We have a lot of incredible people teaching for our programs, and while our students get to work with them every week, we know that our wider community might not know them!
Our featured teacher for March is Elemental Guitar Director Mak Grgić. Under Mak’s leadership, our Elemental Guitar program has grown from a single group of students to more than doubling enrollment with three distinct levels of guitar ensemble! Mak is not only a beloved teacher, but he is a world class artist who has performed on some of the world’s greatest stages and collaborated with many of the best musicians of our times. Whether he’s giving a recital with LA Phil Concertmaster Martin Chalifour, opening for k.d. lang on a North American tour, or inspiring our students each week in rehearsal, we’re so lucky to have this incredible artist on the Elemental Music team. Read more about Mak below!
EM: How did you get started playing your instrument?
Mak Grgić: By accident. My dad and I were taking a nice afternoon stroll in my neighborhood in Ljubljana, Slovenia and saw that the local music school was offering auditions (public music education is a thing in Slovenia!), so we decided to give it a go - on a whim! I had to sing a short melody and repeat a few clapping patterns and I was in. My dad chose the guitar for me, though. I really wanted to play the violin or piano.
EM: You have such a busy performance career. What inspires you to carve out time for teaching, too?
MG: Teaching kids and seeing them grow up is a special feeling. It gives a sense of continuity, familiarity, and care. It is different from teaching masterclasses while on tour, and even different from teaching older students. When working with kids, the teacher has an opportunity to instill a positive and kind attitude that remains with them - in this case, through music. Being a part of that is a big inspiration!
EM: Guitar can be a solitary instrument when students are just starting to learn it. What do you love about teaching guitar ensemble rather than just private lessons?
MG: Learning in an ensemble is a fulfilling and joyful experience, often not offered to guitar students. It is a chance to have ensemble members forge bonds, sometimes lifelong, and learn from each other. I have always personally enjoyed playing with other people and picking up on their musicianship, so it is a privilege to be able to offer an opportunity like this to young students from the very beginning of the learning process.
EM: What has it been like for you to adjust to performance during the Covid era? Have there been any silver linings?
MG: I come from a war-torn area, so the glass is still half full for me, even though my life got flipped upside down. Before the pandemic, my only stable teaching gig was Elemental Music, because the rest of time I would spend traveling and performing. The halt of all of this gave me an opportunity to develop a few projects I’ve always wanted to tackle, and seeing them come to life has been a wonderful experience. There’s Virtual Guitar Orchestra, a musical gaming app and even some compositional efforts that I have been enjoying doing, however I do miss live performances. There is nothing really similar to the energy of a live audience. Can’t wait for that to come back!
EM: What is one of your favorite musical memories?
MG: That would be the first time I felt music for what it was: a dash of magic dust. I was in Zagreb, about 15 years old, going to the musical high school I was attending there, and listening to the Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto, Mvt 2, as played by Yevgeny Kissin. The theme of that movement is played by the orchestra and then taken over by the solo piano. I was standing in a tram and felt goosebumps all over my body, which was me reacting to the magic of music. It felt exhilarating and I spent most of that year chasing that same blissful feeling when playing the guitar.
EM: If you could give our students one piece of advice, musical or otherwise, what would it be?
MG: Stop doing everything you are doing and go practice. Joking! I would say to enjoy music for all the positives that it offers. It’s a tool of joy and beauty, and a wonderful way of forgetting daily troubles. It only takes one beautiful note to spark up the day, so enjoy it whenever you can.
EM: Is there anything else you'd like to add, that you think might be interesting for our community?
MG: Please continue recognizing the arts for the vital part that they play in our society. It may not be food for our tummies, but it is food for our souls – so let’s nurture it together!