Award Winning Classical Guitarist Showcased at the Hillman Visiting Artist Series

02/05/08

The Department of Music at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor continues its season of the Hillman Visiting Artist Series with international award-winning classical guitarist, Petar Jankovic, in Hughes Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 28. The concert is free and open to the public.

Petar Jankovic is an artist who masterfully translates music into emotion. He connects with audiences. And whether they have heard him play one time or one hundred times, they find themselves moved. What is most appealing about Jankovic's style is his genuine, expressive interpretation of any given composition. More than a classical guitar player, he is a person with the gift of communicating honest emotions of the human experience.

His expressive performances and a technical mastery found only among the world's top musicians make it easy to understand why Jankovic has received overwhelming international acclaim. Since beginning his professional music career in 1985, he has delighted audiences at recitals and enlightened students in his master classes throughout Europe and the United States. Having participated at major competitions around the globe, and currently playing over 30 concert in a season his universally evocative sound has won high regard with the world's classical music community, and as a result, Jankovic has garnered numerous prestigious awards. Some of these include the1998 Bronze medal at the 1998 H.R.H. Princess Cristina 13th International Guitar Competition, Madrid (Spain), 1998 First Prize at the First Annual Competition in Performance of Hispano-American music, Bloomington (Indiana), the 1998 Bronze medal at the M.M.Ponce International guitar competition, Mexico City (Mexico),and the 1997 Graduate Top Strings Award, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale, first guitarist ever to win this award .

Jankovic began his guitar studies at age eight in his native Yugoslavia, where he later earned a degree in classical guitar from the renowned Music Academy in Belgrade. While in Yugoslavia, he became a two-time gold medal, silver medal, and two-time bronze medal winner at the National Music Competition. At age 16, he delivered his first professional performance, and by age 20, the Community College in Belgrade invited the young, talented Jankovic to share his expertise with beginning classical guitar students. This marked the beginning of a distinguished teaching career that has developed alongside his successful performing career.

He went on to earn a master's degree from the Indiana University School of Music, and in the mid-90s, the I.U. Jacobs School of Music invited Jankovic to pursue the esteemed Artist Diploma Degree under the guidance of Maestro Ernesto Bitetti. Still dedicated to sharing his talent through both performing and teaching, Jankovic developed a guitar program at Franklin College of Indiana in 1997. At present, he is a faculty member at the Indiana University School of Music.

A rising star among the world's top musicians, Jankovic has never paused from honing his skills and developing artistically. In 1998, he released "Romantico" - a CD exploring the sounds of the romantic Spanish and Latino-American world, and featuring Jankovic's interpretations of pieces by famous composers such as Albeniz, Torrobba, Pipo, Piazzolla, and Ponce. Luis Zea, a well-known composer and guitar player from Venezuela, perhaps best captured the essence of Jankovic's style by exclaiming, "He is a natural poet!" In 2002, Jankovic released his "Bogdanovic, Brouwer, Dyens" CD featuring works by the most prominent and played classical guitar composers living today. Commenting on this most recent release, Serbian Studies, USA published, "Jankovic's interpretation points to his interest in presenting the inherent beauty of the musical phrase with great care... His interpretation testifies to his artistic maturity and dedication to the essence of the musical content of the works on this CD."

This concert is made possible through the generous support of the Helen Frances Hillman Fund for Scholarly Exchange. The Hillman Visiting Artist Recital Series is underwritten by The Helen Frances Hillman Fund for Scholarly Exchange. The fund was established in 1999 by Dr. Jimmye S. Hillman in honor of his wife, Helen Frances Smith Hillman, Mary Hardin-Baylor Class of 1946. The fund was designed to foster scholarly exchange at UMHB, particularly in the area of fine arts, music and languages.

All performances in the Hillman Visiting Artist Series are free and open to the public. For more information please call the College of Visual and Performing Arts at 254- 295-4678.

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