MARINA ARSENIJEVIC: An Interview

Marina Arsenijevic (arson-nee-vitch) is an international award-winning pianist and composer, star of the Emmy-nominated Public Television program, “Marina at West Point: Unity through Diversity” which has been broadcast to more than 170 Million viewers with over 550 airings by PBS Stations all across the country. The Concert was recorded live at West Point’s historic Eisenhower Hall and as 2020 become one of the longest running single concerts at PBS TV Network. Marina’s “Unity Through Diversity" concert blends patriotic themes with the rhythms and melodies of many cultures and religions represented in the United States. Following the West Point concert, Marina became a citizen of the United States. Marina, born and raised in Serbia, has a superstar reputation in her homeland as well as in Europe.

You are a role model for many immigrants who came to this nation looking for a better life. Not many people know of the extraordinary circumstances that brought you to the US. Can you tell us about your journey to America?

 I was born and raised in Serbia (former Yugoslavia) and my popularity in music has come from transforming different musical genres and styles by blending diverse cultural and ethnic rhythms with traditional classical themes and techniques. My music reflects my personal journey and I feel that people connect with me because they can find themselves in the music that I create. My goal has always been to create music that is unique to the ears yet familiar to the soul.

The disintegration of Yugoslavia into conflict among its diverse ethnic groups very much affected my outlook on life and music. I was seeking peace and unity in the face of ethnic extremism. As a result, I developed my hallmark "Unity in The Face of Diversity" creating a new style, the ethno-classical genre. I described the process as follows: "Whenever I blend diverse cultural melodies with varied ethnic rhythms, regardless of their conflicted history, the music always reveals our common humanity."

As the ethnic strife expanded into all out civil war and became the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, I was determined to remind the people of Yugoslavia of their common heritage. During the height of the civil wars and ignoring extensive political pressure, I challenged the ethnic extremism and intolerance by performing a concert in Kosovo with the Serbian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra featuring a program of both Christian and Muslim music. It took place in the region’s largest arena, the 11,000 seat Boro & Ramiz Center. Although I was warned that my actions could provoke ethnic violence, but to the contrary, we received a standing ovation from the audience of both the Albanian Muslims and Serbian Christians without a single incident of violence. It was clear to me that the people had a bond to their common heritage which they remembered from their childhood.

On the last day of bombing in June 1999, I introduced my new composition "Kosovo" at the National Museum in Belgrade. As I played the composition with its deeply interwoven melodies of both Muslim and Christian roots, tears began to flow down my face. Then I noticed that the audience also began to weep throughout the concert hall. At that moment, we all realized that Yugoslavia, as a united multi- cultural nation, was no more.

It became obvious to me that my musical message of “Unity in the Face of Diversity” will not be politically welcomed in a deeply divided society. The very next day after the concert, I accepted an invitation to perform in the United States.

Two years after I came to America, in 2001, I was invited back to Serbia by the newly formed moderate government for a European concert tour and over 300,000 fans came to hear the music that helped calm a nation that had been torn apart by hatred and violence.

Following the tragedy of 9/11, I felt compelled to return to the United States to perform a series of benefit concerts for the victims and their families in Pennsylvania and Maryland and to thank the American people for their generosity in granting asylum to refugees of mixed Serbian-Muslim marriages who had fled persecution in Bosnia.

I continued my career with numerous concerts in the United States and Canada and that led to my 10-year broadcast relationship with American Public Television (PBS- TV).

What is your relationship with Serbia like now? How do you stay connected to your homeland?

The full circle with me and Serbia was completed in May 2018 when after 17 years I returned to Belgrade to receive Serbia's highest diplomatic honor, The Knighthood of St. Sava’s Order of Diplomatic Pacifism. The award notation stated “for contributions in cherishing Serbian cultural identity throughout the world” with my music and my message. I was greeted by a vast cadre of international media which attended the beautiful ceremony and was interviewed for National TV and newspapers. The U.S. Ambassador greeted me at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade and congratulated me for receiving the recognition by the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the use of my music to promote reconciliation and understanding between our countries.

It was humbling for me to receive this recognition and to witness Serbia’s evolution into a fully modern state that respects and welcomes differences among its people.

“One of my advisors was the President of the Community Concert Series and a West Point Alumnus Class of 1948. He suggested that the concert be filmed at the West Point Military Academy because West Point took pride in the diversity of its Corps of Cadets and had 32 foreign countries represented among its student body. My concert program and biography were presented to the Superintendent of West Point and after just one week, I was invited to West Point to meet with the Conductor and Commander of the West Point Band Colonel Timothy Holtan and Glee Club Conductor Constance Chase. After that, I became a regular visitor to West Point for more than 9 months in preparation for the concert and filming.”

How are you involved with the Serbian community in the United States?

I am lucky to have a public profession so at my concerts I get to meet many of my countryman. I have undertaken several multi-city concert tours in the United States and Canada to raise awareness and humanitarian aid for orphans and needy children throughout Eastern Europe by assisting charities such as the Serbian Lifeline Humanitarian Organization and the Russian Children’s Welfare Society. My humanitarian efforts extend back to the early years of my concert career when I routinely raised funds for the restoration of Serbian Orthodox Churches after the fall of communism. My efforts were recognized by the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who bestowed upon me one of their highest honors, the “Gramata” award. I continue to support the Serbian Orthodox Church in America by raising funds for the restoration of the historic St. Sava Cathedral in New York City.

Following my performance of my original composition “Tesla’s Journey” at the 2013 dedication of the Nikola Tesla statue at the century-old Tesla Laboratory at Wardenclyffe in Long Island, I was awarded the 2014 Tesla Science Foundation Future Icon Award.

"Marina at West Point: Unity Through Diversity" is an amazing musical performance that has been seen around the world. Performing with the West Point Military Academy and West Point Cadet Glee Club must have been an incredible experience. Can you tell us how that came about?

Following my sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall and other major venues throughout the United States and Canada, I was approached by PBS to do a live concert filming. They had the concept of filming a live show in Las Vegas, but I had a lot to say about diversity in America and thought it could be musically celebrated in a more iconic venue.

One of my advisors was the President of the Community Concert Series and a West Point Alumnus Class of 1948. He suggested that the concert be filmed at the West Point Military Academy because West Point took pride in the diversity of its Corps of Cadets and had 32 foreign countries represented among its student body. My concert program and biography were presented to the Superintendent of West Point and after just one week, I was invited to West Point to meet with the Conductor and Commander of the West Point Band Colonel Timothy Holtan and Glee Club Conductor Constance Chase. After that, I became a regular visitor to West Point for more than 9 months in preparation for the concert and filming.

I created the program called “Unity Through Diversity” with the 120-member joint ensemble of the West Point Band and West Point Cadet Glee Club and it was recorded live for PBS at West Point’s historic Eisenhower Hall. The concert was dubbed a "Symphonic Powerhouse of Patriotism and Passion" and has been broadcast with more than 550 airings over ten years reaching more than 170 million viewers making it the longest running single concert program on PBS. I also received an Emmy Nomination for my music from this concert. Many of the PBS stations began to use the concert as an annual standard for Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Independence Day programing accounting for its unusual broadcast longevity.

I was given a special honor at West Point when I was invited to address the entire Corps of Cadets from the “Poop Deck” (which overlooks the Mess Hall with 4000 Cadets in session) where Generals MacArthur, Patton and Eisenhower gave their famous speeches. At the time, I was the fourth woman to be given that honor after Margaret Thatcher, Madeleine Albright, and Hillary Clinton. Following the West Point concert, I became a citizen of the United States.

Your music ranges from Western classics such as Liszt and Chopin to Eastern European folk songs, Americana, and contemporary pop. Who are some of your major musical influences?

I am a classically trained concert pianist, but very early in my career I started to combine diverse ethnic melodies and rhythms to show our common humanity, especially when the conflicts started in my home country.

In the United States, I was inspired by the traditional and patriotic American music so for the 2003 First Ladies Luncheon in honor of Laura Bush and Cherie Blair (wife of the British Prime Minister) I created my own version of “America the Beautiful” using Chopin’s “Revolutionary Etude” portraying my own journey from the turbulence of war to the tranquility of social and creative freedom. It is interesting for me to observe my fans at concerts who are originally from the different regions that were in conflict in the former Yugoslavia. They seem united in their appreciation of the same music and completely tolerant of each other’s differences in the United States. Even though Yugoslavia is no more, it still exists in the United States as an American expression of Balkan tolerance and unity.

Listening to my music, you will recognize elements of Franz List, Frederic Chopin, George Gershwin extending all the way to Paul McCartney, Freddie Mercury, and Elton John.

At the Ellis Island Medals of Ceremony in 2014, on Ellis Island

You have performed with major American orchestras and philharmonics in some iconic venues. What would be your dream performance for an American audience?

I am currently finalizing my composition the “Tesla Rhapsody” for piano and orchestra inspired by the life and inventions of my countryman Nikola Tesla, who spent most of his adult life and career in the United States. My dream would be to premier it with the New York Philharmonic in New York City where Tesla lived and worked. This music is also the basis for the score of my musical about the Life of Nikola Tesla which is now in full development.

Why America? You could have immigrated practically anywhere in the world, why did you think America was the right country for you?

When I was starting my musical career in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia, I had dreams of continuing my musical journey in America. I was inspired by America’s freedom of expression and creativity without governmental pressures to influence the outcome. I believe it is true for all of us immigrants that America has always been and is a fruitful soil for creation. For example, the Russian immigrant Rachmaninoff created some of his greatest masterpieces in America. Likewise, many great inventors from Nikola Tesla to Elon Musk as well as Sergey Brin have reached their pinnacles of inventive creativity in America. Almost 30% of today’s inventions in the United States have been created by immigrants.

You were so young when you left Serbia. What advice would you give a young immigrant who just arrived in America?

I came to America without my parents, alone and overwhelmed by the challenges. But what kept me inspired from the very beginning of my immigrant journey was the great support and openness that I received from American audiences. Do not worry, do not fear, Americans will always be there to appreciate your talents. Just absolutely love what you do and do it with great passion and hard work.

My husband saw me at my first Carnegie Hall concert, so I honestly believe that because I followed my dreams, I was able to meet my soulmate too. I believe that in America you can achieve your wildest dreams with hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

What are your hopes for the future of immigration in the United States and the world?

Since 30% of inventions in the United Sates are done by immigrants, I believe that America constantly needs new ideas to move the world forward. America has a well-established history of opened arms to immigrants from war-torn countries and repressed regimes, so America has to stay open to those in great need to find their refuge. I believe that America has derived and will continue to derive extraordinary strength through its great diversity unlike any other country in the world.