Combination of a Successful Career and the Love of Music:
Expressing Creativity as a Key to Life Balance
August 31, 2021
There is something intriguing and capturing about
people who manage to have it all, a well-rounded, successful business career
and a continuous dedication to other passions in their lives that might not
necessarily have to do anything with their line of business. One of those people
is Periša Boko, RIT Croatia Alumnus. He manages to successfully juggle a
serious role in a travel company and his passion for music and singing. And
here is how it all started…
After Hospitality and Catering high school, Periša has
enrolled at RIT Croatia’s Hospitality and Management program and he graduated
in 2006. His travel agency career started during college years when he worked
for a local travel agency as a part of his mandatory co-op experience. Three
months before his graduation, he has been invited to join the team permanently
and that is the moment when his career has been defined. After 8 years in
Cruise Ships Department, Periša and his partners have decided to start a new
adventure by founding the Adriatic DMC in 2013, a travel company that now hires
20 permanent employees, handles 80.000 guests in a year and operates in 7
different countries within Southeastern Europe. But well before all this ever
happened, Periša encountered his first love. Music. During childhood he spent
years in different choirs and in music school, however the main turning point
in his life happened when he joined the Dubrovnik Chamber Choir. To this day
Periša believes the choir gave him firm foundations that established a path to
a way how he performs today. Later on, he has been an active member of several
successful vocal ensembles (klape) in Dubrovnik before embarking onto the
recent "Trio PMS and Friends” project – a group of music enthusiasts who
streamed their majestic singing performances from their homes during COVID-19
lockdown and rounded their project with a live concert in August 2021 in
Dubrovnik.
How does he manage it all? We’ve asked Periša to share his thoughts with
us…
Q:
What role does music play in your life?
Periša
Boko: The music has always been a very important aspect of my life. From the
very birth I have shown affection towards music and the same has followed me
until today. My mother was always telling a story how I stood in front of the
TV and conducted a whole concert at the age of one during the traditional New
Year classical philharmonic performance. If I were asked to describe the relationship
between music and myself, the best way to understand it is by listening a song
Moja posljedna i prva ljubavi (My last
and first love). True love that never ends and grows every day. I use music
to start my day, spike up my mood, and carry on through sadness, calm down
before sleep, while driving, thinking, reading or doing simple things as
enjoying in the nature. Music is always there and has never ever disappointed
me so far.
Q:
How would you describe your studying years at RIT Croatia? What kind of a
connection do you feel with RIT Croatia as a member of RIT Croatia Alumni
Association?
Periša
Boko: RIT Croatia was the best possible education I could have. Years at the
college were indeed very productive, creative and careless as the faculty and
staff have been oriented towards the education and helping students to go
through the tough process of finding themselves. Even though a lot of us
believe that at the age of 18 we are all grown up and know it all, on the
contrary, it is quite opposite. Excellent guidance received at RIT Croatia and
actual in-class implementation of the everyday business life situations gave us
a great advantage when stepping in the real business life. The fundamental
difference is that RIT Croatia gives you an example of the business life and
teaches you how to cope with the changes you face in business, while others do
not have that practice but solely rely on theory. The friendships and other
relationships established during the college years are still very active and at
some point productive as we try to help each other and do business together.
The help of RIT Alumni association and the support RIT Croatia gives to Alumni
community is enormous. I can say that we all feel as a part of a huge RIT
family, that eventually we all are, which makes us bigger than others.
Q:
How did you come up with the idea of a concert "Trio PMS and Friends”? The
whole concept began as a series of singing performances from your apartments in
times of COVID-19 lockdown....How was this received by the local community and
how did it grew into a concert in front of a live audience?
Periša
Boko: In order to tell how we got to the idea of a concert we have to start
from the very beginning. During the very first lockdown, LMT Studio (a video
production company based in Dubrovnik) started with a project named "LMT Studio
i prijatelji – Koncert iz stana”. The idea was to cheer up people in depressive
times by giving them the music and the videos compiled from the people who have
created them at their homes. The major project was the "Moja domovina” video
that was filmed by more than 55 people, edited and produced by LMT Studio. Soon
after, the Studio has started doing videos where Saša Miletić (the owner’s
wife) was singing with musicians who would send their videos of music. Since
I’m a very good friend of the family, Saša has suggested to record a duet. I
accepted the idea immediately; however we have had issues to find a guitar
player. When we finally found Mario Nadilo, who loved the idea, and we finished
recording the first song, we sat down for a dinner and he asked: "Which one is
next?” – the sentence that started it all. In the next few months, week after
week, we have been recording and publishing new songs. Since we attracted a lot
of people who watched our performances and waited for a new one, many of them
have commented that they can hardly wait to see us in live and this is the
first time we thought about it. One day while I was having lunch with a friend,
the director of the Dubrovački kinematografi, who is also an RIT Alum, he
started complaining that no one wants to organize a concert at Ljetno kino
Slavica due to the Covid situation and epidemiological requirements. Instantly,
the idea was there and I got him to think about having Trio PMS concert there.
Luckily, he loved the idea so with the help of the event organizer company
"Event Lab d.o.o.”, owned as well by RIT Alumni, and all sponsors my lunch idea
went into execution and we proudly performed in front of a live audience on
August 14th, 2021.
Q:
How many people attended the concert?
Periša
Boko: Of course, none of the above would have been possible without our fans
who support us and follow our work from the very first day. The concert was
extremely well visited with more than 175 people in the auditorium and only a few
seats available left. The comments after the concert were superb, the audience
was amazed and we received extremely nice and encouraging words from our
friends and family. Some of them even made us cry and gave us courage and
obligation to continue with the work we have done so far.
Q:
You are a Director of Sales and Marketing and a co-founder of Adriatic DMC. How
do you manage your professional career and your passion for singing at the same
time?
Periša
Boko: I have to be honest to say that while Covid-19 pandemic brought a lot
of negative aspects to our lives, at the same time it allowed me to slow down a
bit, to have time for myself and to have time for the music. Although I have
always been in music and rushing for the concerts or gigs, Corona finally gave
me the time to have more focus on it and work on the new project later named as
Trio PMS. Recording every week is difficult in time when the business you run
is in "full throttle”, however with the pandemic happenings I believe I have
learned how music is important part of my life and that I have to find a way to
combine the both in order to be complete. The best example is the concert we
have managed to hold during the times when the business is finally picking up.
Defining priorities in a life of a business man and an artist is crucial to be
successful in both.
Q:
What would be your message to students regarding pursuing their passions in
life and successfully managing multiple roles at the same time?
Periša Boko: It is extremely important to listen to
yourself and follow your inner voice. Being an artist or having any other form
of a passion towards non-business-related matter should not be suppressed at
any time. I like to say to my colleague singers "Allow me to fly” because when I fly, I reach the ideas I would
never reach if I was not allowed to do so. Once you allow yourself to express
your creativeness or art that’s being trapped inside of yourself, the results
are affecting all aspects of your life, including the business one. You become
happier and more productive in any way. Always strive towards keeping yourself
balanced in all aspects of your life as the balance brings you to a
satisfaction and completeness.
