Guitarist Ana Vidoviĉ says she can't imagine her life without music
http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/9454/1/Guitarist-Ana-Vidoviae-says-she-cant-imagine-her-life-without-music.html
By Nenad N. Bach
Published on 02/1/2008
Guitarist Ana Vidovic, native of Croatia, says she can't imagine her life without music
by Monica Orosz
Daily Mail Features Editor
It is surprising to hear that a young woman who describes herself as being both close to her family and an introvert moved across the Atlantic Ocean on her own at 20 to become a performer.
The key, says Ana Vidovic, is her guitar, the instrument she first picked up at age 5 in her native Croatia.
"I felt comfortable because I was there with my guitar," Vidovic said. She is describing her ability to step on stage and play to a music hall full of people, but it also explains the major life step she took when she moved to the United States in 2001 to study at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Md., where she still makes her home.
She didn't know anyone and she didn't know much English, either.
"That was a huge step," she said of her move. "There are a lot of differences culturally. I didn't speak much English before. Mostly I learned it here - I just had to learn."
Indeed, Vidovic speaks with surprisingly little accent. She says she has settled nicely into Baltimore, a city she finds nicely located for her concert schedule and for traveling by plane - particularly back to Europe to visit her family, which includes her father and older brother Viktor, who both are guitarists.
It was Viktor's guitar that Vidovic first picked up at 5.
"I have a picture of it - the guitar was bigger than I was, I think," she said. "I don't really remember how it went, but I know I was comfortable with it. I have always loved the sound of the guitar."
Her brother, Viktor, a professor of music at the School of Music in Karlovac, Croatia, served as her instructor before she entered the Music Academy in Zagreb as its youngest-ever student when she was 14.
Vidovic spent a couple of years after that living at home and practicing before she decided her performance career required a move to the United States.
"It was scary," she acknowledged. Her graduate degree bolstered her options in that she can take a teaching position someday if she wishes.
"It would be hard to imagine my life without music," she said.
Right now, however, Vidovic has some private students and makes her living as a performer.
"It's not an easy life," she said. She is on the road nearly every week, either to perform with symphonies, as she will this weekend with the West Virginia Symphony, or in solo concerts.
Her repertoire favors Spanish composers who wrote for guitar and Bach, though Vidovic said she would like to explore jazz next and perhaps work on some jazz arrangements.
This weekend with the symphony, her pieces will include Joaquin Rodgrigo's "Concerto de Aranjuez."
She'll be playing her six-string Jim Redgate guitar, an Australian maker she discovered a few years ago.
"One of my friends played a Redgate and he said, 'You should try this.' Immediately, I liked it - it's a beautiful instrument and it has a beautiful sound."
When she's not touring, Vidovic said she enjoys American culture - spending time with her friends, going to restaurants or movies.
Her boyfriend, Ed, is a recording engineer and musician who plays electric guitar. They visited Croatia in December, where he met her family for the first time.
"We want to go back in the summer," she said.
Source: http://www.dailymail.com/Entertainment/200801310233
Upcoming Performances
February 1, 2008 - 8:00 PM - Charleston, WV
Clay Center, performing Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
February 2, 2008 - 8:00 PM - Charleston, WV
Clay Center, performing Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
February 3, 2008 - 3:00 PM - Parkersburg, WV
Blennerhassett School, performing Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
For tickets call (304) 561-3570 or visit http://www.wvsymphony.org/
Formatted for CROWN by Marko Puljiĉ
Distributed by www.Croatia.org This message is intended for Croatian Associations / Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions / articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! Or simply...enjoy and spread the word and good vibrations.
 | It is surprising to hear that a young woman who describes herself as being both close to her family and an introvert moved across the Atlantic Ocean on her own at 20 to become a performer. Ana Vidoviĉ is far from her native Croatia, but feels at home wherever she is when she has her trusted guitar along. |
Guitar virtuoso joins the West Virginia Symphony in concert this weekend
 |
| Ana Vidovic is far from her native Croatia, but feels at home wherever she is when she has her trusted guitar along. Vidovic joins the West Virginia Symphony in concert this weekend. |
by Monica Orosz
Daily Mail Features Editor
It is surprising to hear that a young woman who describes herself as being both close to her family and an introvert moved across the Atlantic Ocean on her own at 20 to become a performer.
The key, says Ana Vidovic, is her guitar, the instrument she first picked up at age 5 in her native Croatia.
"I felt comfortable because I was there with my guitar," Vidovic said. She is describing her ability to step on stage and play to a music hall full of people, but it also explains the major life step she took when she moved to the United States in 2001 to study at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Md., where she still makes her home.
She didn't know anyone and she didn't know much English, either.
"That was a huge step," she said of her move. "There are a lot of differences culturally. I didn't speak much English before. Mostly I learned it here - I just had to learn."
Indeed, Vidovic speaks with surprisingly little accent. She says she has settled nicely into Baltimore, a city she finds nicely located for her concert schedule and for traveling by plane - particularly back to Europe to visit her family, which includes her father and older brother Viktor, who both are guitarists.
It was Viktor's guitar that Vidovic first picked up at 5.
"I have a picture of it - the guitar was bigger than I was, I think," she said. "I don't really remember how it went, but I know I was comfortable with it. I have always loved the sound of the guitar."
Her brother, Viktor, a professor of music at the School of Music in Karlovac, Croatia, served as her instructor before she entered the Music Academy in Zagreb as its youngest-ever student when she was 14.
Vidovic spent a couple of years after that living at home and practicing before she decided her performance career required a move to the United States.
"It was scary," she acknowledged. Her graduate degree bolstered her options in that she can take a teaching position someday if she wishes.
"It would be hard to imagine my life without music," she said.
Right now, however, Vidovic has some private students and makes her living as a performer.
"It's not an easy life," she said. She is on the road nearly every week, either to perform with symphonies, as she will this weekend with the West Virginia Symphony, or in solo concerts.
Her repertoire favors Spanish composers who wrote for guitar and Bach, though Vidovic said she would like to explore jazz next and perhaps work on some jazz arrangements.
This weekend with the symphony, her pieces will include Joaquin Rodgrigo's "Concerto de Aranjuez."
She'll be playing her six-string Jim Redgate guitar, an Australian maker she discovered a few years ago.
"One of my friends played a Redgate and he said, 'You should try this.' Immediately, I liked it - it's a beautiful instrument and it has a beautiful sound."
When she's not touring, Vidovic said she enjoys American culture - spending time with her friends, going to restaurants or movies.
Her boyfriend, Ed, is a recording engineer and musician who plays electric guitar. They visited Croatia in December, where he met her family for the first time.
"We want to go back in the summer," she said.
Source: http://www.dailymail.com/Entertainment/200801310233
Upcoming Performances
February 1, 2008 - 8:00 PM - Charleston, WV
Clay Center, performing Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
February 2, 2008 - 8:00 PM - Charleston, WV
Clay Center, performing Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
February 3, 2008 - 3:00 PM - Parkersburg, WV
Blennerhassett School, performing Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
For tickets call (304) 561-3570 or visit http://www.wvsymphony.org/
Formatted for CROWN by Marko Puljiĉ
Distributed by www.Croatia.org This message is intended for Croatian Associations / Institutions and their Friends in Croatia and in the World. The opinions / articles expressed on this list do not reflect personal opinions of the moderator. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy all copies of this communication and please, let us know! Or simply...enjoy and spread the word and good vibrations.