Welcome
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Hello there friends! Welcome to my website! My name is Nikola Begović, I created this website to show you my work and progress that I have done playing classical and other types of guitars in the past 20 years. My music journey started when I was six years old in a small city called Subotica in Serbia. The primary focus of my study had always been classical guitar. Besides classical music education, I spent a significant amount of time learning electric guitar and performing with bands and different ensembles playing pop, rock, and other styles. My goal is to further develop and explore the repertoire of the classical guitar by transcribing and arranging music from different cultures and other instruments, and to teach these tools to younger generations. |
Mournful and yet grand is the destiny of the Artist. ” |
About Me
Nikola Begović (1991) was born in Backa Topola, Serbia, and from 1992 he has lived in Subotica. He gained his first musical education at the age of 6 in the lower and high music school in Subotica. His classes were taught through the Department of Classical guitar, taught by Teacher Petar Milovic and Professor Marko Srdjevic. By the time he completed his secondary education, he had won numerous awards and achievements. At the same time, Nikola achieved his first successes at the provincial and national competitions, winning several first prizes with other monetary prizes and diplomas. His training in musical terms was performed by attending master classes with world - eminent performers of classical guitar:
Continuity in his musical education he achieved in 2010, Nikola enrolled at the University of Novi Sad, Academy of Arts - department of the classical guitar with Professor Zoran Krajisnik and graduating with highest honors in 2015. During this period, he performed in several neighboring countries in the region. He competed in international competitions such as the “Guitar Open Festival” in Subotica, where in the Pro category under the age of 35 he won the first prize (winner of the Guitar Open Festival 2011). IIIrd prize in the Pro category in the international competition Sarajevo guitar fest (SIGF 2012), III prize in Skopje Pro category (international tremolo guitar fest 2011), laureate and winner (XI international competition in Leskovac). At the Guitar Art Festival in Belgrade in 2014 in the category of Chamber music, his chamber group won the first place. In 2017 Nikola won the first prize at Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Scholarship Competition in Graduate Instrumental category.
Nikola is currently in his third year of D.M. studies at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington-USA, studying with Maestro Ernesto Bitetti. Previously he successfully graduated from the same school with an M.M. degree in May 2018. Besides being a competing young artist, he is an active player in the concert podiums throughout the region. Some notable highlights are concerts “live recording”: concert within the Guitar Art Festival 2012, a concert in Backa Topola within Guitar Festival 2013 as well as many concerts held at the Academy of Arts, Jacobs School of Music and across Indiana state, it must be noted that in addition to solo performances, stand-up performances - chamber and orchestral ensembles of which the most: Guitar Orchestra (AUNS), Guitar Ensemble IU (USA), First Guitar of Serbian National Opera from 2012-2015 (SNP). He is the winner of the prestigious award for young talents, which the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan awarded the 2013/2014 year. In addition to education, active playing, and being a young talented guitarist, he engages in educational work by teaching the younger generation of guitarists and working as Guitar Teacher/lecturer/A.I. for more than 6 years in many different programs. Also, he expresses himself in other musical genres, playing el. Guitar: Rock band "Sabbatka", and ethno-band - "Paniks", with whom he performed across Europe; (Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia).
Most of the works are published and can be found on "YouTube".
- Marco Tamayo (Cuba)
- Jean-Marc Zvellenreuther (France)
- Sante Tursi (Italy)
- Gerhard Reichenbach (Germany)
- Goran Krivokapić (Montenegro)
- Renato Samuelli (Italy)
- Petar Janković (USA/Serbia)
- Kostas Cotsiolis (Greece)
- Walter Würdinger (Germany)
- Sergio Assad (USA/Brazil)
Continuity in his musical education he achieved in 2010, Nikola enrolled at the University of Novi Sad, Academy of Arts - department of the classical guitar with Professor Zoran Krajisnik and graduating with highest honors in 2015. During this period, he performed in several neighboring countries in the region. He competed in international competitions such as the “Guitar Open Festival” in Subotica, where in the Pro category under the age of 35 he won the first prize (winner of the Guitar Open Festival 2011). IIIrd prize in the Pro category in the international competition Sarajevo guitar fest (SIGF 2012), III prize in Skopje Pro category (international tremolo guitar fest 2011), laureate and winner (XI international competition in Leskovac). At the Guitar Art Festival in Belgrade in 2014 in the category of Chamber music, his chamber group won the first place. In 2017 Nikola won the first prize at Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Scholarship Competition in Graduate Instrumental category.
Nikola is currently in his third year of D.M. studies at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington-USA, studying with Maestro Ernesto Bitetti. Previously he successfully graduated from the same school with an M.M. degree in May 2018. Besides being a competing young artist, he is an active player in the concert podiums throughout the region. Some notable highlights are concerts “live recording”: concert within the Guitar Art Festival 2012, a concert in Backa Topola within Guitar Festival 2013 as well as many concerts held at the Academy of Arts, Jacobs School of Music and across Indiana state, it must be noted that in addition to solo performances, stand-up performances - chamber and orchestral ensembles of which the most: Guitar Orchestra (AUNS), Guitar Ensemble IU (USA), First Guitar of Serbian National Opera from 2012-2015 (SNP). He is the winner of the prestigious award for young talents, which the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan awarded the 2013/2014 year. In addition to education, active playing, and being a young talented guitarist, he engages in educational work by teaching the younger generation of guitarists and working as Guitar Teacher/lecturer/A.I. for more than 6 years in many different programs. Also, he expresses himself in other musical genres, playing el. Guitar: Rock band "Sabbatka", and ethno-band - "Paniks", with whom he performed across Europe; (Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia).
Most of the works are published and can be found on "YouTube".
| Nikola_Resume.pdf |
My Philosophy of Music Education
The foundation of my teaching is the philosophy of a good relationship between the teacher and the student. In my opinion, students should not passively receive knowledge from the teacher. Instead, a teacher should be a facilitator that collaborates with students to stimulate their growth. In my teaching, I value each student’s thoughts and feedback. I often lead discussions on different topics and let students report what they learned about the class topics. I also have weekly office hour that allows students to talk to me individually. Through communicating with students, I can better understand their learning processes and help them overcome challenges in their studies.
Second, I attach great importance to students’ long-term development. For me, teaching guitar is not simply about transferring performing techniques to my students. I want my students to gain intellectual and emotional development after taking lessons with me, which will benefit their future lives. For example, I emphasize the development of critical thinking ability. My students often write concert reviews to critically analyze concerts they attended. In the concert review, they need to describe what they noticed in the concert, what went well in the concert, and what the performers could do to improve. In addition, students also compare different performances of the same piece and discuss their preferences. Students can transfer their critical thinking abilities in guitar learning to other learning scenarios.
Third, I made every effort to promote diversity in my classes. An inclusive class can improve students’ self-efficacy and increase learning motivation. In my classes, students are free to express their cultural and gender identity, and they are encouraged to bring music from their cultures to the class. In the individual guitar lesson, I often consult the choice of repertoire with each student and ask them to add the music they want to play to the repertoire list. If students cannot find guitar scores of the pieces they want to play, I will teach them how to transcribe music for guitar. Each semester, students also have opportunities to perform the music of their choice to their peers. It is a great opportunity to help them build personal connections with music and to celebrate their cultures.
Teaching guitar will be my life-long career. Therefore, I will do my best to facilitate students’ learning. Each student is a unique individual, and as a teacher, I will tailor my lesson plans to match each student’s interests and needs. It is a blessing to be a guitar teacher because I can bring the beauty of music to my students and enlighten their lives through music.
Second, I attach great importance to students’ long-term development. For me, teaching guitar is not simply about transferring performing techniques to my students. I want my students to gain intellectual and emotional development after taking lessons with me, which will benefit their future lives. For example, I emphasize the development of critical thinking ability. My students often write concert reviews to critically analyze concerts they attended. In the concert review, they need to describe what they noticed in the concert, what went well in the concert, and what the performers could do to improve. In addition, students also compare different performances of the same piece and discuss their preferences. Students can transfer their critical thinking abilities in guitar learning to other learning scenarios.
Third, I made every effort to promote diversity in my classes. An inclusive class can improve students’ self-efficacy and increase learning motivation. In my classes, students are free to express their cultural and gender identity, and they are encouraged to bring music from their cultures to the class. In the individual guitar lesson, I often consult the choice of repertoire with each student and ask them to add the music they want to play to the repertoire list. If students cannot find guitar scores of the pieces they want to play, I will teach them how to transcribe music for guitar. Each semester, students also have opportunities to perform the music of their choice to their peers. It is a great opportunity to help them build personal connections with music and to celebrate their cultures.
Teaching guitar will be my life-long career. Therefore, I will do my best to facilitate students’ learning. Each student is a unique individual, and as a teacher, I will tailor my lesson plans to match each student’s interests and needs. It is a blessing to be a guitar teacher because I can bring the beauty of music to my students and enlighten their lives through music.
Educational Standards and Artifacts
Standard 1: Student Development and Diversity - Knowledge
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether emotional responses to a music genre could be predicted by
stereotypes of the culture with which the music genre is associated. Eight different genres were played to participants:
Fado, Koto, Heavy Metal, Hip Hop, Pop, Samba, Bolero, and Western Classical.
The study suggests that stereotyping competes with the psychoacoustic cues in the expression of emotion and stereotype theory of emotion in music (STEM).
Results show that participants’ impression on the overall culture is related to their feelings towards the
music from that culture.
Susino, M., & Schubert, E. (2019). Cultural stereotyping of emotional responses to music genre. Psychology of Music, 47(3), 342-357.
stereotypes of the culture with which the music genre is associated. Eight different genres were played to participants:
Fado, Koto, Heavy Metal, Hip Hop, Pop, Samba, Bolero, and Western Classical.
The study suggests that stereotyping competes with the psychoacoustic cues in the expression of emotion and stereotype theory of emotion in music (STEM).
Results show that participants’ impression on the overall culture is related to their feelings towards the
music from that culture.
Susino, M., & Schubert, E. (2019). Cultural stereotyping of emotional responses to music genre. Psychology of Music, 47(3), 342-357.
| music_education.docx |
Standard 2: Learning Processes - Disposition
Here is an review that I wrote for a music ed. class. I summarized Behavioral approaches, reinforcement theory, Skinner's Operant Conditioning, Bandura's social Learning Theory and Lewin's environmental factors. I believe that this summary can fall under the standard no. 2 Learning Processes - Disposition.
Campbell, P. S. (1991) Chapter 5 Theories of Music Learning. Lessons from the world: A cross-cultural guide to music teaching and learning. Schirmer Books.
Campbell, P. S. (1991) Chapter 5 Theories of Music Learning. Lessons from the world: A cross-cultural guide to music teaching and learning. Schirmer Books.
| behavioral_approaches.docx |
Standard 3: Instructional Planning and Delivery - Disposition
Here is a review of the article called: THE CLASSICAL GUITAR CURRICULUM WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY SCHOOL - AGE CHILDREN’S MUSICAL CULTURE.
The purpose of the research was to analyze the curricula of the classical guitar class in different countries in Europe within the context of the development of early school-age children’s musical culture. Kabalevsky’s idea of Musical Culture; development of children’s culture as being the main goal of music education and an integral part of general spiritual culture and as well a responsibility of a Teacher to implement these ideas. In my opinion this article review is a good example for Standard no 3 (knowledge) because it talks about the process of Instructional Planning and Delivery. A review could be downloaded below.
Bendelston M., & Davidova, J. (2016) The classical guitar curriculum within the context of the development of early school-age children's musical culture. Problems in Music Pedagogy, 15(1), 23 - 32.
The purpose of the research was to analyze the curricula of the classical guitar class in different countries in Europe within the context of the development of early school-age children’s musical culture. Kabalevsky’s idea of Musical Culture; development of children’s culture as being the main goal of music education and an integral part of general spiritual culture and as well a responsibility of a Teacher to implement these ideas. In my opinion this article review is a good example for Standard no 3 (knowledge) because it talks about the process of Instructional Planning and Delivery. A review could be downloaded below.
Bendelston M., & Davidova, J. (2016) The classical guitar curriculum within the context of the development of early school-age children's musical culture. Problems in Music Pedagogy, 15(1), 23 - 32.
| the_classical_guitar_curriculum.docx |
Standard 4: Assessment - Skills
Here is a video of my student doing his presentation: Improvisation on a A minor pentatonic and minor scales. I believe that this is a good example for the standard 4: Assessment because it shows students abilities to perform individually in front of their peers.
Standard 5: Learning Environment - Knowledge
Here is a video that shows how Positive Learning environment can effect the students behavior. In this lesson, my students demonstrated their improvisation skills. Using scales that we learned with the elements of different styles of music that they like that they incorporated they demonstrated and demonstrated how where everyone is welcome to share their musical ideas on guitar and support each other.
Standard 6: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice - Knowledge
As a performer, student, and a teacher, I attended many guitar festivals, competitions, and Masterclasses throughout my studies in Europe and USA.
In my opinion, it is necessary for anyone who wants to develop their performance skills, hear different perspectives and learn how to critically think to attend guitar festivals, masterclasses and competitions.
Besides getting the necessary exposure, It also helps musicians to connect with others and objectively compare and evaluate their own performance skills and capabilities.
In my opinion, it is necessary for anyone who wants to develop their performance skills, hear different perspectives and learn how to critically think to attend guitar festivals, masterclasses and competitions.
Besides getting the necessary exposure, It also helps musicians to connect with others and objectively compare and evaluate their own performance skills and capabilities.
| list_of_renown_masterclasses_with_world_eminent_performers_since_2015.docx |
Standard 7: Content Knowledge - Performance
In 2014, I performed with a guitar friend from Serbia at a Ethno festival where we played traditional ethno music from the Balkans. We arranged and performed one hour of music and received great references after the concert from two different music analyst. The music has very authentic rhythms and harmonies which are unknown to most of the western world. Hope you enjoy it!
Standard 7: Content Knowledge - Performance
Here is a video of me preforming an arrangement that I transcribed by Domenico Scarlatti, I also rented a camera and recorded my self this performance and edited the video using a video tool software called GoPro which really can support high quality video and sound after being edited and balanced.
Standard 7: Content Knowledge - Performance
Here is a Video of my colleague Connor Barney and me playing an arranged - accompaniment that we arranged for the choir during the Kodaly summer institute at Jacobs School of Music -2019. I believe that this is a good example for the Standard no. 7 Content Knowledge - Performance because it shows our capabilities to understand the subject (style), arrange, adopt and perform the piece with proper Aesthetics and stylistic manners.
Standard 7: Content Knowledge - Performance
Here is a piece that I transcribed for guitar - Sonata (Adagio, Allegro, Allegro) for Solo Flute in a minor by C.P.E. Bach. One of the most challenging aspect of transcribing this piece was a counterpoint accompaniment that I added to the original flute part. This type of transcription requires a higher knowledge of harmony, counterpoint, aesthetics, instrument limitations and boundaries. This transcription has been revised and approved by several professors that I worked with: Ernesto Bitetti, Sergio Assad and it will be published in the near future.
The scores with my recording could be found below.
The scores with my recording could be found below.
| adagio_-_full_score.pdf |
| c.p.e.bach_sonata_.mp4 |
Standard 7: Content Knowledge - Knowledge
Here is another piece (written for Harpsichord) that I transcribed for guitar - Sonata in d minor K.1 L336 by D. Scarlatti; handwritten, revised (By Maestro Bitetti) edition. I chose this piece and had to transcribe it for a Transcription class that I took at Jacobs school of music with Maestro Bitetti. The piece is originally composed in d minor which fits perfectly the nature and range/capabilities of guitar and the number of voices that we can implement. I added all the fingerings, phrase and other music markings to point out the goals for playing this transcription. Scores could be found below.
| new_doc_2019-04-21_14.50.05_1__1_.pdf |
Standard 7: Content Knowledge - Disposition
This is a project that I came up and finalized as an undergrad student for my final recital. I formed a chamber ensemble and arranged a Concerto Del Sur by Manuel Maria Ponce for a smaller chamber ensemble. All of the members (friends) of the ensemble volunteered to participate in this project. I arranged the score with the help of a composer friend and had to plan the whole project from scratch. You can find the recordings and my rehearsal schedule/plan attached below. Hope you will enjoy!
| concierto_del_sur_project______________________________________________________________________________________nikola_begovich.docx |
- Please feel free to contact me at: nbegovic@iu.edu
