Ivan Kuruc, prof.

Ivan Kuruc was born in Zagreb on October 26, 1982. At the age of nine, he started studying accordion with professor Ankica Vujnović - Tonković.

At the 31st Croatian Music Student Competition in 1993, he won the 1st prize.

At the international accordion meeting in Pula in 1995, he won the 3rd prize. Enrolls in the high school "Zlatko Baloković" in the class of prof. Maje Bandalović and at the persuasion of the future professor Marjan Krajna, to whom he left in 2000, he switched to bajan. Enrolls in the Faculty of Philosophy in Pula, Department of Harmonics in the class of prof. Dražena Košmerla in 2003.

In 2004, he won the 1st prize at the Regional Competition for music students and students in Pula, and the same year he won the 3rd prize at the State Competition for music students and students in Varaždin.
A year later, at the 31st International Meeting of Accordionists in Pula, he won the 2nd prize.

He was an active member of the Ivan Goran Kovačić Academic Accordion Orchestra, the Jurja Dobrila University Academic Accordion Orchestra in Pula, and the "Stanko Mihovilić" orchestra at OKUD "Istra" in Pula, with which he won numerous awards in Croatia and abroad.

In addition to regular studies, he improved his skills at seminars with world-famous pedagogues and concerts such as: A. Skljarov, Y. Šiškin, P. Soave, L. Gore, J. Crabb, J. M. Fabiano, D. Modrušan, O. Murray, R. Bodell and others.

He graduated in 2008 at Jurja Dobrila University in Pula in the class of prof. Dražena Košmerla. He currently works at Zlatko Baloković's music school as an accordion teacher and as an external associate at the Zagreb Youth Theatre. He is actively engaged in music as a member of the tambura ensemble Prava Stvar, the band As Bruxas Fatais and the ensemble Pelister.