Toni Kitanovski likes to describe himself as composer who plays the guitar. After eight years of musical studies with Dragan Gjakonovski Shpato he moved to Boston. As already advanced guitarist it wasn’t in his character to be told how to play the instrument so he picked up composition. Thanks to Robert Share memorial Award he completes his studies at famed Berklee College of Music and became recipient of Charles Mingus Award for extraordinary musical achevements. His mentors were Greg Hopkins and Herb Pomeroy. Special arranging and composition studies with Denis Grillo (a student of Paul Hindemith) and seminars of Georgy Ligeti and LicianoBerio at New England Conservatory and Harvard complemented his studies of musical composition. He used that knowledge and experience to advance his guitar concepts.

He has written a large body of compositions in jazz idiom as well as symphonic pieces, music for film, theatre, performance and contemporary dance.
Currently, he is working on a concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra for PetritCeku and collaborates with guitarist Eric MaluMalu on an album with musicians from Kinshasa, DR Congo.

He holds position as professor of jazz guitar and composition, and serves as Dean of Music Academy at UGD – Stip.

 

 

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