Danica Koren comes from the Neuvirt music family. She attended primary and secondary music
school in Maribor, in the class of prof. Mira and Mirko Petrača. After graduating, she continued her
education at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, in the class of prof. Ciril Veronek and Slavko Zimšek,
where she also graduated. During her studies, she was regularly employed as a member of the SNG
Maribor Opera Orchestra, as the substitute concertmaster. During this time she also collaborated
with orchestras: Chamber String Orchestra SNG Maribor, Maribor Philharmonics, string orchestra of
the Maribor Society of Music Artists, string orchestra Amadeus, salon orchestra Musica Camerata,
Toti Big Band Maribor (with whom she recorded the CD) and quartet Epidaurus. She perfecting her
knowledge at seminars with well-known professors such as Pavel Vernikov, Gregory Szhislin, Igor
Ozim, Helfried Fister, Dominika Falger and Primož Novšak. She began to pass on her rich concert
experience to younger people and taught at various music schools: Slovenska Bistrica, Maribor,
Melodija Muta, Anton Martin Slomšek Institute, Fran Korun Koželjski Velenje.

In 2002, she was regularly employed at the Fran Korun Koželjski Music School in Velenje, where she
still works as a professor of violin and chamber music. She is above average when working with
students or other participants in education. 24 violinists have already graduated from her class, 7 of
whom have already successfully completed their academic studies – they are employed as members
of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and professors at music schools. Her students perform a lot

at school and extracurricular events and performances, and are active in various projects (All-
Slovenian Orchestra of the Association of Slovenian Music Schools on the 200th anniversary of public

music education, Young European Symphony Orchestra connected in music, touring in Valjevo, Lent
Festival in Maribor, Slovenian Philharmonic on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Velenje
Music School). As a pedagogue and mentor, she participated in numerous domestic and international
competitions such as TEMSIG (slovenian national competition for young musicians), Genova,
Dubrovnik, Trieste (where she received a special award for student achievement), Zagreb, London,
Stockholm, Paris, Belgrade, Canada, Verona, where pupils and students under her mentorship
received the highest awards and prizes – 150 of them. She also conducted the string orchestra of the
Velenje Music School, with which she regularly participated in the revues of school string orchestras.
She participated with the orchestra in the project Ipavec’s Days in Šentjur, and on this occasion the
orchestra under her leadership also recorded a CD with Ipavec’s Serenade for strings. In the year
2019, she has recieved the Fran Gerbič award for exeptional work in the field of music education
from the Union of Slovenian Music Schools.

Danica Koren is a member of various professional music competitions juries. Since 2003, she has
been participating in the matura exams as an external assessor. She has compiled propositions for
TEMSIG chamber groups and has been a member or chair of the jury on several occasions. She is
active in study groups and a member of ESTE (European string teachers association). In 2006, she was
awarded the title of councelor by the Slovenian Ministry of Education and Sport, as she is an

excellent pedagogue, mentor, performer, organizer and conductor. At the international competition
Ars nova in Trieste, she received three special awards for successful professor (diploma d’onore).

She also dedicates herself to leading professional masterclasses. For fourteen years in a row, she has
been organizing and leading her Summer Music School for violin, chamber music and orchestra in
Zaton near Zadar, which is of an international character, as it is attended by Slovenian and Croatian
musicians. In the last masterclass, she introduced a musical kindergarten, with which the local
children had a contact with music, thus bringing classical music closer to local population. Among the
most resounding achievements and successes of this summer school are concerts in the Cathedral of
St. Donat (Zadar), where, among other things, renowned international music festivals take place.

In addition to pedagogical work, she is actively involved as a performer, both in orchestras and
chamber ensembles. She works part-time with SNG Maribor (she toured with them in Japan in 2009),
orchestra of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra on tour in Germany, with the Maribor
Philharmonics, with the project orchestra in the Cathedral Parish of Maribor, regularly plays in the
Musica Camerata Orchestra, the Association of Orchestral Artists, which organizes New Year’s
concerts and summer concerts in Rogaška Slatina, and the Epidaurus Quartet.