“WHEN I WAS A STUDENT” WITH DUKE BOJADZIEV: I HAD TO GRADUATE MEDICINE IN ORDER TO FIND MYSELF AS A MUSICIAN

In my working career, nobody ever asked me what I had graduated, neither about my grades, but I was asked about my experience, and the results I had accomplished. Books only give you information, you can`t master the subject until you apply those information in personal experiences – says the composer with a rich career behind, in New York, who remembers his student days for the rubric of Fakulteti.mk and Pivara Skopje.

The music have been part of me from the earliest years, I already played a piano at 3, and began to write the first compositions in 10 years. I am coming from a doctoral, but also a musical family and I grew up exposed to the influences from both spheres. I understood music as a game and something that came from me naturally, and that’s why I never thought to go to school. My whole school was in the field of science. I graduated biochemistry high school at “Nikola Karev” and graduated on the Faculty of Medicine. Later I realized there is no escaping for me from the music as a profession – says Duke Bojadziev.

Last weekend he returned to the audience at his home country and with two concerts he completed his project “Dream. Faith. Love ” on which has been working for ten years. Faculty. Mk and Pivara Skopje makes him remember his student days. Bojadziev graduated on the Medical Faculty in Skopje in 1998. He recalled himself that in the first four years he was almost fanatically devoted to medicine, but after that, he realized that he loves music much more.

– After the first four years, there came a transition in which I started getting deeper into the idea of orchestration and production, and it became clear that the road of music which I choose to start from curiosity and passion was only one-way, with no option for getting back. One year after graduating from Medical Faculty, I left for Berkeley. In that year I was only dedicated to music – says Bojadziev.

On the question about what his father reaction was, the famous gynecologist and composer, Todor Bojadziev, when his son decided to leave to America and dedicate himself to music, Duke says:
– At first he was a little scared for my future, because it was a jump in great uncertainty, moving to a new continent with an intention to start a new career, but anyway he was very happy for my decision!

The question arises whether his studies were facilitated only because of his father profession as a respected doctor,
– On the contrary. It brought a difficulty for me that my father was a respected doctor. Wherever I presented myself, I was automatically “the son of …”, which began to bother me in the development of my individuality, a desire for independence and getting to know myself, says the composer.
At the beginning of his studies, he said his grades were important.

– In the first years of medical studies, my grades were important to me, but in the end, when my interest in music began to increase, my attention on grades became increasingly less important. The music studies in Boston were not a problem to me because I already had a lot of forethought, so I focused on getting more experience. In my profession working career, nobody ever asked me what was studying I had graduated, nor how were my grades nether about my grades, but what is I was asked about my experience, what are the results of my work and the results I had accomplished. Books give you only information, you can`t master the material subject until you apply those information in personal experiences. Knowledge theory helps, but practice is crucial – Bojadziev is categorical.

He says he had a student life like in a dreams.
– I spent wonderful student days both in Skopje and Boston, these experiences had a timeless value. I had a wonderful team of friends who were in the same group for the majority of medical studies. From daily life as students to nightlife in clubs, we passed the magical moments that are remembered for a lifetime. In Boston, during my Music Studies, I’ve met a new group of friends from around the world who have spent unforgettable years of friendship and coexistence. I felt the world as one family because suddenly I had friends from all continents, races and religions, came with pure heart and sincere ambitions to share their creativity with the world, “he says, adding that at the end of the studies, in fact, the most important life decisions are made.

– We make decisions what we are going to do for the rest of our lives, and those decisions are crucial for the future. It has its own beauty, but also weight, to make choices that satisfy both the heart and the brain. I had to to finish Medicine, in order to find myself as a musician – adds Bojadziev.

For the most inspiring professor Bojadziev had named Dr. Rihard Bulange, who especially helped and directed him.

– He felt my passion, talent and ambitions, and he gave me great support in the process of my transition from a medical student to a professional musician. The main lessons were that nothing is impossible, if you devote enough and focus! – emphasizes the musician.

He even studied Medicine, he worked on various musical-scenic projects, played theater plays, in bars, jazz clubs, participated in festivals. He says that it is especially important for everyone to create and nurture their work habits, even when it is not in the field of studies, “because this later influences the habits of professional life.”

– In Boston I worked continuously and in parallel with tuition, I had concert performances, I gave music and composing lessons, work on computer programs for music. In Berkeley, I worked at the Computer Center for all my studies. At the beginnings of my career in Boston and in New York, good computer skills helped me get the most out of work. A person who understands computers and computer applications was welcomed everywhere . The first year in New York I worked in a music house where they received me as an audio engineer and a man for all computer problems. After three months of work I managed to place my music on the first major projects and to be seriously understood as a composer and producer – Bojadziev shared.