CONCERT
Slobodan Trkulja and Balkanopolis
Slobodan Trkulja is respected worldwide as a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, composer and vocal artist, who has been declared by critics as “one of the most beautiful male voices in the Balkans”. At the age of 11, he taught himself to play the clarinet, after which he mastered playing dozens of other instruments. In 1998, he went to Amsterdam, where he studied saxophone at the Amsterdam Conservatory and completed his master’s studies with the highest honors. He performed in front of thousands of visitors at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, at the World Expo in Shanghai, at the Music Theatre in St. Petersburg, Belgrade’s Sava Center and Kombank Arena, and at festivals such as EXIT, North Sea Jazz Festival and Celtic Connections.
As the frontman and founder of the Balkanopolis group, he has collaborated and performed with significant jazz and symphony orchestras, such as the Metropole Orchestra from the Netherlands, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jazz Orchestra of Concertgebouw and the Eddy Martinez Latin Big Band, as well as with numerous renowned artists including Mariza, Oleta Adams, Giorgos Dalaras, Baaba Mal, Majsa Kara, Pelageya and Josipa Lisac. They have released three studio albums — Let iznad Balkana, Prizivanje kiše and Kingdom of Balkanopolis, as well as the concert release Live in Belgrade with Metropole Orchestra. The music that Trkulja composes for this group is based on jazz, orchestral and pop-art music, as well as traditional Balkan melodies and rhythms. It ranges from acoustic and traditional expression, performed on Serbian traditional instruments, through fierce improvised jazz solos over extremely complex Balkan rhythms, to contemporary arrangements of ancient Byzantine chants and archaic “throat singing”. In addition to music, Trkulja is also known for his humanitarian work and special musical performances for babies and young children.