Berklee Student and Alumni Among Winners of Six String Theory Competition

Berklee student Euan Kyle Leslie and alumni Cecil Alexander B.M. ‘16 and Petar Krstajic B.M. ‘18 are among the nine winners of the 2018 Six String Theory Competition. Winners received three all-expenses paid trips to record and perform with Grammy-winning guitarist and producer Lee Ritenour in Switzerland, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. The winners also joined Ritenour as clinicians at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim.

The Six String Theory Competition, hosted by Ritenour and sponsored by Yamaha, supports aspiring musicians through academic scholarships, prizes, mentoring, performance, and recording opportunities. The competition accepts applications of guitar, bass, piano/keyboard, and drum performances.

Euan Kyle Leslie is a drummer from Dumfries, Scotland, and was the winner of the 2015 Young Drummer of the Year competition. He won a Berklee Online scholarship from the Six String Theory Competition.

Petar Krstajic is a composer, arranger, and bass player from Belgrade, Serbia. His music combines jazz and electronic with traditional Balkan folk influences. He has performed with David Binney, Marko Djordjevic, and Terri Lyne Carrington. Krstajic graduated from Berklee with a degree in Professional Music.

Cecil Alexander is a jazz guitarist from the United States. He played the NAMM show in 2016, and won the Wilson Center Jazz Guitar Competition in 2017. He graduated from Berklee with a degree in Jazz Composition and will graduate with a master’s degree from William Paterson University in May 2019.