The 11th VG Brass Festival took place in Zagreb (Croatia) in the first week of May and was complemented by exhibitions, workshops and concerts in Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Belgrade (Serbia). The event was extremely well organised “in typical Balkan style” and we were thrilled to welcome a very large number of visitors – all of a high musical level – at all venues. We were given a very warm welcome in Zagreb, Ljubljana and Belgrade, particularly by artistic director of the festival Tomislav Špoljar and Darko Sedak-Benčić, who organised our exhibitions.
Special mention must be made of the impressive concert on 03 May in the Church of Velika Gorica by Andrei Kavalinski who gave an outstanding world-première performance of Raindrops for solo trumpet in the presence of its composer Petar Obradovic. In his concerts Andrei was accompanied by Kristina Bjelopavlovíc-Cesar (http://kbcpiano.com), a pianist with boundless energy and a natural born talent. A further memorable concert was given by Franc Kosem who also organised the exhibition in Ljubljana together with Darko Sedak-Benčić.
Hub van Laar and Heidrun Joechner would like to express their sincere thanks to everyone who visited the festival and for their great interest in our instruments. We should also like to say a very big thank you to everyone – including those from the home base – who made our trip an unforgettable experience. We had a truly wonderful time!
For more pictures please feel free to watch our Facebook album.
Zagreb | Academy of Music
Andrei Kavalinski, Hub van Laar and Tomislav Špoljar
Zagreb | Academy of Music
Exhibition Zagreb | Academy of Music
Zagreb | Academy of Music | Workshop Andrei Kavalinski
Velika Gorica | Tomislav and Andrei before the opening concert
Zagreb | Academy of Music
Zagreb | Academy of Music
Zagreb | Academy of Music
Velika Gorica | Concert Franc Kosem
Ljubljana | Kazina
Exhibition Ljubljana | Kazina
Exhibition Ljubljana | Kazina
Ljubljana | Workshop Andrei Kavalinski
Belgrade | ArtGet Cultural Centre
Exhibition Belgrade | ArtGet Cultural Centre
Belgrade | Concert Andrei Kavalinski and Kristina Bjelopavloić-Cesar
Heidrun, Hub, Tomislav, Andrei, Kristina and Darko
11th VG Brass Festival
The 11th VG Brass Festival will take place in Velika Gorica and Zagreb (Croatia) in the first week of May and will be complemented by exhibitions, workshops and concerts in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Belgrade (Serbia).
During the festival week, we will be present and our instruments will be available for testing. Furthermore concerts and workshops will be given by Van Laar artists Franc Kosem and Andrei Kavalinski.
The festival has been organised by Van Laar artists Tomislav Špoljar and Darko Sedak-Benčić and is under
the patronage of Croatian President Mrs. Kolinda Grabar Kitarović.
Exhibitions:
May 2: Academy of Music, University of Zagreb, Trg maršala Tita 12, 10000,
Zagreb, Croatia
9:00 – 16:00
May 3: Academy of Music, University of Zagreb, Trg maršala Tita 12, 10000,
Zagreb, Croatia
9:00 – 13:00
May 5: Kazina “Dvorana Viola” Kongresni Trg 1, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
13:30 – 16:00
May 6: Art Get Cultural Centre Trg Republike 5, 11000,
Belgrade, Serbia
15:00 – 18:00
May 7: Art Get Cultural Centre Trg Republike 5, 11000,
Belgrade, Serbia
10:00 – 12:30