Neb playing a contrabass balalaika
Born in 1982 in Belgrade, Serbia, Nebojsa (Neb) Macura has resided in North America since 1990. He holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (DMA), University of British Columbia (MM), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (BM). His composition teachers include Joel Hoffman, Ellen Harrison, Stephen Chatman, Dorothy Chang, Stephen Dembski, Laura Schwendinger, Joel Naumann, and Scott Gendel.
A prolific composer specializing in instrumental chamber music, Neb has received performances in 22 US states and 3 Canadian provinces, as well as Bolivia, Brazil, Croatia, and Israel. His music has been featured at the SCI National and Regional Conferences, Sonic Boom Festival, College Band Directors' National Association Southern Division Conference, Sound of Silent Film Festival, American Trombone Workshop, New Dischord Festival, and MusicX.
Ensembles that have performed Neb's compositions include the Denver Municipal Band, Quad City Wind Ensemble, Whitewater Symphony Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble, Cuatro Puntos Ensemble, Bold City Contemporary Ensemble, and Ancia Saxophone Quartet. In addition, he has participated in workshops by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Standing Wave Ensemble, and Borealis String Quartet.
Neb has a strong interest in string instruments of all shapes and sizes. Currently, he plays viola in the Middleton Community Orchestra and fretted strings in the folk bands Karavay and Blue Accordion & Friends. He has also performed with the University of Wisconsin Russian Folk Orchestra and BDAA Festival Orchestra.
contact: nebmac(at)gmail.com
Recent and Upcoming Performances
July 13, 2025 (time TBA)Double Concerto
Kaleigh Acord, violin
Linda Jennings, cello
Chiang Rai Youth Orchestra
Paramet Lerdkasem, conductor
Chiang Rai, Thailand
April 27, 2025 3:00pm
Doomsday Preludes
John Mayrose, mandolin
Kirstin Ihde, piano
Wisconsin Alliance for Composers New Music Festival
Whitewater, WI
December 8, 2024 3:00pm
Polar Night
Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra
Amy Wilson, conductor
North Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, GA
October 7, 2024 3:00pm
Just Friends
Kaleigh Acord and Hillary Hempel, violins
Brett Petrykowski, viola
Stoughton Opera House
Stoughton, WI
Selected Works
[see "Compositions" below for audio and score samples]more audio samples available on SoundCloud
Double Concerto (2025) 8'
violin, cello, string orchestra
commissioned by Linda Jennings,
Associate Professor of Cello,
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Diaspora II (2025) 10'
alto flute, viola, piano
commissioned by Suzanne Snizek,
Associate Professor of Flute,
University of Victoria
Ballad and Fanfare (2024) 4'
trumpet ensemble
Doomsday Preludes (2024) 8'
mandolin, piano
Oizys, Dancing (2023) 10'
violin, double bass
composed for Kaleigh Acord
Songs and Grooves for Wedded Bliss (2023) 11'
2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, piano
commissioned by Dr. Srdjan Babovic and
Dr. Dusica Babovic-Vuksanovic
Upon My Silver Shelf (2023) 9'
cello, piano
Book of Lamentations (2022) 15'
saxophone quartet
Best Friends ForeBEAR (2021) 11'
alto flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, piano
commissioned by Access Contemporary Music
I, Lover (2021) 5'
SATB choir, double bass, piano
Long Green Weeks: A Summer Fantasy (2021) 7'
violin, piano
Unsettled Spring (2020) 5'
flute, vibraphone
While I held the lovely thoughts concealed (2020) 8'
viola, piano
Diaspora (2019) 12'
alto flute, piano
An Unquiet Overture (2019) 4'
symphony orchestra
Upon the Silent Shore of Memory (2019) 12'
2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, piano
commissioned by Dr. Srdjan Babovic and
Dr. Dusica Babovic-Vuksanovic
Dances from Imagined Lands (2018) 12'
string orchestra
Wedding Rhapsody (2018) 5'
violin, piano
commissioned by Dr. Srdjan Babovic and
Dr. Dusica Babovic-Vuksanovic
Breakup Music (2017) 7'
violin, viola
Just Friends (2017) 5'
2 violins, viola
Polar Night (2017) 5'
version 1: Russian folk instrument orchestra
version 2: symphony orchestra
Sonata for Flutes (2016) 8'
solo flute and flute choir
commissioned by the University of Victoria Flute Choir,
Suzanne Snizek, director
Vast Plains of Nostalgia (2016) 5'
chamber ensemble
commissioned by the William and Mary
Russian Music Ensemble,
Jonathan Johnston, director
Until Peace, the Storm (2015) 6'
3 trombones, bass trombone
composed for the Elysian Trombone Consort
Symphony No. 1 (2015) 20'
wind ensemble
commissioned by a consortium of 15 ensembles
organized by
Jared Chase, Director of Wind Studies, Nazareth College
Tempest Chochek (2014) 5'
solo tuba, wind ensemble
composed for Timothy Northcut,
Associate Professor of Tuba,
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Tableaux d'hiver (2013) 11'
wind ensemble
commissioned by the
Central Connecticut State University Wind Ensemble,
Lauren Reynolds, conductor
Rondo Alla Balcanica (2013) 7'
version 1: flute, alto saxophone
composed for the Awea Duo
version 2: Eb clarinet, tenor saxophone
version 3: piccolo/flute/alto flute, marimba/vibes
Summer Night (2012) 8'
wind ensemble
Six-Year Interlude (2011) 8'
**Winner, Cuatro Puntos Award,
Zvi Zeitlin Memorial International Composer's Competition**
version 1: flute, viola, harp (or piano)
version 2: flute, alto flute, bass flute, piano
version 3: flute, solo viola, string quintet
Piano Concerto (2011) 27'
piano, wind ensemble
Chochek Rhapsody (2010) 9'
concert band
commissioned by the
Xavier University Symphonic Wind Ensemble,
Matthew Westgate, conductor
Colours of the Earth (2010) 10'
chamber ensemble
Mind States (2010) 15'
trombone, piano
commissioned by Timothy Anderson,
Assistant Professor of Trombone,
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Music for a Serbian Celebration (2010) 6'
trumpet, string quartet, piano four hands
commissioned by Dr. Srdjan Babovic and
Dr. Dusica Babovic-Vuksanovic
Second Nocturne (2009) 5'
clarinet, piano
Chamber Music No. 5 - Insomniac Dreams (2008) 9'
bass clarinet, cello
Echoes of Rascia (2008) 10'
wind ensemble or concert band
**Finalist, 2nd International Frank Ticheli
Composition Contest**
For the Impossible Dream (2007) 8'
viola, piano
Sprawl-Dystopia (2007) 10'
symphony orchestra
Improvisation No. 2 (2006) 6'
piano, fixed-format electronics
Reflections on Solitude (2005) 7'
chamber ensemble
**Honorable Mention, 2008 Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Student Composition Contest,
University of Cincinnati**
Compositions
An Unquiet Overture
Middleton Community Orchestra
Christopher Ramaekers, conductor
Christopher Ramaekers, conductor
Echoes of Rascia
University of South Carolina Symphonic Winds
Rebecca Phillips, conductor
Rascia is the Latin name for Raška, a medieval state in southeastern Europe populated by the Serbian people, and a predecessor to the modern-day Republic of Serbia. While the rich history of its liturgical chant is well documented, little is known about other types of Serbian music from the Middle Ages.
Echoes of Rascia draws upon the musical traditions, both real and imagined, of this bygone era. Except for a quote from a Serbian Orthodox Church hymn, first played by the flugelhorn at the beginning of the piece, all the thematic material is original.
This work is dedicated to Rodney Winther, Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, in gratitude for his guidance and support.
Rebecca Phillips, conductor
Rascia is the Latin name for Raška, a medieval state in southeastern Europe populated by the Serbian people, and a predecessor to the modern-day Republic of Serbia. While the rich history of its liturgical chant is well documented, little is known about other types of Serbian music from the Middle Ages.
Echoes of Rascia draws upon the musical traditions, both real and imagined, of this bygone era. Except for a quote from a Serbian Orthodox Church hymn, first played by the flugelhorn at the beginning of the piece, all the thematic material is original.
This work is dedicated to Rodney Winther, Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, in gratitude for his guidance and support.
Six-Year Interlude
Suzanne Snizek, flute
Joanna Hood, viola
Michelle Mares, piano
In 2011, I was unexpectedly reunited with someone who had been very dear to me. Although we had promised to keep in touch after graduating from university in 2005, life got in the way until a chance encounter at our alma mater brought us back together. This composition is my reaction to that event and its impact on my life.
Joanna Hood, viola
Michelle Mares, piano
In 2011, I was unexpectedly reunited with someone who had been very dear to me. Although we had promised to keep in touch after graduating from university in 2005, life got in the way until a chance encounter at our alma mater brought us back together. This composition is my reaction to that event and its impact on my life.
Second Nocturne
Rebecca Danard, clarinet
Benjamin Downs, piano
In 2002, shortly before changing my undergraduate major from meteorology to music composition, I wrote a Nocturne for clarinet and piano. While not entirely ineffectual, the piece was constrained by my younger self’s deficiencies in technical skill and limited aesthetic outlook. The Second Nocturne, composed seven years later, is intended as a more mature response to that earlier piece.
Benjamin Downs, piano
In 2002, shortly before changing my undergraduate major from meteorology to music composition, I wrote a Nocturne for clarinet and piano. While not entirely ineffectual, the piece was constrained by my younger self’s deficiencies in technical skill and limited aesthetic outlook. The Second Nocturne, composed seven years later, is intended as a more mature response to that earlier piece.