Jana Andreevska (1967) holds a BA and a MA in Composition from the Faculty of Music in Skopje, Macedonia. Her education also includes numerous workshops with renowned composers in the Netherlands, Poland, USA and Macedonia.

Since 1995 she has been teaching composition, polyphonic composition, musical forms and analysis at the Faculty of Music in Skopje.

She has received research fellowships and given lectures at the Arizona State University in Tempe (USA), Academy of Music in Ljubljana, Royal Academy of Music in London, Royal Conservatories in Liege and Mons), Yasar University in Izmir, University for Music and Perofrming Arts in Vienna, Jerusalem Academy of Music and others.

Her pieces have been performed and recorded by herself and many renowned soloists and ensembles in Macedonia and all over Europe and are available on CDs published by SOKOM, Dresdner Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik, Peer Music, Zefir Records.

About the piece

If I die… (Ako umram…) was commissioned by the Ohrid Summer Festival 2021, for an ensemble conducted by Pascal Gallois. It is dedicated to the composer’s former friend and collaborator, soprano Milena Arsovska. Based on Macedonian folk lyrics, from the Miladinovs’ Collection, it deals with the ever present topic of the inevitable death, and the trasformation of the matter and spirit into a new life.

In one part of this piece a paraphrase of the choral “Ich ruf zu dir” from J.S. Bach’s Choral Prelude BWV 639 is used.