Grammy-nominated guitar star Mak Grgic plays the music of Bach and the Balkans

Reviewers run out of adjectives to describe his performances: “Magnificent! Breathtaking! Perfect!”  The entertaining Mak Grgic redefines classical guitar with an evening of Bach and the music of his native Balkans including Slovenian folk songs and Balkan dances.  The Vancouver Classic Guitar Society presents Mak Grgic in person and livestream on Saturday, March 25th at Pyatt Hall at 7 pm, with a pre-concert performance at 6:15 pm by UBC School of Music guitarists.  Take a masterclass with Mak on Sunday, March 26th at Tapestry Music.  Concert tickets and masterclass registration at www.vancouverguitar.org

Math genius, martial arts champion, inventor and phenomenal guitarist, 36-year-old Mak Grgic (pronounced GER-gich] was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Throughout his high school years, the multi-talented Mak earned top ranking in competitive mathematics, while studying and performing guitar in Ljubljana and Zagreb and competing in professional martial arts.  In 2009, Mak made his professional classical guitar debut, performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.

Mak is the very definition of energetic averaging 85 performances a year.  From recording the music of Bach (Mak/Bach) and his native Balkans (Balkanisms) to his collaborative flamenco performances to opening for k.d. lang’s 2018 North American tour, the adventurous Mak is an exciting force I classical guitar.  An active entrepreneur and educator, next month he is launching “Notey's World”, a unique game for tablets and smartphones intended to popularize music learning and make it more fun. 

NewsValerie Boser