- At this year’s Youngmasters festival we offered something new to our visitors, students and professors. On Friday, August 25th, we hosted two different educational workshops in the Mali Muzički Atelje.
- Our first workshop dealt with the subjects of entry exams and auditions for Zagreb’s Academy of Music; whereas the second dealt with the subject of studying abroad.
- Our guests speakers for these workshops were this year’s professors: guitarists Morana Pešutić, Tomislav Vukšić, Pedro R. Rodrigues, saxophonist Lovro Merčep and mandolinist Maksimilijan Borić.
- During the first workshop professors counseled those interested on those matters to which they should pay special attention when preparing for their entrance exams, and provided tips on how to deal with the stress of performing before an ajudicating panel. Professor Vukšić, was especially helpful as an experienced professor at the Academy. He counseled students to be prepared in music theory as well as the performance of their musical pieces, as oftentimes poor performances on theory exams eliminate candidates even prior to their instrument auditions.
- The second workshop was filled with anecdotes of professors and students who have either studied abroad or who are currently studying outside the country. Many shared their experiences, provided their impressions, and also explained their respective motives for choosing to study outside their own countries.
- We just about covered the whole of Europe as Pešutić, Vukšić and Merčep studied in the Netherlands, Rodrigues related what it was like to be a Portugese yet study in Croatia, and Borić told of his onw experiences in Italy.
- Various students and former participants in Youngmasters festivals also shared their experiences of studying abroad. Lara, who participated in a master’s class with Nataša Veljković, studied in America. Kristijan and Lara were also students who participated in Professor Vljković’s master’s class and both currently study abroad. Kristijan will leave this Fall for Switzerland, so his experiences were especially relevant to attendees. Lara todld us of her experiences with the Erasmus+ program in Portugal.
- All in all, the open forums were well-attended and provided our young artists with the encouragement to widen their horizons by considering studying internationally.
- Musical tips for better performance, relaying various experiences and just plain mingling with other artists are the perennial goals of Youngmasters festivals; to connect young people through music.
- We hope that next years open forums will prove equally as successful as we anticipate new challenges and hearing of new experiences from students, professors, and former participants in Youngmaste’s festivals.
- Educatinal tone of the festival will continue as Lorenzo Micheli will lecture on The Cultural Identity and Works of Maria Castelnuova Tedesca on mondy, the 28th of August.
- The concert portion of our Festival, our finale – Gala koncerta, will be held on Sunday, the 27th of August. Both professors and students will be performing in ensembles, orchestras, and as soloists.
- For a program of this year’s events, clike Program 2017.