My Life, My Music

Roger Cox comes from Rabun Gap School, Georgia in America where he coaches, amongst other sports, basketball. His school has a Presbytarian history and the teaching still has a very holistic approach based on its religious background. Students may be pushed but always in a caring and encouraging way. It was very interesting to talk with Roger and in many ways I felt not all education has such a positive and practical approach. Jaka Oberlast, from Maribor, is a student there and in some years it would be great to talk to him too to see what thoughts and skills he brings home to Slovenia.

This week my guest takes us on a very personal journey. When Vlasta Veselko discovered tango, there was just one place to go, Argentina, where she could learn every aspect of the life of this dance from its origins. Her story is very intimate and her love of this dance and the personal experiences it offers are captivating. It’s not a surprise that the music that accompanies this conversation features many versions of the dance, tango.

It seems from my conversation with her that Anja Golob lives with words. By that I mean that for her the art of writing is the way in which she can express not simply a meaning or a fact but layers of emotion and life that maybe some have lost touch with. We speak about the way she hears music as well as plays and writing and I discover a little of myself that maybe I had lost touch with. All too easy to do in this world of interconnections that are so impersonal and often frivolous or even false. I hope you too can identify with this special lady through the show, it has some great music and lots of funny bits too!.

When Hai Ottenheim decided to move to Slovenia with his partner he cannot have known exactly what the future would hold. In fact his strong personal beliefs and experiences have made him a very open person and as such a fascinating man to talk to. His love and broad knowledge of music and what it means to him makes this a very personal story and the music spans many years and genres. He has grown to love what Slovenia has to offer and now acts as quite the ambassador as he shows the country’s beauty to its visitors.

Don Menza was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, where he began playing tenor, saxophone when he was 13. He worked with so many artists, the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones as well as Louie Bellson, and many more, he composed "Groovin' Hard" and "Time Check" and his son Nick Menza was drummer for the heavy metal band Megadeth. This year Don reached the amazingly active age of 83. When I heard he was appearing at CID in Ptui I had to go along!

There is no doubt in most people’s minds that we need to take care of the ecology around us, but what should we be doing? Of course, we all think about using fossil fuels, plastic waste and carbon emissions but can we really do enough? Maria Lucia Cruz Correia is an artist come from Portugal, is married to a Slovene artist and they both live in Belgium. She has been coming to Slovenia for some years, in particular to Bunker to bring people together and not simply listen but become involved in her presentations which are totally about caring for the planet and the people and animals who inhabit it. I caught up with her at the Bunker offices and found out what this all means!

The RORC Fastnet race is one of the most challenging yacht races as it covers a mix of waters from the Solent in the South of England via Land’s End into the Atlantic to the Fastnet rock off the southern tip of Ireland and back around the Scillies to Plymouth for the finish, a total of more than 600 nautical miles. I had the good fortune to talk with one of the most experienced skippers of a two-handed boat (many have 12 or more) Ajeto with Dutchman Robin Verhoef and John Van Dr Starre.

Wanting to fly gliders may have been the start of it all but ending up as a US marine in Afghanistan as a woman cannot be somewhere every girl sees their future. It’s what Anja Brumec managed and she looks back at most of it as an amazing life lesson. This lady simply gives, right now she spends a lot of her time helping people know just how their dogs should be trained to be well behaved and a real part of the family.

The Eurovision Song Contest brought much new music to our screens but for all of us in Slovenia there was one special entry, the winning entry from Slovenia, Zala and Gasper and their song Sebi. Their haunting music is really something special so I asked them to join me in making a show to explain what is behind their music and tell us something of entering this annual European event. We met in Maribor Park on a pleasant sunny day.

If you are a fan of jazz songs and other similar styles then singer and musician Peter Savizon is a voice you have to hear. His heroes are many, like Nat King Cole, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and so many more, and his voice is up there with these greats too. Whilst here in Slovenia he has gained great respect for the many musicians, jazz groups and big bands around the country. He has, of course, fallen in love not just with the people but the amazing countryside and it's diverse landscape and with his partner enjoys taking his two young children on adventures of discovery here.

If you are a lover of early Jugoslavia rock, reggae and more then you will at least have already heard the work of this week's guest. Borut Berden has been interested in sound from a very early age, it led him to work with Radio Student, Studio Tivoli and today, Studio Ritem, which he has built from scratch. His experience is very broad from mixing gigs on the road to many different tasks in studio and now post-production and film dubbing. If you are of a technical mind there is plenty of detail here, if it's the music that you want there's a whole range of that to enjoy too.

This week My Life My Music is rather different. A colleague, Tatjana Milovanovič, introduced me to a Polish student who is spending a year in Slovenia studying on an ERASMUS exchange. Turns out he also has a weekly radio show back home at his university so I not only invited him to be a guest but to take over much of the programme and introduce us to Polish rock music. The result is a beautiful insight into the relationship between historical politics and music.

Dr Milivojevič is well-known in the field of psychoanalysis from his work with drug addicts and also in identifying how we communicate with each other. He has written many books and travels from his home in Serbia to other countries including here in Slovenia where he has recently been conducting workshops in transaction analysis. Maybe you will discover something about yourself.

If you listen to RadioSi you will have heard my guest this week as she works with us and also with RTV television. But there is much more to discover with Veronika Žajdela, from acting to reporting from film festivals and jumping out of airplanes and looking after her three dogs and travelling to far flung places and ......just listen to the show! Great music too!

Very happy that His Excellency Myles Geiran, the Irish Ambassador to Slovenia was willing to visit Radio Si at our studios in Maribor and to record this show with me. Of course we talked about diplomacy and some details of his vital job as well as the relationship between Slovenia and Ireland. He also brought some very typically Irish music along with his choices so there is much to learn and enjoy in this programme.

These days many parents have to consider just how to ensure their children's education is for the best even though their work takes them away from the UK. Jonathan Locke and his wife, along with their two children have faced this problem for 20 years as Jonathan's work took him to many countries around Europe. he has been in Slovenia for more than 2 years now so I invited him to the studio to discuss their solutions to living in so many places. He also has much to learn about Central and Eastern Europe.

This week My Life, My Music reaches show 300. It's impossible to believe the privilege that I have been allowed in talking at some length to so many inspirational people from all walks of life here in Slovenia and many from other countries too. I have discovered much about the people of Slovenia and along the way about myself too. I can only say thank you for this amazing opportunity. But how to celebrate this in the show itself? I return to the very first programme and invite the very first guest to take over the show and talk with me, none other than Zoran Predin. See what I mean about privilege? I pick up the phone and he immediately says yes!

Sara Isakovic was very focused on being a winner in the water from a very early age. Just how much of her passion and determination came from her parents becomes clear when you hear the whole story. Having spent so much of her life achieving she now spends time inspiring others to reach their personal or business goals.

This week the show stays in-house and I talk to someone you hear a lot on Radio Si except normally he is not speaking English. Yes, it’s the moderator with the smooth voice, Ivo Kores, and there is much to discuss. He has had other roles at RTV, not just radio but the morning show on television as well. Having also worked at a commercial radio station we visit this area and, as you may have heard from the on-air promotions, he like to jump out of aeroplanes! Some great music choices too!

The whole presence of the moment, the listening to what is happening on the stage, imagination and understanding the text, these are just some of the basic characteristics of life as an actor according to Janez Škof. This year Janez was awarded the Borštnik Ring, something he says was because of his age but obviously he is proud of this achievement. Who better for a conversation just around the time of relaxing and both Christmas and New Year.