Renowned Guitar Makers Showcase Craft at Niksic Guitar Festival

The Niksic Guitar Festival is set to host its much-anticipated event, featuring a two-day exhibition titled “Guitar Expo” on December 5 and 6, 2023. Scheduled from 10:00 to 18:00, the festival will take place at the facilities of Radio-Television Niksic in Montenegro. This event will serve as a platform for four distinguished guitar makers to display their handcrafted instruments.

The exhibition will showcase the work of notable builders: Andreas Marvi from Spain, Dimitris Piperidis from Greece, Slavko Mrdalj from Serbia, and Sergej Rusakov from Russia. This segment of the festival is particularly valuable for both emerging and professional guitarists, providing them with an opportunity to explore various instrument-making techniques and the unique sound characteristics that each builder emphasizes. Visitors will have the chance to test the instruments firsthand and engage in discussions with the artisans, whose guitars are revered in international artistic circles.

In addition to the exhibition, the festival will culminate in the grand finale of the international guitar competition on December 7, 2023, at 20:00 in the Television Niksic studio, with a live broadcast. The audience can also follow the finale on the festival’s official YouTube channel and Facebook page. This final evening will highlight the culmination of this year’s event, as finalists present their performances to a panel of esteemed judges, including prominent artists and guitar educators such as Goran Krivokapić from Montenegro/Germany, Srđan Tošić from Serbia, and Goran Perišić from Montenegro.

The competitors advancing to the finals include Gonsalo Maja Kaetano from Portugal, Stefan Kostić from Montenegro, Gas Mekvejd from the United Kingdom, Masimiliano Testa from Italy, and Natan Zlodre from Croatia.

This year’s prize fund maintains the festival’s longstanding tradition of supporting instrument makers. The first-place winner will receive a handmade guitar by Andreas Marvi, valued at €9,000. The runner-up will be awarded a guitar crafted by Dimitris Piperidis, worth €4,000. Additionally, the third-place contestant will gain free entry to the International Guitar Competition “Transylvania” in Cluj, Romania, as well as to the next edition of the Niksic Guitar Festival in 2026.

The Niksic Guitar Festival this year benefits from the support of local institutions, including the Niksic municipality, the Ministry of Culture and Media, Niksic Theatre, Radio-Television Niksic, the Music Centre of Montenegro, the Music Academy of Cetinje, and the Music School “Dara Čokorilo.” The contributions of builders Andreas Marvi and Dimitris Piperidis have also been instrumental in making this event a reality.