About this user
The ethno choir Marinika was founded at the end of 2008 in Negotin with the aim of preserving traditional Vlach songs from oblivion. They typically come from the Negotin region; the Marinika choir sings two- and three-voice a cappella arrangements of these songs, written by the conductor and founder of the group, the music teacher Danijela Marković Stojkić.
Since its founding, this choir has performed at various events and festivals in the country and abroad, on state and local television, and had its own concerts in Negotin, Bor, and the archaeological site Romulijana near Zajecar. Under the auspices of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Timok Diocese and His Grace Bishop Justin, the choir recorded a CD in Belgrade as a way to begin the preservation of the original Vlach songs. Traditionally, these songs are sung in unison, with or without instrumental accompaniment; their arrangement in multiple voices is unusual. However, it seems that this way of performing them is the best way to save these traditional songs from being forgotten —old wine kept in new bottles.
The members of the choir are the conductor, Danijela Marković Stojkić, with Danijela Jaćimović, Katarina Andjelović, Milena Živković, Kristina Marjanović, Marija Gajović, Marijana Fasuljević, Sanela Cokić and Magdalena Antić.
Danijela Markovic Stojkić graduated from the high school gymnasium in Negotin and went on to study piano at the Dr.Hochs Conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany, and worked in Germany as a piano teacher in a music school after graduation. In 1998, she participated in the founding of the choir St. Vasilije Ostroski at the Serbian Orthodox Church in Frankfurt, which she conducted until her return to Negotin in 2002. Since then, she has been working as a teacher in the Negotin high school, and most recently as the conductor of the choir Marinika from Negotin.
