Final concert of Groningen Guitar Festival presents two solo recitals by the Ukrainian young master Marko Topchii and the Belgian ‘Painter of Sound’ Jan Depreter

Marko Topchii started playing the guitar at the age of four and received his professional training in Kharkiv, Kyiv and San Francisco. He has won around a hundred prizes at international competitions in Asia, Europe and the United States and performs all over the world both as a soloist and with an orchestra. He is a sought-after teacher of master classes and jury member of competitions. During a concert in November 2022, he enchanted the Groningen audience with an impressive solo recital.

On his fourth album ‘Carnival’, which was released in the autumn of 2022, he recorded works by Brouwer, Tansmann, Tárrega and Rodney Bennett, among others.

Jan Depreter is considered one of the ten best guitarists in the world and is known as the ‘Sound Painter’ of the guitar for producing the most fascinating variety and scope in sound colours. In addition to being a guitarist, Depreter is also a singer (baritone), pianist and lutenist. His compositions for guitar are performed all over the world.

He gives concerts on all continents and has recorded many albums that demonstrate his dedication to a wide variety of musical styles: from Bach to Villa-Lobos and from Turina to Armand Coeck.

He is a teacher at the Deurne Academy and organises the Antwerp Guitar Festival & International Guitar Competition since 2010. He has been giving master classes all over the world for over twenty years, is affiliated with Tonebase and has been involved in the assessment of the Bachelor and Master guitar exams at the Prince Claus Conservatory of Groningen for several years.

These two exceptional artists provide the final concert of the Groningen Guitar Festival & Competition.