Conductor and violist Ivan Hut, born in Pula in 1982 to Dutch-Croatian parents, began his musical journey at a young age. By age eight, he was already studying violin at the Josip Hatze Music School. His dedication and talent were evident as he won his first national prize as a violist in 2000, followed by another first national prize in the chamber music category in 2003. His performances as a violist have taken him to Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary.
From 2000 to 2009, he was a permanent member of the Split Chamber Orchestra, where his love for conducting was born under the constant presence and inspiration of maestro Pavle Dešpalj. In 2013, he founded the "Camerata Split" orchestra. Besides Split, they performed at the Hvar Summer Events and the Bol Summer Festival. The most significant concert was undoubtedly the one in the Gospe od Zdravlja monastery, where Mozart's Great Mass in C minor was performed in Split for the first time.
That same year, he produced the 59th Split Summer Festival concert program and was the music program director for the 60th Split Summer Festival. In the 2013/2014 theater season, he was the director of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Split. The operas "Mefistofele" by A. Boito and "Aida" by G. Verdi were performed successfully during his tenure.
In 2014, he enrolled in conducting studies at the "Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Codarts" (Rotterdam, Kingdom of the Netherlands) in the class of Prof. Hans Leenders (St. Petersburg School of Conducting – I. Musin / V. Gergiev). During his education in the Netherlands, he received training from Mo. Kenneth Montgomery, mo. Etienne Siebens, and mo. Antony Hermus. He was a scholarship recipient of the "Lovro and Lilly Matačić" Fund and the "Het Kersjes" Fund, a foundation for young conductors in the Netherlands. He assisted Prof. Leenders on the Codarts project - Codarts Symphony Orchestra Concert at the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam under the baton of mo. Valery Gergiev. In 2016, he completed his undergraduate studies in conducting with Puccini's opera "Suor Angelica," directed by Michał Znaniecki. In 2016, he enrolled in the master's program in the same class as Prof. Leenders. Among his mentors was Mo. Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Metropolitan Opera New York). That same year, he gathered graduates of "Codarts Rotterdam" and "Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag" in the NOW Orchestra. He successfully performed two Rotterdam performances in the 2016/2017 season - Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" and Ravel's "Bolero." After completing his master's studies in 2018, he had the opportunity to perform (masterclass) at the 30th Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam in front of a packed hall at De Doelen as the best student of the generation.
In December 2020, Ivan Hut took on the significant role of permanent conductor of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. In this capacity, he has led the orchestra in over 50 concerts, showcasing his commitment to the orchestra and his ongoing contributions to the music scene.
Ivan Hut's career is marked by significant collaborations with renowned orchestras and ensembles. His performances with Sinfonia Rotterdam (Concertgebouw Amsterdam), the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, the Zadar Chamber Orchestra, the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato, the Symphony Orchestra of the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor, and the Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka, demonstrate his versatility and wide-ranging experience in the music industry.
In 2022, he assisted Plácido Domingo with Verdi's "Messa da Requiem" with the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra in Zagreb, MO. Ivan Repušić for the Opera Gala concert at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, and maestro Srboljub Dinić for Mozart's "The Magic Flute" at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, with the last performance as his debut. Since then, he has regularly appeared as a guest at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, conducting performances of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and Strauss's "Die Fledermaus." He has also conducted Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" at the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin and KMD Dubrovnik.