Petrit Çeku (born 2 June 1985) is an Albanian classical guitarist.

Biography

Born in

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, Kosovo , Çeku was inspired to play guitar by his father from the age of six. He attended the

Lorenc Antoni Lorenc Antoni (23 September 1909 – 21 October 1991) was an Albanian composer, conductor, and ethnomusicologist. Early years Lorenc Antoni was born 23 September 1909 in Üsküp (now Skopje), in the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (present ...

music school from age 9 to 17, where he took lessons in classical guitar from Luan Sapunxhiu. In 2002, Çeku was invited by Xhevdet Sahatxhija to study in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and S ...

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, at the Pavao Markovac school of music. In 2008, Çeku graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Music in the class of Darko Petrinjak. From 2009–13 he went on to study with

Manuel Barrueco Manuel Barrueco (born December 16, 1952) is a Cuban classical guitarist. During three decades of concert performances he has performed and recorded across the United States and has been involved in many successful collaborations. In addition, he ...

at the

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–186 ...

in Baltimore, USA. Çeku has performed many recitals throughout Europe and the Americas and was a soloist with orchestras such as Baltimore Symphony, Czech Chamber Philharmonic, State Hermitage Orchestra of St. Petersburg and Zagreb Philharmonic. He also appears regularly with the famed Zagreb Soloists and is a founding member of Guitar Trio Elogio. He regularly performs at music festivals such as Next Generation Festival, Samobor Festival, Panama Guitar Festival, Moscow Guitar Virtuosi and Prishtina’s Remusica Festival. He also teaches regularly at the Polish Guitar Academy and the Young Masters Samobor Festival. From time to time, the musician returns to his hometown with concerts and various musical performances. Petrit Çeku plays on a guitar made by Ross Gutmeier.

Awards

Prizes

* 2012 Parkening International Guitar Competition, Malibu, California * 2011 Allentown Symphony Schadt String Competition, Allentown, Pennsylvania * 2011 Maurizio Biasini International Guitar Competition, Bologna, Italy * 2007 Michele Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition, Alessandria, Italy * 2005 Ferdo Livadic Competition, Samobor, Croatia, Best Concert Performance * 2004 Andres Segovia International Competition for Young Guitarists, Velbert Germany * 2004 Emilio Pujol Competition, Sassari, Italy * 2003 All Croatia Competition, Dubrovnik, Croatia * 2003 Anna Amalia Guitar Competition, Weimar, Germany

Second Prizes

* 2012

JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition The JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition is a competition for classical guitarists from all over the world. The competition was launched in 2004 by PBS member stations WNED-FM, WNED-TV and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (B ...

, Buffalo, New York * 2006 Parkening International Guitar Competition, Malibu, California * 2006 Printemps de la Guitare, Charleroi, Belgium

Other Awards

* 2012

, Buffalo, New York, Audience Favorite and Musicians Favorite Honors * 2008 Zagreb Philharmonic, Best Young Musician of the Year, Zagreb, Croatia * 2005 Ivo Vuljevic Best Young Musician of the Year Award

Discography

Çeku's first CD was released in 2008 at the Naxos label. His recordings of Bach's complete cello suites, arranged by Valter Dešpalj, were released in 2016 under the Spanish label EudoraEudoraRecords.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceku, Petrit 1985 births Living people Kosovan classical musicians Kosovan classical guitarists People from Prizren 21st-century guitarists