A great man is one who collects knowledge the way a bee collects honey and uses it to help people overcome the difficulties they endure - hunger, ignorance and disease!
- Nikola Tesla

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.
- Franklin Roosevelt

While their territory has been devastated and their homes despoiled, the spirit of the Serbian people has not been broken.
- Woodrow Wilson

Tesla: The Musical is a full-length, all-original rock opera about the life, mind, and legacy of turn-of-the-century inventor Nikola Tesla.

On July 10th, 1856, a boy was born at midnight during a lightning storm in present-day Croatia. Twenty-eight years later, he would come to America with virtually nothing but his education and a mind unlike any other. He would change the world forever with alternating current – the form of electricity we use to this day. He would go toe-to-toe with Thomas Edison, one of the most powerful men on the planet, who did everything he could to get in his way. He would suffer from mental illness in a time before proper diagnosis and treatment were available. He would be admired by scores of women but would never marry or have children, as he feared they would distract him from his work. He would fail at just as many endeavors as he succeeded at. Because he took no royalties for his AC patents, ensuring that safe, cheap electricity would reach every corner of the globe, he would die broke, alone, and insane. After his death he would be largely forgotten as he left behind no companies or children.

His name was Nikola Tesla. This is his story – the man, the myth, the musical.

Breze is the female ethno choir of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Phoenix, AZ. Breze is composed completely of Stevan Hristich church choir members who have chosen to expand their singing talents outside of the liturgical environment.

This group was formed in early January of 2013 by Gordana Stojanovic Mihajlovich and its members all posses a deep passion for singing. They hope to grow and make this group a success not only in Phoenix, but also through Serbian communities across the world.

Breze hopes to further educate young people of the Serbian Diaspora about Serbian culture and traditions as well as present the heritage of Serbian ethnic music. Breze aspires to encourage younger generations to be get involved in their Serbian heritage and traditions. They also hope to encourage the continuation of traditional songs in the Serbian Orthodox culture and faith as an important part of the participants' lives.

Breze has been extremely active since their start. Their performances include: the St Sava Day celebration in Phoenix, the Global Village festival in Gilbert, the Stevan Hristich Liturgical Concert in Phoenix, and SSF Festival in Lansing, IL. They are looking forward to performing at Diocesan Days in Los Angeles in September, and at the annual Stevan Hristich choir concert in October 2013. They are also looking to traveling to Chicago with the choir in November.

The members of Breze are: Alexis Baich, Marina Lazarevic, Vesna Lazarevic, Natasha Novakovic, Nina Novakovic, Sasha Pasic, Stefany Pasic, Mihaila Tuba and Marija Knezevic. They are directed by Gordana Stojanovic-Mihajlovich, with a help of assistant director, Ivana Njegovan.

Breze also has a group of great people behind the scenes supporting the team of singers: Mila Baich, choir president, as well as other members of the supporting staff, Slavica Ristic, protinica Kristina Tuba and Kristi Lazarevic. The group is also greatly accepted and supported by many members of the St Sava parish in Phoenix, Arizona, led by very reverent father Dragomir Tuba. Breze are looking forward to the future projects and songs! Stay tuned…

BREZE ETHNO CHOIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

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People Directory

Michael (Miroslav) Djordjevich

Michael (Miroslav) Djordjevich, from San Rafael California, was one of the patrons of today’s Serbian Philanthropy in the United States. Mr. Djordjevich founded Capital Guaranty Corporation, one of the first companies in the US to insure municipal bonds, ensuring $18 billion in financing for various infrastructure projects in America, which company he took public on the NY Stock Exchange in 1993, and subsequently sold his stake to devote himself full time to Serbian philanthropy.

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Publishing

Sailors of the Sky

A conversation with Fr. Stamatis Skliris and Fr. Marko Rupnik on contemporary Christian art

In these timely conversations led by Fr. Radovan Bigovic, many issues are introduced that enable the contemporary reader to deepen and expand his or her understanding of the role of art in the life of the Church. Here we find answers to questions on the crisis of contemporary ecclesiastical art in West and East; the impact of Impressionism, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract painting on contemporary ecclesiastical painting; and a consideration of the main distrinction between iconography and secular painting. The dialogue, while resolving some doubts about the difference between iconography, religious painting, and painting in general, reconciles the requirement to obey inconographic canons with the freedom essential to artistic creativity, demonstrating that obedience to the canons is not a threat to the vitatlity of iconography. Both artists illumine the role of prayer and ascetisicm in the art of iconography. They also mention curcial differences between iconography in the Orthodox Church and in Roman Catholicism. How important thse distinctions are when exploring the relationship between contemporary theology and art! In a time when postmodern "metaphysics' revitalizes every concept, these masters still believe that, to some extent, Post-Modernism adds to the revitatiztion of Christian art, stimulating questions about "artistic inspiration" and the essential asethetic categories of Christian painting. Their exceptionally wide, yet nonetheless deep, expertise assists their not-so-everday connections between theology, ar, and modern issues concerning society: "society" taken in its broader meaning as "civilization." Finally, the entire artistic project of Stamatis and Rupnik has important ecumenical implications that aswer a genuine longing for unity in the Christian word.

The text of this 94-page soft-bound book has been translated from the Serbian by Ivana Jakovljevic, Fr. Gregory Edwards, and Andrijana Krstic. Published by Sebastian Press, Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Contemporary Christian Thought Series, number 7, First Edition, ISBN: 978-0-9719505-8-0