Ana Erčulj

Last year alone, Ana Erčulj conducted the Athens State Orchestra, the orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic and worked with the Grammy Award-winning Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. She also led the Choir of the Slovenian Philharmonic in five concerts dedicated to the 70th anniversary of composer Aldo Kumar’s career.

Ana is also the founder and artistic director of the vocal group Gallina, conductor of the vocal instrumental ensemble Musica Emonica and currently the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra “Vladimir Lovec” and Gorizia chamber choir. Specialising in vocal-instrumental music, her passion lies in blending instruments and vocals across opera, musicals, vocal instrumental works and concert repertoires. Beyond classical masterpieces, she is committed to promoting contemporary music, especially Slovenian compositions, acting as an ambassador of Slovenian music and culture on international stages.

In 2022, Ana completed her studies in orchestral conducting at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under the mentorship of Prof. Marko Letonja and Prof. Simon Dvoršak, performing the overture to the opera The Magician (CM von Weber) and Pulcinella (I. Stravinsky) with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. Earlier, she graduated in in Choral Conducting under prof. Sebastjan Vrhovnik at the Academy of Music Ljubljana (2017) and Musicology and Sociology of Culture from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana (2013). Ana also broadened her studies internationally at the University of Utrecht and the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, under the guidance of Prof. Johannes Prinz.

Ana has also conducted renowned orchestras, Cameristi della Scala, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Northern College of Music, Orchestra Padova e Veneto, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, RTV Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi.

Ana has worked extensively with Slovensko Komorno Glasbeno Gledališče and SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, premiering the opera Španska vas by Nana Forte and Jure Ivanušič and conducting the first performance of Rok Golob’s opera The Sound. Ana has served as assistant conductor for operas such as Ksenija and Carmina Burana at the same institution. Additionally, she has contributed as repetiteur and conductor of musicals at the City Theatre of Ljubljana and SNG Drama, with works including The Addams Family, Rent, Fiddler on the Roof, Turandot, and Orlando.

Ana has participated in numerous masterclasses worldwide with distinguished mentors like Risto Joost, Loukas Karytinos, Oleg Caetani, Uroš Lajovic, Martina Batič, Gary Graden and Ragnar Rasmussen and has collaborated with renowned vocal groups such as Singer Pur and Rajaton. Her artistic collaborations extend to composers Aldo Kumar, Andrea Basevi Gambarana, Nana Forte, Andrej Makor, Ambrož Čopi and others. She has also worked with musicians including Alexander Gadjiev, Laibach, Sara Briški Cirman (Raiven), Maja Horvat and Neža Torkar, as well as theatre directors like Stanislav Moša, Dragan Živadinov, Aleksander Popovski, Barbara Hieng Samobor and Eva Hribernik