Igor Bakrevski

Born in Bitola, North Macedonia, Igor Bakrevski completed his primary and secondary music studies with Pande Tatarchevski. During those years, he won numerous first prizes in Macedonian national competitions and international competitions in Serbia. As a high-school student, he also performed in Slovenia and Italy with YMISO, an orchestra for young European musicians. Bakrevski continued at the Faculty of Music in Skopje with Ivan Kocharov, graduating cum laude with the highest grade in 2009. In 2007, he briefly studied at the Boston Conservatory as a full-scholarship student of Jonathan Cohler before returning to North Macedonia and beginning work that year with the National Opera and Ballet in Skopje. At the same time, he began performing part-time as E-flat clarinetist with the National Philharmonic. He completed his master’s degree at the Faculty of Music in Skopje in 2016 with Sava Dimitrov. Bakrevski is First Clarinet of the Fames Project recording orchestra in Skopje and has also performed with the Skopje City Wind Orchestra, the Montenegro Philharmonic as E-flat clarinet, and the Bitola Chamber Orchestra at festivals throughout North Macedonia. He recorded with the Bulgarian Radio Orchestra in Sofia as first clarinet. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Faculty of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Faculty of Music Big Band, the Macedonian National Philharmonic, the Macedonian National Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and the Fames Project Orchestra. He performs in chamber ensembles including Sonoris, the Gjorevski-Bakrevski Duo, Kvinteto, and Kvarteto. In 2022, he transferred from the National Opera and Ballet to a full-time position with the National Philharmonic, where he is Principal Clarinet. In 2023, he became Clarinet Professor at the Faculty of Music in Skopje. Bakrevski represents Royal Global in North Macedonia and is an artist for Saxclinic clarinet ligatures.

Igor Bakrevski performs on the Royal Global Polaris Soprano and Classical Limited Soprano clarinets with a Polaris barrel and a Vandoren BD5 mouthpiece. He is also an artist for Saxclinic clarinet ligatures. He values Royal Global clarinets for their warm, rich sound, even registers, and reliable intonation, particularly in the high register, which he finds easy to tune and control. In his words, holding one feels like playing the clarinet equivalent of a “Mercedes-Benz.” After many years on Buffet instruments, he felt other brands no longer delivered sufficient value or kept pace with advances in intonation and instrument technology. Trying Royal made him feel that he had finally found an instrument “in step with the progress of technology.” His first experience with the Royal Global Classical Limited included recording film music in a studio, and he was impressed by the results. He then performed on it with the National Philharmonic in Skopje and was struck by how well it sounded. Since then, he has played many orchestral solos and made numerous solo and orchestral recordings on Royal clarinets. He says he is very happy that he switched and knows he made the right decision.