There are nine instrument players in the Qerimaj family from Përmet, in southeast Albania. They are all known for playing various musical instruments.  The story began with the patriarch of this family, Ethem Qerimaj, 77, who is one of Albania’s most charismatic violists with a remarkable musical history. One son, Fatos Qerimaj, plays the clarinet while other, Bruno, plays the organ. Fatos’s uncle, son and daughter all play the violin. “It is an interesting crowd,” said Fatos Qerimaj to Southeast Europe: People and Culture. “My father, brother and I created a vivacious trio that performed in our country and abroad. Later on, the tradition was embraced by my uncle, my children, my brother’s daughter, who plays the bassoon, and so on and so forth until we got to the present situation, where our family has enough musicians to produce a new, complete repertoire.”  

Some of the younger Qerimaj family members are now studying abroad and will bring back modern musical trends with them, highlighting the need to streamline the repertoire. “I am working on my family’s project,” Qerimaj said. He explained that new pieces will be introduced to their repertoire, including a mix of Albanian traditional and contemporary modern music.

“After refreshing our repertoire, we will interpret it abroad and finalize our efforts with a grand concert in Albania. This concert will have a European format through the use of the most advanced technology,” Qerimaj said.  

The Qerimaj family will first present their new repertoire in France in early 2012 and will then continue on to other countries before reaching the Albanian stage. Creativity will be the main focal point of this repertoire.  

Fatos Qerimaj, who has been involved with music for over 25 years, is the director of the annual Tirana Jazz Festival, the first of which was held in 1999. Fatos founded the jazz festival because he believed jazz was a missing element in Albanian culture. Since its beginning, international and local jazz bands have participated in the festival. This has had a positive impact on the Albanian jazz scene because the festival inspired not only individuals but also other institutions. Consequently, the Durrës Jazz Festival and the Shkodra Jazz Festival were launched.  

Fatos Qerimaj is also a conductor and has founded two orchestras, one of which is called Insequence and the other Big Band, which is the Academy of Fine Art’s musical group. “I have performed many concerts with Insequence during the European Week of Culture which has been held many times in Albania,” the clarinettist said.

Insequence, made up of professors from the Academy of Fine Arts and young musicians, has been involved in major projects financed by the Albanian Ministry of Culture. Through one of these projects, Insequence supports young talents.

Being the head of Department of Interpretation at the Academy of Fine Arts, Fatos Qerimaj created Big Band three years ago with the intention to play jazz music and various other styles of contemporary music. “This would bring young students closer to the music world and introduce them to new tastes while comparing various music genres,” he said.

Though he studied the violin, Fatos later switched to clarinet. “Clarinet is a traditional folk instrument with a lot of influence in Albania. The mentality that used to associate this instrument only with folk music has been abandoned now. It is very much part of the contemporary classical music,” he said.

With many concerts given in France and with a perpetual passion for Mozart’s pieces, Fatos Qerimaj has collaborated with many international artists. These include among others Bulgarian director Adela Peeva, Croatian pianist Ivana Vidović and the Toursky Theatre of Marseille, France, with which he has collaborated for 15 years.