In the presence of prominent names in the field of music direction, on October 18th and 19th the Apollonia Foundation organized a Jazz Workshop as part of the Skopje Jazz Festival events. ESSI was the proud co-sponsor of this event.

The Apollonia Jazz workshop was a joint initiative bringing together Jazz afficianatos and professionals from several locations across the globe.  Collaborators in this year’s event were the New York Jazz Workshop Music School in New York, City, the Apollonia Foundation in Gevgelija, the Institute for the Study of European Small States in Monaco, the music high school “Ilija Nikolovski – Luj”, Skopje, the Faculty for music in Skopje, the jazz department at the University “Goce Delcev” in Stip, and the Skopje Jazz Festival.

The Apollonia Jazz Project consisted of a two-day seminar, workshops and performances led by Mark Mommaas of the New York Jazz Workshop (NYJW). The NYJW is a community-based jazz music school located in New York City established by Mr. Mommaas along with jazz entrepreneur Marco Chelo. “Marc and I realized that outside of major universities and conservatories, there were very few opportunities for music lovers to learn with world class instructors, play in a group setting, and enjoy the feeling of being part of a jazz community; The New York Jazz Workshop creates that connection”, says Mr. Chelo.

Mr. Aco Ristovski of the Apollonia Foundation says, “We are very pleased to support an initiate such as this, in particular one that is so focused on the development of the youth of Macedonia and in strengthening our cultural relationship with the United States. Apollonia Foundation hopes to expand our support of the arts through this cultural event.”
The Workshop also partnered with the Skopje Jazz Festival and coincided with the Festivals run from  October 16th through 19th at various location throughout Skopje. The Skopje Jazz Festival is one of the leading music events in the Republic of Macedonia with a tradition spanning thirty-two years. The Festival, established in 1982, includes performances by top talent in the North American, Latin-American, African,  and European jazz scene. The Skopje Jazz Festival is a member of the Europe Jazz Network. The closing event of this workshop was visited by the President of the Republic Macedonia, Mr. Georgi Ivanov and the Director of the Peace Corps in Macedonia, Ms. Kathleen Corey. They along with the audience present at this final sesion had the oportunity to hear the jazz improvisasion that students learned during this workshop and to enjoy a performance of two famous american jazz players – Mark Mommaas (sax) and Matthew Shipp (piano), star of this year Skopje Jazz Festival, who is universally acclaimed as one of the most brilliant pianists of his generation and one of the most original stylists in jazz history.