Mathematics, Martial Arts, Education, and Guitar. Is There Anything Mak Grgić Can't Do??
Touted as a "gifted young guitarist" by the New York Times, and "a guitarist to keep an eye on" by the Washington Post, 4-time Grammy®-nominated artist Mak Grgic [GER-gich] is a star on the worldwide stage.
Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 1987, Makstudied guitar in Zagreb with the revered Ante Cagalj at the Elly Basic Music Academy. By the age of 14, he was balancing his world champion status in karate with his love for the guitar. Following an injury to his left thumb, he made the decision to focus on a career in music, going on to complete a Bachelor's degree with Alvaro Pierri at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and a Master's and Doctorate degrees at USC in Los Angeles with Brian Head, William Kanengiser and Scott Tennant. In the fall of 2017, he began the Artist Diploma program at USC, the first guitarist in the university's history to be admitted to this elite program.
As both soloist and collaborator, Mak averages fifty performances a year — nearly two bookings per week. He is a founding member in two duos—the Flamenco-style "Duo Deloro" with Adam Del Monte, and the new music-focused "FretX Duo" with Daniel Lippel, guitarist of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). As Young Artist in Residence with the Da Camera Society of Los Angeles, he founded "DC8," an octet declared "an inspiring addition to the contemporary music landscape in Los Angeles" [Los Angeles Times]. Other collaborations include the JACK Quartet, The Assad Brothers, violinists Augustin Hadelich, Curtis Stewart, Martin Chalifour and Chee Yun, and cellists Jay Campbell, Joshua Roman, John Sant'Ambrogio, and Clive Greensmith, formerly of the Tokyo String Quartet.
In 2009 at the age of 22, Mak made his professional debut in Russia, performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Lande. He now makes two regular tours to Asia each season and performs in Europe every other month. Recent engagements include performances and residencies at the Musikverein and the Konzerhaus in Vienna; the Konzerthuset in Stockholm several venues in Portugal; Teatro Cervantes de Bejar in Castilla-Leon/Spain; the Sarajevo Music Academy; several venues in Slovenia; the Paris Guitar Foundation; Zurich University of the Arts; Taipei National Theater; Shanghai Grand Theater; and the Hong Kong International Guitar Festival.
In North America, he has performed at Walt Disney Hall (Los Angeles); The Morgan Library; The Kennedy Center; the National Gallery of Art; NAMM Show (California); Strathmore Hall (Maryland); the New York Classical Guitar Society; the Pacific Symphony; Mainly Mozart (San Diego); Beyond Microtonal Music Festival (Pittsburgh); the Dallas Opera for performances of Peter Maxwell Davies's The Lighthouse; Dumbarton Concerts (Washington, D.C.); the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and numerous other venues and guitar societies across the globe. Highlights of the '24/'25 season include appearances with the Pacific Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Sedona Symphony and the East Coast premiere of "Borders," by Michael Abels with the American Composers Orchestra in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Also, an active entrepreneur and educator, Mak has been a member of the leadership teams of several organizations including the European Guitar Festival Collaborative (EuroStrings), the Zagreb Guitar Festival, and the Connecticut Guitar Festival. He served as an adjunct faculty member at Mount St. Mary's University in Los Angeles, and was a director of Elemental Guitar in Santa Monica, a program designed especially for young people. In 2022, he founded "Notey's World" and the company Notey Inc, to develop a unique game for tablets and smart phones intended to popularize music learning and make it more fun. As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, he founded the Virtual Guitar Orchestra, gathering more than 5000 guitarists from more than 50 countries to date. VGO is a community-oriented project, recognized by the Library of Congress for its cultural contributions, and has also formed collaborations with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the Augustine Educational Foundation, to help ensembles be active virtually.
Mak plays and endorses an array of outstanding concert guitars made by diverse craftsmen, including German luthier Antonius Müller, the Chinese master Hanson Yao, Bosnian Slavko Mrdalj, Slovenian Samo Sali, Polish Rafal Turkowiak, a 1966 José Ramírez, as well as other re-fretted and remodeled guitars.
Mak Grgic is also proud to be involved with the Bosana Foundation, an organization that raises money for Bosnian youth. He also regularly awards education-furthering scholarships to select students across South America.
Originally Recorded In: December 14, 2021.
Remastered: 2026