Vladimir Nikolov
Vladimir Nikolov is a composer whose works cover a wide range of musical languages and genres, using backgrounds in classical music and jazz as point of departure. He has been ‘behind the scenes’ of worldwide orchestral projects as arranger for some time now, while also frequently performing as conductor and guitarist with renowned soloists and ensembles.
He was born 1979 and raised in Skopje, Macedonia. He started music at the age of 14, beginning with the guitar. Soon after, he enrolled in classical guitar studies, graduating with an original composition. Meanwhile, Vladimir began cross-over composing and arranging, mentored by Ilija Pejovski. After departing for the Netherlands in the autumn of 2002, he started jazz composition and arranging studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He finished his Master’s studies in 2005 with focus on symphonic writing.
As composer and arranger, Vladimir worked with ensembles such as the Metropole Orchestra, Metropole Orkest, Brussels Philharmonic, Heritage Orchestra, BBC Radio Orchestra. Among the collaborative artists, he worked with: John Clayton, Randy Brecker, Vince Mendoza, Chaka Khan, Jules Buckley, Jacob Collier, to name but a few. As arranger/producer, he worked on numerous album releases by top European publishers.
He’s a co-leader, composer/arranger of the ensemble Nikolov-Ivanović Undectet, with which he published two studio albums. In the words of JazzTimes, this is “one of the most creative large ensembles in Europe”, while Downbeat said that the music of this ensemble contains “rhythmically complex, harmonically evocative compositions, all impeccably arranged“.
He also orchestrated and arranged music for several film projects, among which 2012 Oscar winner “The Artist”. His compositions and arrangements have won numerous international prizes, including four first prizes for original compositions and five first prizes for arrangements.
He currently teaches Jazz Harmony, Jazz Arranging, Big Band and Introduction to Music Engraving at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.