E.A.T.E. Competition with my baby project LunART Festival"
The biennial C.R.E.A.T.E. Project is designed to reward new thinking and viable, innovative ideas. The new title, Creating Resources through Engagement, Artistry, Teamwork, and Entrepreneurship, encourages flutists to take concrete steps toward giving their ideas life.
The Well-Tempered Ear
LunART Festival Inaugural Season
June 2018
"he timing couldn’t be better or more relevant, given the rise of the #MeToo movement and the increased attention being paid to the role of women in the creative and performing arts.”
By Jacob Stockinger
Iva's LunART Festival in the final of the 2018 C.R.E.A.T.E. Project Competition!
"I am thrilled to announce that my baby project LunART Festival is in the final for the C.R.E.A.T.E. Project Competition which will take place during the 2018 The National Flute Association Convention in Orlando, Florida, August 8-12!
This is the first time I will be doing the “Shark Tank” style business pitch!"
Visit NFA for more info!
Winona Daily News, Music
Iva Ugrcic, flute solo recital
April 2018
Old Main concert Saturday, April 14 to celebrate women in the arts!
Concert featuring flutist Ivana Ugrčić of Serbia and pianist Satako Hayami of Japan that will celebrate women in the arts!
Visit Winona Daily News for more info.
Evanescence in Orpheum Theater
December 2017
Evanescence brought a unique and complex orchestral and electronica experience to Madison’s Orptheum Theatre on Wednesday evening in support of the band’s fourth studio album Synthesis. The instrumental ensemble, comprised of local natives, performing all of the various instrument families including bowed string instruments such as violin, viola, cello and double bass, as well as brass, woodwinds and percussion instruments typically devoted to the classical repertoire.
Iva Ugrčić performs with the
Black Marigold Wind Quintet
September 2017
"The program was fantastic, skillfully mixing the traditional with the modern...Balance was superb among the five musicians, shining when soloing and supporting when their part called for it."
The Quintet Black Marigold performed Friday evening at the Art and Literature Laboratory. Thank you Dr. Melanie Cain for a wonderful Review!
Sunday Afternoon Live with Buzz Kemper
September 2017
Listen to my interview with Buzz Kemper, fantastic audio engineer, host at Sunday Afternoon Live with Buzz Kemper, and man responsible for my upcoming CD sounding so awesome! We talk about my doctoral project that is entirely dedicated to the woman I highly respect and love, Romanian contemporary composer Doina Rotaru. I immediately fell in love with her music and I am sure it will happen that same to you after hearing her fascinating flute quartet Il pianto del ghiaccio.
ARTS SCENE MAGAZINE
LunART Shines a Light on women in the arts
March 2021
Read an interview with Dr. Ugrcic published by Footlights for the article in the March issue "She Made This." Iva talks about her career, love for music and art, the beginning of LunART, and its meaningful work over the past three years highlighting two women artists Kelly Parks Snider and Fabu Phillis Carter and their involvement with LunART.
By Shari Gasper
Read an interview with Dr. Ugrcic published by The Little Book Project WI. Iva talks about the challenges she encountered as a female classical musician, current professional goals, and how replenishes her "creative bucket."
By Rachel Werner
MADISON MAGAZINE
Youth Art Celebration highlights art created by young women
March 2021
When 9-year-old Natalie Pauls reached out to LunART with a full-blown, multifaceted plan for a youth arts exhibit, LunART founder and CEO Iva Ugrcic knew she had to make it happen. LunART focuses on empowering women-identifying artists, and Ugrcic had been wanting to implement a youth program for some time.
By Sam Jones
WORT 89.9 FM
Staying Artful w/ KT Howard
Going Virtual With The LunART Festival!
The LunART Festival is a celebration of women in the arts. After going digital in 2020, features contributor KT Howard caught up with organizer Iva Ugrcic about the experience.
The Flute View
Virtual LunART Festival 2020
October 2020
LunART Festival is back for its third season, continuing its mission to support, inspire, promote and celebrate women in the arts, with a special presentation, “Human Family,” available via two free video livestreams on LunART’s website and Facebook page on Saturday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. CT. The LunART Festival is the brainchild of Serbian Flutist, Iva Urgcic.
WORT 89.9 FM
8 O'Clock Buzz w/ Damita Brown
It’s an arts takeover on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz!
Host Damita Brown talks with prestigious Serbian flutist and UW-Madison Alumna Iva Urgčić about her upcoming LunART Festival celebrating Black women in the arts October 10th and 17th, 2020.
Back Porch Serenade
WORT 89.9 FM
March 2020
On March 3rd Dr. Ugrčič and Mineral Point-based soprano Leslie Damaso shared news with WORT’s Back Porch Serenade about an upcoming preview concert that will take place on March 8th at Damaso’s Button Hill Studio in celebration of International Women’s Day. In addition to fine music by women, the event will feature poetry readings, art by local artists, and hand-crafted chocolates. Because of the festival’s popularity, Dr. Ugrčič is looking to expand from a week in June to a more extended series of concerts in the future.
With Peter Heney
UW- Madison Alumni Profiles
Learn more about Iva's current work and projects she is passionate about
UW-Madison Alumni Profiles Project featuring Dr. Iva Ugrcic
Iva Ugrčić (DMA '17) founded the LunART Festival to celebrate women's creativity in the arts. Directing a successful festival - now in its third season - propelled Ugrčić's career in arts administration.
FLUTE QUATERLY
WINNER of the biennial C.R.E.A.T.E. competition for entrepreneurial flutists, Dr. Iva Ugrcic
Flute Quarterly, Spring 2019 - Volume 44, No. 3National Flute Association
The Cap Times
LunART Festival carves out space for women in the arts
June 2019
The flutist Iva Ugrčić said that she’s long picked up on how women get unequal treatment in the arts. She said it felt particularly acutely when she lived in Serbia, her home country, and later in Paris, France, where she constantly felt labels thrust upon her... After arriving in Madison to pursue her doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014, she said she felt empowered to do something about those inequalities: In 2018, she launched the LunART Festival, an event that celebrates and shines a light on women in the arts.
By Erik Lorenzsonn
The Well-Tempered Ear
The Middleton Community Orchestra and solo flutist Iva Ugrcic turn in polished performances of a fun program to kick off the new season
October 2018
"The soloist was the Serbian-born flutist Iva Ugrcic, an absolute whiz of a player ... She played with super-precision and confidence, giving her instrument great personality."
By John W. Barker
The Well-Tempered Ear
Flutist and Activist Iva Ugrcic is
"Musician of the Year 2018"
December, 2018
"As both a performer and entrepreneur, Ugrcic is always very busy broadening her varied career. Being both a player and an activist, she is making a difference, musically and socially, that deserves to be recognized and supported."
By Jacob Stockinger
The founder of LunART Festival opens up about her mission!
"In the musical arena, works by female composers are still rarely performed. During the 2016-17 symphony concert season, just 1.3 percent of the music performed by 85 orchestras across the United States was composed by women, according to Baltimore Symphony Orchestra data. Only 29 percent of instrumental soloists in the same timeframe were female, and a scant 8.8 percent of conductors.
Now Ugrćič, who graduated in 2017... wants to “create a platform for women to come and fully express themselves.”
By Holly Henschen
The Woman With The Unfathomable Eyes
Gala Concert - June 28, 2018
A Narrative Review by Colin Kohrs
"Ugrčić wrote her dissertation on Rotaru, and said that Rotaru's work is so unknown here in the states that this would be an American premiere.
And boy was it a treat.
This piece is for bass flute, piccolo... and is played alongside an audio track... the audio track was fascinating, coordinating, and not the least bit distracting
Ugrčić's performance was amazing as ever, and this is a piece that you definitely have to hear for yourself."
LunART Awarded Second Place at the Arts Business Competition!
April 2018
I am thrilled to announce that our team won 2nd place at the University of Wisconsin 2018 Arts Business Competition!
A big THANK YOU to Satoko Hayami and Dr. Kyle D. Johnson, for their tremendous help and tireless work during the preparation for the finals! Only 50 day until LunART's inaugural season, don't miss it out! Visit lunartfestival.org for more info
Wisconsin State Journal
LunART Festival Shines Lights on female composers!
June 2018
"Iva Ugrcic moved to the United States because, as a musician, she was frustrated with gender inequality on her home continent.
Now she’s launching a three-day festival that will try to move the scales in the direction of equality — by celebrating literature, visual art, dance and music of many genres, all created by women."
By Gayle Worland
ISTHMUS
Winning at new music!
January 2018
Madison ensemble scores national acclaim
Asked for comment, chief judge David Katz shares notes from Sound Out Loud’s evaluation:
“Exceptionally skilled performances of important contemporary and near-contemporary repertoire in a variety of styles, displaying passion in their process. A better example of a chamber ensemble committed to its mission could hardly be imagined.”
