Rex Theater
October 1
Doors open at 7 p.m.
All ages
Fans of Balkan Brass and the films of Emir Kusturica should not sleep on this rare opportunity to experience the world renowned Boban Marković Orchestra in person, when they make their Pittsburgh debut at the Rex Theater on October 1st.
Leading the award-winning brass ensemble is the Serbian Romani trumpet player Boban Marković, widely considered to be the greatest trumpet player from the Balkans. Hailing from Vladičin Han in southern Serbia, the group has received several coveted prizes at the annual Guča trumpet festival (Dragačevski Sabor), which has been held every August since 1961. Born in Serbia in 1964 to a family of musicians, Boban is the only trumpet player to have been named to SongLines Magazine’s list of 50 all-time best instrumentalists in the world.
Winner of numerous “best concert, orchestra and trumpeter” awards, the Boban Marković Orchestra has also contributed music to several compilations and anthologies of Eastern Europe. Fans of Emir Kusturica’s stunning award-winning 1995 film, Underground, will remember Boban Marković as the performers who play some of the music in the epic movie that follows two friends throughout Yugoslav history, from the beginning of WWII until the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s.
The Boban Marković Orchestra has taken its frenetic and funky blend of Balkan and Gypsy sounds on the road about the globe, appearing as favorites at festivals and concerts in Portugal, Greece, Canada, Sweden, Monaco, France, Israel, Spain, Turkey, and many more—including playing to some 15,000 people at the 2000 Sziget Festival in Hungary.
The famed brass ensemble also features Boban’s gifted son Marko, a leading trumpet player, as well as percussionists and a violinist. In 2006, Marko starred in Dusan Milic’s Serbian film, Gucha (Distant Trumpet), which was produced by Kusturica.
Also on the bill are local music makers, DJ Pandemic (aka Pete Spynda), who organized the show, and Lungs Face Feet. The concert is presented by Pandemic in partnership with Consortium and the VIA Festival.
