Metropolitanate Day & the Bishop's Patronal Name Day Celebration Saint Irenaeus of Lyon

The 6th annual Metropolitinate Day celebration is taking place in on the banks of the Yarra River right in the heart of Melbourne this year, continuing on the tradition which began in Adelaide. Melbourne is home to about 40,000 people of Serbian Origin. Representatives from all Australian states and New Zealand will attend the function.

According to the ancient custom of the Orthodox Church, each diocese celebrates as its own patron saint the one by which its bishop received his monastic name. Thus, in Australia and New Zealand, we celebrate Saint Irenaeus of Lyon as our Patron Saint.

The night will be enriched with the presence of important members of the Serbian community as well as distinguished guests from the wider Australian community.

Entertainment

Performers

Ursula Yovich

Ursula Yovich will be performing at the Annual Metropolitinate Day Special Event- to be held 5 September Zinc @ Federation Square.

Listed in 2013 as one of the Top 21 most iconic Women of the Australian Stage, Page and Screen by The Age, six time Helpmann nominee Ursula Yovich has become one of Australia's most loved and celebrated performers.

From Maningrida in far North Arnhem Land to Carnegie Hall in New York, Ursula has received glowing reviews for her many theatrical roles and was awarded a Helpmann Award in 2007 for her performance in Capricornia for Company B, Belvoir. She has also been nominated for her roles in Jerry Springer The Opera, Mother Courage and her Children for QTC, The Wizard of Oz for Windmill Theatre,Waltzing the Wilarra for Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company and Magpie Blues.

Magpie Blues premiered at the International Cabaret Festival in Adelaide in 2009 playing to packed houses at the Darwin Festival, The Dreaming Festival QLD, the Brisbane Cabaret Festival, the Garma Festival in Arnhem Land and as part of the 2010 Melbourne International Arts Festival.

As well as playing significant roles in the feature films Australia directed by Baz Luhrman, Ray Laurence's Jindabyne and Sarah Spillane's Around the Block, Ursula has appeared in the television series Redfern Now, the Gods of Wheat Street and The Code and has performed with every major theatre company in Australia.

On this occasion Ursula will perform a special repertoire in Serbian and English.

Anja & Zlatna

Anja & Zlatna is an ensemble that preserves the beauty of traditional melodies from the Balkans and beyond, enhancing them with the structural architecture of baroque. Aleksandra Anja Acker (Artistic Director and Voice) hails from Serbia, the other gifted musicians of the ensemble, Australia and New Zealand. Anja & Zlatna has a unique sound and their albums have been extremely well received at home and abroad. On this occasion the group performs moving and invigorating repertoire from Serbia.

Nina Djordjevich and Jonathan Kontrobarsky

Nina and Jonathan have been competing together for over three years now however, have both been in the Dancesport competition scene for over 15 years. With many State and National titles to their names their great success in Australia has led them to the world stage.

In 2009, Nina travelled to Finland to represent Australia at the World Championships in the Junior age group and most recently in 2014, Jonathan and Nina were selected to represent Australia at the World Championships in Italy.

Nina and Jonathan will dance to El Choclo by Angel G. Villoldo performed live by (Melbourne Players Quintet) directed by Darko Kolosov.

Darko Kolosov (Melbourne Players)

Founded by Darko and Meredith Kolosov nearly 20 years ago Melbourne Players are a versatile, professional String Ensemble drawing on the finest freelance musicians in Victoria and interstate. They perform a wide range of music and genres and have performed in various venues, from Hamer Hall, Arts Centre, Hunter Valley, for prestigious corporate and private events. Darko and Meredith were recently invited to perform at the opening of the United Nations Conference in Vienna.

They have performed with famous soloists such as Sir Cliff Richard, Luciano Pavarotti, Olivia Newton-John, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, James Morrison, Delta Goodrem, Kate Ceberano, Tommy Emmanuel to name a few. They have also been involved in many orchestral performances and recordings.

On this occasion The Melbourne Players will perform a repertoire prepared specially for this event.

Serbian Choral Society (Srpsko Pevačko Društvo)

The Serbian Choral Society is an independent Serbian community choir based in Melbourne. The group has members from many different cultural backgrounds and regularly performs a variety of Serbian music – sacred and secular compositions by Serbian composers, traditional and folk songs, but the repertoire is not confined only to Serbian music; it includes influences from other nations which shared the same geographic space in the Balkans, and beyond.

The Serbian Choral Society, masterfully conducted by Melbourne based Sanja Drljaca will perform a spiritual and uplifted repertoire which will include special tributes to the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC Battle at Gallipoli.

Art Show

We will showcase selected works from two talented Australian Artists, of Serbian origin. Melbourne based Mirjana Margetic and Biljana Klaric will present selected pieces from their recent work.

Mirjana Margetic - Visual Artist

Originally, from a town called Sabac, in Serbia, Mirjana Margetic migrated to Australia in 1992. While painting was set‐aside for many years, it was always in the back of her mind. In 2006, Mirjana began again to explore the full extent of her artistic potentials, returned back to study and in 2008 Mirjana graduated from the BA (Fine Arts), Ballarat University majoring in painting. Since then, Mirjana has been working as a professional artist, widely exhibiting and teaching.

The notions and transformations of identity are intrinsically linked to Mirjana's artwork through drawings, paintings, and mixed media. Her artwork also explores a rich variety of recycled materials and found objects through assembling found objects to create sculptures. Her latest exhibition, "On weaving", in February 2015, explored the women's domestic handcrafts, questioned the importance and meanings of the beautiful and powerful heritage narratives, merging the dualities of craft and abstraction, domestic and high art, the traditional and the contemporary. Artworks travelled to the source: doilies, handkerchiefs, rags and tablecloths; from knitting to tapestry and weaving; embodying domestic fabrics with a countless of the cultural connections and identities.

Mirjana will display selected works from the exhibition "On weaving".

Biljana Klaric- Visual Artist

Klara is a Serbian/Australian visual artist, filmmaker and digital producer with work spanning painting, video, data modelling and web.
 With a curiosity and thirst for knowledge her work embraces mathematics, science, nature and digital technologies. Her academic and artistic experiences are directed towards using fine art and digital media to envision knowledge. Klara graduated from Academy of Fine Arts – Painting in Serbia in 1999, has exhibitions extensively in solo and group exhibitions throughout Europe and in Australia. In 2003 she moved to Melbourne to obtain a Graduate ¬Certificate in Spatial Information Architecture and a Masters Degree in Creative Media. Klara's work has been recognized and awarded throughout Europe and in Australia.

Klara will display selected works from a recent series of her artwork called "Phneuma"; an ancient Greek work for breath or in a religious context is used to refer to Spirit or Soul. Klara these paintings as representing a cosmic battle of light and dark, life and death.

Source: Metropolitanate of Australia-New Zealand