Ekrem Mamutović Orkestar

Ekrem Mamutović Orkestar is a Roma brass band from Vranje, led by the trumpeter Ekrem Mamutović. He is a grandson of Bakija Bakić, the famous Vranje trumpeter to whom the town raised a monument. Ekrem went to music school for three years but left when he joined an orchestra, and for a long time he played without reading music.

The band made its name at the Dragačevo trumpet festival in Guča. At the 52nd festival in 2012 Ekrem received the Zlatna truba, the festival's highest award and the one missing from his collection, and the same night he also won the Second Trumpet of the festival. After three wins in Guča he carried the title of master of the trumpet. In 2016 he won the first "Masters of trumpets" competition and was named Champion of Guča, with the right to represent the festival around the world until the next one, and the orchestra then played for thousands of visitors.

The orchestra plays čoček, kolo and Vranje songs, and it has kept returning to Guča, with concerts in 2024 and at the 65th festival in 2026. Ekrem's sons Kristijan and Dobrivoje are trumpeters too and have already won competitions of their own. The playlist gathers the band's videos, from "Merakliski čoček" in 2008 to "Ekremova merakliska gajda" in 2026.