Over the course of three and a half decades, the Society has become synonymous with musical excellence. Having nurtured generations of young musicians, its mandolin orchestra Sanctus Domnius Today, it proudly bears the title of one of the best European mandolin orchestras. This is evidenced by numerous domestic and international awards, including the prestigious City of Split Award.

The concert will be opened by the younger mandolin orchestra Anđeli svirači under the direction of Ana Mlačić, testifying to the vitality and bright future of the Split mandolin scene. In the central part of the evening, alongside the home orchestra and the baton of Vladimir Lukas, prominent soloists will perform: the first Croatian graduated mandolinist Ivana Kenk Kalebić and the young forces Lucija Majić and Mate Košutnik.

The program celebrates the breadth of the mandolin repertoire – from complex arrangements of classics such as Shostakovich, through the virtuoso concertos of the Italian master Raffaele Calace, to the contemporary Latin American rhythms of Ivan Božičević and the timeless Vivaldi. Special emphasis is placed on the joint performance of both orchestras, which will conclude with a composition by the Society's founder, Marin Katunarić, to celebrate this great anniversary.

Join us in celebrating 35 years of togetherness, effort, and love for an instrument that is an inseparable part of the identity of the city of Split.

City Mandolin Society (GMD) Sanctus Domnio

It was founded on June 25, 1991 under the leadership of Marin Katunarić with the mission of cultural renewal of the younger generation in Split. Today, the Society includes two orchestras (younger and older), a mandolin and guitar school, and various chamber ensembles. The Society is the organizer of the festival Comesa's Mandolin in Komiža and an international seminar MOM in Sutivan under the direction of maestro Ugo Orlandi. A large number of musicians have performed works by numerous composers, from baroque to contemporary, Croatian and foreign, including premieres of Croatian works dedicated to his compositions.

City Mandolin Orchestra Sanctus Domnius

The representative and most awarded section of the Society. Since its foundation, the orchestra has been directed by Vladimir Lukas, while the concertmaster is Ivana Kenk Kalebić. The orchestra has performed throughout Europe (Italy, Vatican, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Montenegro, Macedonia) and has won numerous domestic and international awards and recognitions for its work. Since 2015, it has held the title of the best mandolin orchestra at the "Giacomo Sartori" competition in Italy. It has won the City of Split Award in the field of culture for 2006.

As an excellent and high-quality interpreter, he encouraged several Croatian composers to devote their efforts to composing for mandolin and mandolin orchestras, so compositions dedicated to him and which he had the honor of premiering became part of the orchestra's standard repertoire.

Junior Mandolin Orchestra Angel musicians

Founded in 1995 as an idea for a preparatory "younger" mandolin orchestra for the mandolin orchestra "Sanctus Domnio" which, together with the mandolin and guitar school, would prepare young generations of mandolinists and guitarists for the more technically demanding compositions performed by the "older" orchestra. Throughout its history, it has been led by Božo Labetić, Jadranka Krstulović, Tonka Juranović Matulić and Ivana Kenk Kalebić, and since 2021, Ana Mlačić has taken over the leadership, continuing the tradition of educating new generations of Split mandolinists.

The work and projects of the association are financed by the City of Split, Split Tourist Board, Split-Dalmatia County and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.