NEWS

Meeting of three trumpet styles

(a short leason from history of the festival)

Early years of Festival will be remembered by hilarious playing on stage in guca.For the first time(1963),the stage wellcomed the trumpet players from east serbia(from Timok Border)led by Raka Kostic.Also appeared players from south Serbia(Vranje and neigberhoud..)with Bakija Bakic.The trumpet master from west Serbia were led by Radovan Babic.This three player we can call like promoter of three trumpet music style.

Raka Kostic,with his orchestra,starts playing Vlaska kola and Vlaska traditionalmusic,from his home area,deeply rooted in romanian folk music.the main feature of this music is a fast tempo with particulary stressed part of bars.A bass trumpet,small and big drums are of great importance and require absolut tuning up of the orchestra.This apearance of east Serbian music was highly prizedby the jury and audience.

  Then,on stage,appeared Bakija Bakic.His orchestra start playing the temperamental southern folk dance called "cocek",heard for the first time in Gucain ears of visitors from west Serbia.Actualy,both the jury and audience were facing,for the firsta time the incredibile performance of music made irregulary placed bars such as  9/8 "cocek' (2/8+2/8+2/8+3/8),typical for the south of Serbiaand yet challlenging for the player from west  and east serbia whose playing is characterized by "Serbian dvojka"(2/4).The easiness,well balanced,faultless performance of Bakija Bakic,made his orchestra look like aliance who lit the sky above Guca...

   The answer has come from west.The stage wellcomes Radovan Babic,trumpet legend of west Serbia(..also one of the few trumpet player who got formal music education)and his orchestra.they start playing kolo(Serbian folk dance)"Moravac" and everybody,hand in hand starts that wheel dancing as a climax of the performance of all players of that Festival...

(Also,the main role in this trumpet style had a Svetozar Lazovic Gongo a two decade from first festival.He has been rememmbered playing the one of the most difficult compossition(actualy,the word going on traditional central  Serbian song "Psenicice sitno seme"-Tiny seeds of Grain)to interpretate.,It  was widely known that only the masters of trumpet could play it,and only after countless hours of painstaking practice)...

From that festival ,nothing has been the same.The organizer,both jury of experts and audience realized tha serbia is country of gifted,talented trumpet players,unique in the world.And Guca is her trumpet capitol city.Festival become legend.Legend become myth.To the nowadays....

 Preliminary Competitions for the Guca Trumpet  festival

Year by year,festival starstart growing up.At the first festival were four,second six and third-sixteen bands.It was then that problem with the lenght of the festival appeared.If every band played four melodies(in the begining)the contest would last for a long time(more then 4 hours).that would be a long time both for the audience and the jury.Very important decsion were made then too:

-"Sa Ovcara  i Kablara"-it ought to be played by all the trumperters as on anthem of the festival

-the band would play three melodies that they chose  themselves,but the had to be authentic and from the part of country were they lived(from 1993 they play only two melodies...traditional song and traditional kolo/dance)

-an elimination contest for all the bands was introduced

 As more and more bands throughout Serbiabecome interested for the festival reaching a hundred,the organizers,the council of the jury decide that only 20 bands can take part in the contest in Guca.

*So ,for south Serbia pre-contest is in Surdulica.They send 9 orchestras(represent of them are ,in past Bakija Bakic orch,then Ekrem Mamutovic,then Feat Sejdic band,Slobodan Salijevic,also nowadays Boban Markovic,Demiran Cerimovic..and so on...)

 *For east Serbia pre contest is in Boljevac.They send 2 orhestras(the best representativ of thad soundi was Raka Kostic,and today his deputy)

  *West Serbia pre-contest is stationed on mountain Zlatibor.They send 6 orchestras

      (legendary Radovan Babic, Milovan Mico Petrovic,Svetozar Lazovic-Gongo,and nowadays Dejan Petrovic and Dejan Lazarevic)

 *Apart from Zlatibor,there is another pre-contest for western Serbia(for Dragacevo and Moravicki district)which is held in village Kotraza. near Guca.They send 3 orchestras...

This way only 20 bands taking the role in final competition in Guca every year.....

Trumpeters wake-up call!How it become?

What is it?(you will found if you come)

  The majority of visitors came to the festival for a litlle more than just watching the comtest of players.the visitors wanted their share fun,as well.So,the official programme of the festival got aditions ,in form of various side events,among which there were the concerts organized under the marquees.This initiatives was wellcomeed by the guest,as well as by the players.like answer for growing demand from the visitor regarding the popular entertriment,and the opprtunities to relax for a couple days,forget about the everyday problem and recharge their energy,the marquees started to open on a non-stop  basis,during the whole time of festival.and it seemed that they never emptied,they constantly filled with visitors who had fun there until down,fighting back the tirednesandfatigue.

This lead to the think of efective way of waking the guest up early in the morning.This unique way was found soon-it was so -called "Festival wake up call",as a special part of program.On saturday and sundaymorning,at the7 AM sharp,the blast of thefestival cannon(called"prangija")shakes the town,waking up the sleepies,after which four trumpet bands make four procession and start to move in the direction of main stree to the Trumpet Player statue,playing their lively music.... 

Masters letter

It's the highest acknowledgement in trumpet performing art.Trumpeters are gifted artists who transfer their knowledge and art of their instrument to the audience and members of the jury,who judge the value of the melody which cosist of regular rhytme expression,clearly played tones as well as the value of melodiy which is difficult to perform on brass instruments.Well practiced harmonic sound of the entire orchestra is of great importance,too.

Masters Letter is a title of the Trumpet Master.A musician can become a Trumpet Master only by winning the competition on stage and by good performance in Guca.

Names of the Laureates of this prestigious title are carved in a marble plate at the House of Culture in Guca,making the layers important historic characters of the musical history of our nation....

 Secret of  succes by Boban Markovic

Both the experts and trumpet fans consider Boban Markovic one of the most talented trumpet players at the end of the 20th cetury.

He was born in the village of Prekodolci,near city Vladicin Han.It's natural temperament,absolut hearing(God gift),long practice on the trumpet ona daily bases,made him a widely known and respected legend.And legend he is..

He was quite aware of the fact that he can win in Guca only by being the best in all three style:from east ,west and central serbia serbia on festival 1980.

So,trying to win those frome east ,he played a Romanian folk dance "Sheva"("Lark")compose by Zorz Enesko.Only few misician had played it before,pone of them being the most successfull Romanian violinist Nikus tanesku.Audience and jury were stunned by briliance of his performance,because Boban,without any musical education whatsoever,faultlessly although just by ear,played each tone of this melody.

He also played music of south(South serbia,Vranje,and Macedonia)and more conviccigly than nobody else.

In order to be able to play music of central and west Serbia,he had to learn  Serbian kolo "Moravac" and others dance,as well as an authentic song from these regions,previously played by trumpet players from those regions and extremely difficult for the players from the east and south.

The complete novelty in Guca,a surprise for jury and audience was playing evergreen,film music("Titanik",i.e.),world famous hits like "Lambada", "Love story" and song by ray Charles,the novelty that liked all  the generation of spectators..

This required the jury tio invite educated musicians in oreder to rank and grade playing acurately.Boban can be considered a great proffessionalist,very popular,greatly engaged in Europe and the world,like you know....

His son,Marko Markovic,taking dad shoes.Some experts says that he will be famoused then father.We will see.....