Trumpeter / Composer / Educator
Born in Belgrade in 1991, Ivan Radivojević is a Serbian trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and educator whose work bridges the lyricism of jazz tradition with the energy of contemporary sound.
He began his musical education at the “Stanković” Music School in Belgrade, where he studied both classical and jazz trumpet under Goran Grbić. He continued his studies at the Anton Bruckner University in Linz, Austria, with Peter Tuscher, earning his bachelor’s degree in jazz trumpet, and later obtained a master’s degree from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in the class of Stjepko Gut.
Since 2015, Radivojević has been a teacher at the jazz department of the “Stanković” Music School, where he teaches trumpet, small ensembles, and big band. He is an active performer on the Belgrade jazz scene, frequently collaborating with a wide range of ensembles and artists. Beyond jazz, he has been a longtime member of renowned pop and soul bands including Irie FM, Zemlja Gruva, and Maraquya.
In 2019, Radivojević represented Serbia as part of the Euroradio Jazz Orchestra, a pan-European big band organized by the European Broadcasting Union. Two years later, in 2021, his quartet was a finalist at the Euroradio Jazz Competition held at the prestigious Jazz in Marciac Festival in France.
Over the years, he has performed and recorded with numerous big bands, orchestras, and jazz ensembles, under conductors such as Peter Herbolzheimer, Christoph Cech, Peter Tuscher, Tom Smith, Goran Grbić, Ivan Ilić, Vladimir Nikolov, and Bojan Suđić. His collaborations with orchestras include performances with the Euroradio Jazz Orchestra, West Coast Orchestra, RTS Symphony Orchestra, RTS Big Band, Belgrade Youth Big Band, and the Stanković Music School Big Band.
Radivojević has shared the stage with a diverse lineup of acclaimed jazz artists including Tony Lakatos, Ameen Saleem, Bojan Zulfikarpašić, Claus Raible, Hayden Chisholm, Vladimir Kostadinović, Jaka Kopač, Maks Kočetov, Jelena Jovović, Milan Nikolić, Luka Ignjatović, Dušan Novakov, Vinicius Cajado, and many others. His pop collaborations include performances and recordings with Akua Naru, Zoe Kida, Prti Bee Gee, Kralj Čačka, Struka, Manivi, Marko Mandić, Igor Vincetić, and others.
As a bandleader, Radivojević heads the Ivan Radivojević Quartet, which released its debut album In Plain View in 2022 under the Italian label A.MA Records. Radivojević’s compositions draw inspiration from the work of American trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick — combining, on one hand, a more avant-garde musical language, and on the other, Scandinavian simplicity and lyricism. The quartet features some of the most sought-after jazz musicians from the Belgrade and Vienna jazz scene: Andreja Hristić on piano, Boris Šainović on double bass, and Bogdan Đurđević on drums. The quartet has performed at numerous festivals and venues across Serbia and Europe, including Jazz in Marciac, Belgrade Jazz Festival, Jazz in the Garden, Bazzum, Telma Jazz Fest, Blues & Beer Jazz Fest, Solar Jazz Fest, Zwe, Frau Maier, and Theater Phönix.
He has participated in masterclasses and workshops with some of the world’s leading jazz musicians, including Roy Hargrove, Arve Henriksen, Tomasz Stańko, James Moody, Jon Faddis, Eddie Henderson, Anat Cohen, Billy Hart, Phil Woods, Bojan Z, and others. He twice attended the Creative Jazz Clinic Velenje in Slovenia, studying trumpet with Phillip Dizack and Peter Evans, as well as Joe Sanders, Gregory Hutchinson, Shai Maestro, Charles Altura, Melissa Aldana, Jure Pukl, and Sachal Vasandani on other subjects.
In August 2025, Radivojević was one of the lecturers at the first Jazz Campus in Užice, a week-long educational program that brought together acclaimed jazz musicians and educators from Serbia and across Europe, including Claus Raible, Jaka Kopač, Vladimir Kostadinović, Ivan Ilić, and others.
At the “Stanković” Music School, Radivojević founded the Stage Band, composed of the school’s most talented students, with the goal of showcasing the jazz department at various cultural events. The ensemble performed original compositions and arrangements at venues such as the Belgrade Jazz Festival, Kolarac Endowment, Belgrade Cultural Centre, Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade Fortress, Parobrod Cultural Institution, and the New Year’s Festival in Topola.
Adriano Ghirardo, The Mellophonium Magazine“The warm and, at times, melancholic timbre of the leader’s trumpet denotes a maturity superior to his young age”
Many of his former students, including Katarina Kočetova, Bogdan Đurđević, Boris Šainović, Ana Protulipac, Ognjen Gotovčević, Časlav Šehović, Minja Mijušković, Nikola Šašković, and Lav Vozlić, have gone on to become notable young musicians on the Serbian and European jazz scene.
Ivan Radivojević performs on a Van Laar B5 trumpet, known for its full-bodied and expressive sound.
