Robert Belinic with Paducah Symphony

This weekend (January 24) the Paducah Symphony in Paducah,
Kentucky, had the privilege of accompanying Robert Belinic in the
Villa-Lobos Guitar Concerto. Gspd. Belinic was the first guitarist to
win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions (2002) and among
other places he has played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and
Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in New York City.
Since I play in the Paducah Symphony, most of the orchestra has
heard me endlessly singing the praises of Croatia. They knew I would be
extra excited about this concert, and they were right. Now they, too,
know about the excellence of at least one Croatian musician! (Well, two
-- we also played a Haydn symphony....) And I had a chance to try out my
"five words" of Croatian!
It was a terrific evening, and anyone who is within driving
distance of a Robert Belinic performance should not miss it.

Suzanne Lord

lordlord@siu.edu