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Recent reviews

American Press

Mak was recently hailed by the Washington Post as "a lyrical insightful player... as playing with "beauty" and "intelligence", calling his interpretations nuanced and introspective." His performance of Weiss's Passacaglia in D Major was proclaimed a "high point of the evening" offering "a superb, finely detailed reading that showed Grgic is a guitarist to keep an eye on."

Stephen Brookes, Washington Post, October 2012

"Rich, vibrating chords fuse into a whimsical melody, crisp as morning air. It’s such descriptions that sum up the aural confections of Slovenian guitarist Mak Grgic, a graduate student at the USC Thornton School of Music, who stands at the cusp of his blooming career, brimming with talent and ready to take the music world by storm."

Valerie Yu, Daily Trojan, December 2012

European Press

"Mak Grgic is a young artist with an undoubtedly luminous career ahead of him...he portrayed an immense capability of developing the thematic material with a certain profound sense, which goes the same for his tendency for clarity of a phrase...his playing is, in fact, full of personality and wide musical range."  

Franco Di Lena, Il Messaggero, September 2011

"Mak Grgic is a guitarist who plays with a touch of intelligence rather than only with his hands. He constantly gives an impression of control of every aspect of music, which results in an overwhelming technical and marvelously bright capture of the emotional atributes of a musical piece."

Giorgio Tortora - composer, guitarist and artistic director of the Musica a 4 Stelle, September 2011

“An alluring combination of masterful guitar skills, dedication to playing and an engaging stage presence fascinated the multigenerational audience, who refused to let the guitar virtuoso of the stage.”
Manca Cujez, siol.net, March 2011

"Mak Grgic introduced himself to our audience with the Rodrigo Fantasia para un Gentilhombre and Adios Nonino by Astor Piazzolla. He is a prominent young guitarist whose virtuosity is made transparent through a blend of pure talent and hard work...he has an excellent technique. He is attentive to both the beauty of his sound and a sense of responsibility to the written page. With such important opportunities he moves closer to becoming the creme de la creme."

Helena Novak, klasika.hr, August 2011

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Performance highlights

- "Strings of Fire" with the Assad Brothers and cellist Joshua Roman at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts in Denver, including the premiere of a new work by Derek Bermel written for Mak. 

- Da Camera Society of Los Angeles Residency and Premiere of New Guitar Quintet by David Crowell with JACK Quartet and Two Duo Recitals with cellist Jeremiah "Jay" Campbell

- Minnesota Guitar Society

- The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., A program of music including works associated with Imperial Augsburg

- Porgy and Bess by Gershwin with USC Thornton Symphony and Carl St.Clair conducting; Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles

- Hommage à Horatiu Radulescu Festival in Cologne, Germany

- Rising Star Concerts, Mak Grgic and cellist John Sant'Ambrogio-Santa Barbara California    

- Arts at the Park, Park Avenue Christian Church in NYC, performing Music for Solo guitar and with organist Paul Vasile

- Strathmore Hall Recital in Bethesda, Maryland

- Festival Mikulov in Czech Republic   

News

New CD Release

"Slovenian guitarist makes his mark...a superb, finely detailed reading that showed Grgic is a guitarist to keep an eye on" Click here for the full Washington Post review.

Mak was just awarded the Thornton Gluck Fellowship for the Spring of 2013.

New CD on the Marquis Music label coming out in 2013, including great works used in movies.

Mak makes his concerto debut in Slovenia in performance with RTV Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Ivo Lipanovic at Gallus Hall, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Mak receives 1st prize at the Luigi Mozzani International Guitar Competition, Italy.

An invitation back for a recital at the National Gallery in D.C. after a successful recital in October 2012. More in schedule.

String Modulations CD receives rave reviews: "...crème de la crème of young Slovenian musicianship..." by Tomaz Grzeta for Jeunesses Musicales Slovenia

Read Mak's interview in Jana - popular Slovenian magazine (in PDF).

• more news