Biography
Bulgarian classical guitarist Georgi Dimitrov-Jojo began his studies at the National School of Music "Lubomir Pipkov" in Sofia. He continued his education at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria (KUG) under the tutelage of his teacher and mentor Prof. Paolo Pegoraro, and later additionally with Prof. Lukasz Kuropaczewski. Jojo also pursued his interest in historical performance with the lutenist David Bergmüller and enhanced his skills in chamber musicianship with Petrit Çeku. After completing his Bachelor's degree with honors, he recently became a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London and is the first guitarist to receive the prestigious Bicentenary Scholarship, as well as a full academic scholarship. Currently, he is under the guidance of Prof. Michael Lewin. He studies chamber music with Prof. Stephen Goss and historical performance with Prof. Elizabeth Kenny.
Having entered the competition stage at the age of 12, Georgi has won multiple prizes in international competitions such as the "Anna Amalia" Wettbewerb (1st Prize), Weimar, "Andres Segovia" Wettbewerb (1st Prize), Monheim am Rhein, “GuitArt” International Competition, Plovdiv, (1st Prize and the opportunity to become a Eurostrings Artist 2018/2019), International Competition "Young Virtuosos", Sofia (First Prize and the EMCY Special Prize). In 2021 Georgi became the First and the Special prize winner (Best Interpretation of the commissioned piece by Alex Nante, Corren los soles) of the prestigious International Guitar Competition Maurizio Biasini in Bologna. Georgi has recently won the First prize at the European Bach Guitar Award, Darmstadt 2022. This achievement enabled him to undertake further concert tours in Europe, including a performance at the renowned Bachfest Leipzig. In addition, he recorded a selection of J. S. Bach’s music with NAXOS Records in Toronto (see more).
Georgi was awarded the Diploma di Merito by the Accademia Musicale Chigiana under the tutelage of the world-renowned, legendary teacher and performing musician, Maestro Oscar Ghiglia. He has participated in masterclasses with Manuel Barrueco, Judicael Perroy, Georgi Vassilev, Fabio Zanon, Stephen Goss, Matteo Mela, Margarita Escarpa, Marco Tamayo, Marcin Dylla, Alvaro Pierri, Thomas Offermann, Johannes Monno, Adriano Del Sal, Jozef Zsapka, among others.
In 2022, Georgi performed on the stage of the National Music Auditorium in Madrid for the first time with Joaquín Rodrigo's iconic Aranjuez Concerto. He has also debuted on other important stages including the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, delivering a prizewinning performance of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Guitar Concerto in D major, Hans-Huber-Saal in Basel, Konzertgesellschaft Blaibach, Minoritensaal Graz, Sobornaya palata in Moscow, Bulgaria Hall in Sofia among others.
His EP recording for dotGuitar, funded by the Italian Guitar Campus, was released in May 2023 and includes the first recording of Corren los Soles, composed by the Argentinian composer Alex Nante, as well as works by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Maurice Ohana.
An audience favorite since he was a young student at the National Music School in Sofia, Georgi was accredited as a talented young musician by eminent organizations and cultural institutions in Bulgaria becoming a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria, as well as of several Art Foundations supporting young talents. He was the first young musician honored with the Olga Kamburova Award, supporting talented young artists, held by the Bulgarian National Radio broadcast Allegro Vivace. This achievement enabled him to make his first studio recordings at the BNR studio.