Macedonian Dreams (14. 11. 19:30)

NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA

The Macedonian National Jazz Orchestra is a symbol of fine jazz music and high-level artistic performance. This fiery Big Band unites top-of-the-line jazz musicians from Macedonia and internationally renowned guest artists. Established as a national institution in 2024, it has quickly become a central force in the country’s cultural life. With innovative programming, sold-out performances, and strong audience engagement, it has built a reputation as a national jazz brand.

Guest artist features have included vocalists Kurt Elling and Maria Mendes, as well as collaborations with Donny McCaslin, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Don Menza, Seun Kuti, Sigi Feigl, Luis Bonilla and Francesco Bearzatti — all of whom have contributed to the orchestra’s growing international profile.

The upcoming season will feature a collaboration with Yellowjackets, along with a concert at La Fabrika in Prague and a performance at Porgy & Bess in Vienna, as part of the orchestra’s Central European tour.

VLADIMIR NIKOLOV

A composer whose works cover a wide range of musical languages and genres, using backgrounds in classical music and jazz as point of departure. As arranger, Vladimir worked with ensembles such as the Metropole Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, BBC Radio Orchestra. Among the collaborative artists, he worked with: John Clayton, Randy Brecker, Vince Mendoza, Chaka Khan, Jacob Collier, to name but a few. He published three studio albums with the ensemble Nikolov-Ivanović Undectet. After a grand opening of the Belgrade Jazz Festival with guest soloist Magic Malik in 2019, JazzTimes magazine reviewed this ensemble as “groundbreaking, among the most creative current large jazz ensembles in Europe”. He orchestrated music for several film projects, among which Oscar winner “The Artist”. He also orchestrated the Grammy awarded arrangement of the retake of “All Night Long” by Jacob Collier (2020).