Branimir Slokar was born in Maribor, Slovenia, where he also had his first trombone lessons. After leaving school he studied psychology at Zagreb University, but upon winning first prize for trombone at the 7th Yugoslav Music Competition in Zagreb he decided to follow a musical career.
In 1969 he completed his education at the Ljubljana Academy of Music with distinction and went on to study further at the Paris Conservatory. Just a year later he completed these studies by winning first prize in a competition, and soon went on to win many more prizes and distinctions, including the 23rd ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 1974. Being engaged as solo trombonist in renowned orchestras like the Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra), directed by Rafael Kubelík, Slokar was soon in the limelight due to his exceptional musical talent.
Slokar’s reputation as one of the best trombonists of his time paved the way for an extraordinarily brilliant career. In 1980 he gave up his orchestral activities and pursued a career as a soloist, performing concertos for trombone and orchestra, chamber music, solo recitals with organ, piano and harp, and playing at many important international music festivals in Salzburg, Vienna, Dubrovnik and elsewhere. Branimir Slokar’s musical virtuosity is supplemented and enriched by his outstanding pedagogical gift. Apart from professorships in Freiburg im Breisga (Germany) and Bern (Switzerland), he is regularly invited to host masterclasses around Europe and in the USA and Japan.
He founded the Slokar Trombone Quartet in 1973 and led this ensemble to a very high level of musical brilliance and authenticity. Numerous recordings, radio and television broadcasts, as well as his solo recitals, contributed to his worldwide fame as a representative and promoter of the trombone.
In 2010, Slokar won “The Neill Humfeld Award for Excellence in Trombone Teaching”, given by the International Trombone Association. In 2013, he was awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Maribor, and in 2018 he received an honorary doctorate, Doctor Honoris Causa, from the National Academy of Music in Bulgaria.
