Emanuel Vuk

Emanuel was born in Varaždin, Croatia, and is a 4^th-year tambura student at the Academy of Music in Zagreb since 2009. He immediately started playing traditional Croatian music and gathering improvisational skills since he learned how to play the tambura, mandolin, and guitar. In 2014, he enrolled in Music School in Varaždin and started taking jazz classes with Professor Petar Eldan, and in 2018, he started playing guitar and bass guitar in the school’s jazz orchestra under the baton of clarinet and saxophone professor Gordan Perši.

During his time in Varaždin, he took interest in the transcribing of gipsy jazz trio arrangements for tambura and performed All of Me (arr. Damjan Pejčinoski) at a local festival in Varaždin. Since he started studying at Music Academy in Zagreb, he has been taking jazz improvisation classes with Saša Nestorović, and lately, he has been taking jazz arranging classes with Zlatko Tanodi and jazz rhythm classes with Elvis Penava, which he considers irreplaceable knowledge for an improvising musician, therefore he considers his phrasing, tempo, and rhythmic nuances have improved significantly since then.

He wanted to be part of a Medinea Session to learn from professionals, and especially meet other young musicians from around Europe and the Mediterranean. He is the first tambura player and student at the Academy of Music of Zagreb to be selected for a Medinea Session.

Photo credit: Dario Mikulek