Petrit Çeku

Petrit Çeku is an Albanian classical guitarist.

Biography

Çeku, born in June 2,1985 in Prizren, Kosovo, It was inspired to play guitar from his father at the age of six. He attended the Lorenc Antoni music school from age 9 to 17, where he took lessons from classical guitar by Luan Sapunxhiu.

In 2002 Çeku was invited by Xhevdet Sahatxhija to study in Zagreb, Croatia at the Pavao Markovac school of music. In 2008, Çeku graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Music, in the renowned class of Darko Petrinjak. From 2009-2013 he went on to study with the great master, Manuel Barrueco, at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, USA.

Çeku has performed many recitals throughout Europe and the Americas and was a soloist with orchestras such as Baltimore Symphony, Czech Chamber Philharmonic, State Hermitage Orchestra of St. Petersburg and Zagreb Philharmonic. He also appears regularly with the famed Zagreb Soloists and is a founding member of Guitar Trio Elogio.

He regularly performs at music festivals such as Next Generation Festival, Samobor Festival, Panama Guitar Festival, Moscow Guitar Virtuosi and Pristina’s Remusica Festival. He also teaches regularly at the Polish Guitar Academy and the Young Masters Samobor Festival.

Petrit Çeku plays on a guitar made by Ross Gutmeier.

Awards

First Prizes

2012 Parkening International Guitar Competition, Malibu, California

2011 Allentown Symphony Schadt String Competition, Allentown, Pennsylvania

2011 Maurizio Biasini International Guitar Competition, Bologna, Italy

2007 Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition, Alessandria, Italy

2005 Ferdo Livadic Competition, Samobor, Croatia, Best Concert Performance

2004 Andres Segovia International Competition for Young Guitarists, Velbert Germany

2004 Emilio Pujol Competition, Sassari, Italy

2003 All Croatia Competition, Dubrovnik, Croatia

2003 Anna Amalia Guitar Competition, Weimar, Germany

Second Prizes

2012 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, Buffalo, New York

2006 Parkening International Guitar Competition, Malibu, California

2006 Printemps de la Guitare, Charleroi, Belgium

Other Awards

2012 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, Buffalo, New York, Audience Favorite and Musicians Favorite Honors

2008 Zagreb Philharmonic, Best Young Musician of the Year, Zagreb, Croatia

2005 Ivo Vuljevic Best Young Musician of the Year Award

Discography

Çeku's first CD was released in 2008 under the American label Naxos.

Currently he is working on a recording of Bach’s complete Cello Suites, arranged by Valter Dešpalj, to be released late 2015 under the Spanish label Eudora