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. Ninth International Guitar Festival Opens in Plovdiv THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-10-23 21:32:16 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law