Concerts

Montenegrin Guitar Duo

The Montenegrin Guitar Duo consists of two eminent classical guitarists from Montenegro – Goran Krivokapić and Danijel Cerović.

The duo is frequently invited to prestigious international venues around the world, such as Saint Petersburg Philharmonia Hall in Russia, Manuel de Falla Hall in Madrid, and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Presenters including Koblenz Guitar Festival, Festival Internacional de Musica y Danza de Granada, KotorArt Festival, Istanbul Classical Guitar Festival, Ohrid Summer Festival, Guittaras del Mundo (Argentina), Qinling Mountains International Guitar Festival, Shenyang International Guitar Festival and Daejeon International Guitar Festival regularly engage the Montenegrin Guitar Duo to give recitals, deliver lectures and masterclasses, and adjudicate important competitions. They also regularly perform concerti for two guitars, such as J. Rodrigo’s Concierto Madrigal.

The Duo has a large repertoire, comprising transcriptions of ancient music and original compositions written in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, with a special emphasis on contemporary music written for two guitars. Their two principal aims are to broaden the guitar repertoire and to further integrate the guitar into chamber music. Their education work has taken them to Toronto University and Montreal Conservatoire in Canada, Chapman and Metropolitan universities in the USA, Maastrich Conservatoire in the Netherlands and Tianjin University in China.

Their debut CD comprising pieces by C. Domeniconi, A. Piazzolla and D. Bogdanović was published by the Montenegrin Music Centre in 2013. In 2015, ‘Naxos’ released the first of two volumes of J. S. Bach’s English Suites, transcribed by the duo for two guitars.

Completing this unique project to transcribe and record the entire set of English Suites, Volume 2 was released in June 2018. The duo’s performances are always enthusiastically received both by their audiences and the press, and these historically-informed performances of their own two-guitar arrangements of J. S. Bach’s English Suites have received particular praise from the critics.

Anton Baranov

As a winner of 2013 Guitar Foundation of America Competition and more than 20 other prestigious contests around the globe, Russian guitarist Anton Baranov bas established himself as one of the leading guitarists of today.

His performances in a number of distinguished halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Mariinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Centenario Hall in Beijing have been described by musical critics as "pure magic" (Cleveland Classical), and "manages to paint beautiful sound pictures of rich depth and color with his guitar." (The Guitar). Besides his concert activity Anton Baranov gives master-classes at McGill University in Montreal, South Vietnam Conservatory in Ho Chi Minh City, Estonian Academy Of Music And Theatre in Tallinn and other institutions.

Baranov's recordings include one album for Naxos Classical and a CD for Contrastes Records. Naxos release of Latin American Guitar Sonatas received American Classical Records Guide award as one of the best albums of 2014. His Contrastes Records album consists of Spanish guitar music and it's on the market since August 2014. The most recent recording 'White Nights serenades' released in August of 2019 by 'Fleur de son classics' and distributed worldwide by Naxos of America.

Anton Baranov was born in 1984 and started playing guitar at the age of ten. He completed his musical education at the oldest and most famous Russian school of music, the Saint-Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in 2010 and currently teaches at Mussorgsky music college. Mr. Baranov has been a D' Addario artist since 2013 and plays Max Cuker guitar.

Vojin Kocić

Vojin Kocić was born in 1990 in Smederevo/Serbia where he started playing the guitar at the age of 8. In Zurich he studied at the Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) and obtained a Master of Arts degree with major in guitar under Prof. Anders Miolin and also a Master of Arts degree in music pedagogy. He received additional specializations from Maestro Oscar Ghiglia at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 where he received Diploma d'Onore as the only guitarist who ever did it at this important academy.

Vojin Kocić maintains a very musical, expressive and at the same time virtuosic playing and has a repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century. Vojin Kocic belongs to the top of the international guitar scene and the critics also call him the "master of soft tones" (according to SRF).

In his career, Vojin Kocić has been awarded with over 50 recognitions to date, which include first places at high-ranking international guitar competitions, special awards, scholarships and certificates. Among others, in 2014 he won first prize at the Prix Credit Suisse Jeunes Solistes, in which soloists of all classical instruments participate, as well as prizes at the following competitions: 'Incontri Chitarristici di Gargnano, 'Ruggero Chiesa', International Guitar Festival and Competition in Heinsberg, Michele Pittaluga Guitar Competition in Alessandria.

Vojin Kocić recorded 2 CD's for NAXOS record label and has performed over 300 solo and chamber music concerts worldwide, including the recitals at renowned festivals such as Lucerne Festival, Verbier Festival, Guitar Virtuosos at Tchaikovsky Hall, Music Olympus in St. Petersburg, etc.

Since the fall semester of 2022 he bacame a guitar professor at the Zurich University of the Arts. He plays on guitar made by Jean Noel Rohe and uses D'Addario strings.

Akis Sipsas

Akis Sipsas was born in Kalamata in 2000. In 2018 he was admitted to the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University in Corfu majoring in classical guitar, where he is now a senior. He was a student of the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata from 2014 until 2021 when he received his diploma, in the classical guitar class of Antonis Koufoudakis, with excellent honors and first prize.

Sipsas has attended seminars as an active member with: Leo Brouwer, Sergio Assad, Anielo Desiderio, Hubert Käppel, Ricardo Gallen, Marco Tamayo, Pablo Marquez, Dale Kavanagh, etc.

He has received awards in competitions, some of which are as follows: 1st Prize at the 29⁰ Patras International Guitar Festival, 1st Prize at the Arion International Guitar Festival in Molyvos, 1st Prize at the Kalamata Guitar Festival, 2nd Prize at the Guitar Festival Paleou Faliros etc.

Finally, Akis Sipsas has appeared in many concerts in important venues, either playing solo guitar or chamber music, such as: Kalamata Dance Hall, Kalamata Spiritual Center, Ionian Academy, Achilleion Palace, University of Peloponnese, etc.

Panos Tzanis

Panos Tzanis was born on August 31, 2001 in Patras and is currently a student in the 3rd year of the Department of Medicine of Patras. He started playing guitar at the age of six at the Patras Conservatory Philharmonic Society, in the class of Panagiotis Kydoniatis.

In 2020, he received his degree with honors, while two years later he also received his guitar diploma with honors, completing his studies at the Conservatory.

In addition to his studies, he has participated in seminars as an active member with renowned soloists such as: Evangelos Asimakopoulos, Lisa Zoi, Elena Papandreou, Anton Baranov, Marcin Dylla.

He has distinguished himself in pan-Hellenic guitar competitions with his last distinction being the 2nd Prize in the competition part of the 29th Lisa Zoi-Evangelos Asimakopoulos Guitar Festival in Patras in 2022!