Zvonimir Skerl

Biography
Zvonimir Skerl was the trombonist of the Jazz Orchestra (Big Band) of RTB, the broadcaster in the Serbian part of Yugoslavia; he composed and arranged many pieces for this band. Later, Skerl succeeded Vojislav Simić as the conductor of this ensemble. As a studio arranger, Skerl showed an enormous productivity, working for (amongst many others) Lola Novaković, Oliver, Toma Zdravković, and Dalibor Brun. Skerl taught at the Stanković Music Academy.

Zvonimir Skerl conducted two Yugoslavian entries composed and performed by Serbs, in 1974 (‘Moja generacija’, performed by the Korni group) and 1982 (‘Halo, halo’, performed by Aska). Moreover, in 1992, he was the arranger and conductor of ‘Ljubim te pesmama’, which won the last-ever Yugoslavian preselection. However, when Extra Nena performed her song in the Eurovision final in Malmö, it turned out that she had travelled to the contest without her conductor; it was Swedish host MD Anders Berglund who replaced Skerl.

In due course, a more extensive biography of Zvonimir Skerl will be published on this website