Barja Drnovšek e Bojan Cvetrežnik will be at Xustáns on the next March 16th and 17th
The Galicia Fiddle Cultural Association, and this time through its youth section “3cuartos”, organizes a new course at the “Casa dos Músicos” in Xustáns, Pontecaldelas, on March 16th and 17th.
The protagonist on this occasion will be Balkan music, led by the talented Slovenian musicians Barja Drnovšek and Bojan Cvetrežnik, who were already with us as teachers of SAN SIMÓN FIDDLE 2019 (Erasmus+ East-West Crossing Over), in which without a doubt they were a key piece to form the synergies that managed to make that edition one of the best in terms of musical quality. Not only that, but they also showed us their unique way of brilliantly incorporating elements of classical violin or jazz into the traditional music of Eastern European countries.
Surely all the participants of that year will remember with special fondness the “Jovano Jovanke” (and the exciting performance of it in the final concert) through which Bojan was able to make them internalize the complicated Balkan rhythms with a melody that until then would have been a very strange result for our Atlantic ears, but thanks to Bojan’s great capacity for musical pedagogy we managed to interpret it in a way that was as natural as it was passionate.
Well, this is how Bojan Cvetrežnik primarily defines himself: performer, passionate teacher, educator and composer. He was a soloist at the Slovenian National Opera and Cirque du Soleil, a professor at the Maribor Conservatory and a mentor in jazz improvisation at the Ljubljana Music Academy. He has been directing numerous creative projects for more than 20 years for which he has won several awards in the most diverse styles, among which the international band Terrafolk and the Symbolic Orchestra stand out.
For her part, Barja Drnovšek is a classically trained violinist who would later become intrigued by folk music. She studied at the Carinthian State Conservatorium (Austria) and obtained a postgraduate degree at the Ljubljana Music Academy. In addition to belonging to several classical orchestras, she attended many workshops and fiddle camps and was part of groups such as Terrafolk, Symbolic Orchestra, Ida&Other Bears, Grad gori! or Kate in the Kettle, and of course a duet with Bojan Cvetrežnik. In addition to this, she quit her job at a school to focus on becoming a freelance musician and violin teacher, taking part in ONE Music Society’s educational programs or participating in plays, puppets shows, as well as being a studio musician for films or radio recordings.
Barja and Bojan are responsible for Godalkanje, an educational platform for traditional violin and improvised music where students learn to play at a high level in a very versatile way, always with the aim of helping to delete artificial divisions between the different styles from which violin teaching is approached.
The masterclasses they will teach in Xustáns will focus on Balkan music, and will be completed with a dinner-concert open to everyone on Saturday night.