After the summer vacation, a young guitarist from Podgorica Petar Nikolic as of today, he will continue to improve his talent, because after successfully completing the lower music school, he decided to acquire knowledge at the "Vasa Pavić" High School of Music. Not much will change for him when it comes to the guitar, because he will still be his guitar teacher Marko Prentić.
However, the summer was a busy one for this young artist, because during it he was preparing for all the challenges that await him, and he was also a participant in the 18th Guitar Art Summer Fest, which was organized from July 29 to August 2 in Herceg Novi.
"It was a brilliantly organized and extremely well-attended festival in which master classes were held every day attended by 10 of the most talented young guitarists from Montenegro. I had the honor and pleasure of working with well-respected and well-known guitar teachers from all over Europe", he boasted in an interview with Vijesti Nikolić, and especially emphasizes working with the best Greek classical guitarist. Kostas Kociolis.
"Working with respected professors was no less significant - Jelica Mijanović, Vojin Kocić, Ester Šegi i Renato Šuc. This was a great experience for me and a great incentive to apply all the advice I received from respected professors in the coming period," he said.
During the five days of the festival, seven concerts of classical and flamenco music were held on Mića Pavlović Square in the heart of the old town, and all of them left an impression on Nikolić, and he claims that he will remember them for a long time.
"On the last evening, as part of guitar integrations 5, I participated with the other participants and our mentor prof. Kostas Kociolis at the closing of the festival. It was a special honor for me that I was announced by the organizers and mentors as 'the best of the best', which represents a great incentive and obligation for me to justify that title in the future. At the end, all participants received diplomas for their successful participation in the festival, which will surely remain etched in our fond memories", emphasizes Petar, who has been "passionately attached to the scene" since he was a child.
"I was imitating when I was only five years old Michael Jackson with the song 'Smooth Criminal', which was my first adventure on the scene. In addition, I was engaged in modeling and acting. Today I play the guitar, and in my spare time I enjoy painting, cooking and playing sports. I am the winner of the 'Luča' diploma at the elementary school 'Savo Pejanović', which I recently completed. I like to spend my time practicing the guitar and with my family the most, because they provide me with support and inspiration", he proudly points out, and adds that he chose the guitar out of all the instruments because it has always fascinated him.
"Even as a child, when I had to choose an instrument to play in music school, I knew it would be the guitar. Namely, my grandfather also played the guitar, which encouraged me even more to choose it," said the interlocutor of Vijesti, who managed to achieve good results in numerous competitions during his last year in junior music school. So he can boast of first places at the XLIX Music Festival of the Youth of Montenegro, then at the International Music Competition "Fantast" in Bečej where he was also a laureate, there are also first prizes at the International Competition "Montenegro International Guitar Competition" in Tivat and the International Competition " Civija Guitar Fest" in Šabac. He also won awards at the International Competition of Young Talents in Pančevo, as well as at the Vojvodina Guitar Fest in Novi Sad, and was a finalist at the XXV Guitar Art Festival. All these awards encouraged him to think about his future in music, and they were the turning point for him to decide and enroll in the "Vasa Pavić" High School of Music in Podgorica.
Competitions are a place where musicians show not only virtuosity, but also passion and creativity, and it was not easy to prepare programs for such events.
"The biggest challenges during the preparation for the competitions in Novi Sad and Pančevo were related to the preparation of the new program and the intensive work that it required. Also, mentally, both competitions were particularly demanding because they were the first in which I participated, so I didn't have much experience and I felt extra pressure," said Nikolić.
For him, practicing the guitar every day is not just a routine, but a moment when he completely surrenders to the music and enjoys every chord and melody.
"The awards gave me a significant wind at my back to enroll in a high school of music. I hesitated for a long time whether to enroll in high school at the same time because I was successful in other fields at the same time. However, during the hard preparation for the competitions, I realized that the guitar is what I really want to do, and the awards only confirmed my choice and helped me decide on the Vasa Pavić High School of Music," said the young musician.
Preparations for competitions take a long time, certain programs are prepared for up to a year, and sometimes it can be tiring to play the same composition for so long.
"It can certainly be tiring to play the same composition for so long, especially when you already know that you have invested a lot of time and effort in preparing it. However, in the end, the effort pays off because I achieve the desired result and hear that the composition sounds exactly as the professor and I imagined", explains Nikolić, whose favorite piece is one of the most famous compositions for classical guitar "Asturias" by the famous Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz.
"It is characterized by intense dynamics and virtuoso technique, which attracted me to choose it, to be part of the program with which I presented myself at competitions and concerts," he says.
We tie the guitar to some other genres, and sometimes Petar plays something on his instrument that is not part of the school program.
"Besides classical music, I like to play pop music and fingerstyle. Currently, in addition to the school program, I enjoy performing the song 'Shape of My Heart' by Stinga".
He does not hide that it was difficult for him during elementary school, considering that he had to spend much more time practicing due to preparations for competitions, and it was not easy for him to balance his obligations in elementary school and music school. Now in high school, it will be much easier for him, I'm sure.
"It was very difficult to balance responsibilities between elementary school and music school, especially because of the extra time I had to devote to preparing for competitions. School responsibilities, studying at home and time for exercise had to be balanced. Sometimes I had to miss classes because of competitions, but luckily, the teachers were understanding of my dedication to music. I would especially like to thank my former classmate at the elementary school 'Savo Pejanova' Lina Lakić, on understanding and support", notes Nikolić and reveals who is his biggest supporter:
"I have the greatest support from my family and friends. I would especially like to emphasize the support of my professor Marko Prentić, who successfully guided me through the entire elementary music education, selflessly passing on his knowledge to me, from the very beginning. In addition to him, I had invaluable support from my dad, who helped me in everything, accompanied me to all competitions, organized trips, trusted me the most and was by my side the whole way", concludes Nikolić.
Guitar festivals are important, especially for young instrumentalists
There are several guitar festivals here, and master classes and workshops are organized as part of some of them. Nikolić tries his best to use every opportunity to learn and improve as much as possible.
"Classical guitar festivals held in Montenegro are of great importance for the popularization of this type of music, as well as for the development and promotion of young guitarists. I recently participated in the 'Montenegro International Guitar Competition', which is held in Tivat, as a competitor where I won in my category. The last event I performed at was the Guitar Art Summer Fest, where there were a lot of master classes and workshops with respected guitarists from all over the world. The concert of Gerardo Nunez and Alvaro Martinete, which was held in Podgorica as part of the "Guitar Days in Podgorica" festival in December last year, left a special impression on me," Nikolić points out, and he hopes that one day he will play at big festivals not only in Montenegro and beyond.
"It would be an honor and a pleasure for me to hold my first solo concert in Podgorica. I would certainly like to participate in all the festivals in Montenegro, but a performance in my hometown would have special significance. I hope that in the future, with great effort and work, I will have the opportunity to adequately present myself to our audience", Nikolić does not hide his expectations.
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