Nikola Radan, flautist, composer, songwriter, producer, and educator, founded the critically-acclaimed world music ensemble, BalMus, co-founded the internationally-awarded Clash of Civilizations music project, and more recently launched Blue Thread, a multicultural music project that explores ancient ballads that connect Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. He has established himself as an artist who has been pushing boundaries between music genres and world traditions in order to find common ground between diverse cultures. His music has been premiered nationally and internationally and he has also composed music scores for several documentaries and independent films which have appeared on PBS, Sundance, and IFC channels. He is a professor in the Music Department at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville where he is the director of the World Music Ensemble.