site.btaNinth International Guitar Festival Opens in Plovdiv

The ninth edition of the International Guitar Festival GuitArt Festival Plovdiv opened this evening. The event will run through Sunday, October 26, across several venues in the city, including Studio 1 of BNR–Plovdiv, Bee Bop Cafe, Jazz Club In the Jazz, and the State Puppet Theatre – Plovdiv.

The opening concert at Studio 1 featured previous winners of the GuitArt international competition — Cassie Martin (2023) and Pavle Filipovic (2024) — who performed in a joint concert.

Festival founder and artistic director Hristo Kolikov told BTA that the idea for the event came from his early years as a guitarist. “As a young guitarist, I wanted access to a wider range of concerts by performers from around the world, not just the few available at the time. So I decided to organize this festival for younger guitarists — to give them opportunities to gain experience and to add educational value to the event,” Kolikov said.

Kolikov said that the festival aims to highlight the guitar’s role across various musical styles — from classical traditions to popular and rock music — and to promote the enjoyment of playing and listening to the instrument.

The program also includes the international classical guitar competition GuitArt Plovdiv, whose final round will be held at the Plovdiv Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts. “The competition gathers young guitarists from around the world and serves as a platform for discovering new talent,” Kolikov said.

The competition takes place in two rounds, the first held online. The jury of six selects the first-, second-, and third-place winners after the final round on Sunday, October 26. The awards ceremony will be held that evening before the closing concert by Mateusz Kowalski, one of the rising young classical guitarists.

This year’s jury includes Prof. Dr. Stella Dinkova-Miteva, Vice-Rector of the Academy, Damjan Pejcinoski, and the opening performers Cassie Martin and Pavle Filipovic. The award ceremony will take place on the final day of the festival at the State Puppet Theatre – Plovdiv.

Special guests at this year’s edition include the Istanbul-based group Light in Babylon, the Bulgarian Quintet Colors, guitarist Damjan Pejcinoski and his quintet from North Macedonia, Blazin’ Quartet (Bosnia/Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria), and the Greek Trio Taratsa, among others.