Jakob Kobal Successfully Completed his Semester in Boston

Jakob Kobal, ASEF Junior Fellow 2022, has recently successfully completed his 4th semester and with that the 2nd year of his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston. In the year 2023, he participated in various projects alongside his regular studies. Worth mentioning is the Berklee Folk Music Festival that took place in February. Together with a Montenegrin singer, they represented the Balkan region and opened the festival with their own arrangement of a medley of Slovenian and Montenegrin songs.

Later in the spring, Jakob had a unique opportunity to play the cult music theme from the movie “The Godfather” with the Berklee Motion Picture Orchestra. The concert took place in the beautiful Jordan Hall.

Just before the end of 2023, he was part of two significant projects. He had the chance to perform at Regattabar, one of the most famous jazz clubs around Boston, where he played with renowned Italian saxophonist Marco Pignataro, who is also the managing director of the prestigious Berklee Global Jazz Institute. Jakob played as part of his amazing septet. Only a day after that, he was part of a unique project – the concert “The Sounds of Bosnia and Herzegovina”. He performed alongside very talented musicians from the Balkans, all of whom were Berklee students.

Studying in Boston has provided him with many different opportunities, and he tries to take advantage of them as much as he can. He enjoys maintaining close ties with Slovenia and representing it across the Atlantic. After intense and tiring semesters, Jakob likes to return home and relax a bit in our beautiful country. He is thankful for the opportunities given and the support of ASEF, which makes his further studies possible.