The Academy of Music and Dance was founded in 1964, initially as an affiliate of the Bulgarian State Conservatory in Sofia. The idea for a branch in Plovdiv was put forward by the eminent Bulgarian musician Prof. Assen Diamandiev and was met with enthusiastic support by Prof. Vladimir Avramov and Prof. Alexander Neinski, Rectors of the Bulgarian State Conservatory.

In the next eight years the branch grew substantially and in 1972 became an independent institution under the name of Higher Institute of Music and Music Pedagogy. In the same year, degrees in Bulgarian folklore music were introduced into the curriculum, making the Institute the first and only school of higher learning in Bulgaria to offer such degrees. Prof. Assen Diamandiev was appointed as the Institute’s first Rector.

Training in Bulgarian folklore choreography was introduced in 1975, and in 1995 the Institute was formally renamed The Academy of Music and Dance. Visual arts were introduced in the mid-90s completing the range of art degrees offered.

Prof. Nedyalcho Todorov (1979-83), Prof. Gheorghi Kunev (1983-89, 1997-99) and Prof. Ivan Spassov (1989-96) succeeded Prof. Assen Diamandiev as Rector. Prof. Anastas Slavchev has been the Academy’s Rector since 1999.

Following the political and social changes that took place in Bulgaria in 1989, the Academy of Music and Dance became one of the first institutions of higher learning in the country to receive full state accreditation (1998).

Since 1964 more than 5,000 students have graduated from the Academy.

About Prof. Anastas Slavchev

Prof. Anastas Slavchev

Anastas Slavchev was educated at the Bulgarian State Conservatory in Sofia, where he studied with the renowned Bulgarian piano instructor Prof. Lyuba Encheva. He later pursued advanced study in Moscow, Weimar (Germany) and Brno (Czech Republic).

Prof. Slavchev is a distinguished concert pianist. He has collaborated with a number of eminent Bulgarian musicians. With his wife Dora Slavcheva, he founded the Slavchev Piano Duet, now recognized as one of the leading piano duos in Bulgaria. Dora and Anastas Slavchevi have received much praise for their performances in Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey, the Republic of Macedonia, Cuba, United States and Japan. They are recepients of the Plovdiv Music Award (2001).

Prof. Slavchev has participated in a number of international conferences on piano performance in the Czech Republic, Russia, Japan and the United States. He judges regularly at national and international performing competitions. He is a member of the Japan Piano Teachers Association.

Prof. Slavchev is the current Rector of the Academy of Music and Dance and Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival in Plovdiv. He is also our kind host for the first Folk Seminar which will take place at the Academy this summer.

About Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Remains of ancient civilizations and expressions of modern culture complement each other to create the irresistible and eternal beauty of this city, a true symbol of Bulgarian history and culture.

Plovdiv's location along the banks of the Maritsa River, and its seven hills, so prominent on the Thracian plain, indicate the city’s strategic significance and account for its long tradition as one of the largest cultural and economic centers in the country throughout the ages. Here Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans and Bulgarians came together to create an architectural wonder.

Being situated as a crossroad between East and West has brought Plovdiv strong cultural and political influences from many civilizations over the centuries which have informed the city’s unique cultural identity. Being older than many ancient cities such as Rome, Athens, Carthage and Constantinople, and an almost-contemporary of Troy, Plovdiv is not only a picturesque site with many parks, gardens and historic buildings. Its museums and archaeological monuments and excavations make it a unique document where one can experience layer upon layer of history.

The old section of Plovdiv, called the Old Town, with houses from the National Revival period (18-19th century), is an open-air museum situated on the three hills of the ancient Trimontium. One of the most remarkable sights of the city is the ancient Roman Amphitheater (left), which has been restored and is once again in use for open-air performances.

Plovdiv is magical all year round. In the winter it is fabuously white; in the spring it is covered with green and flowers, in the summer it is hushed under the scorching dry heat of Southern Thrace, in the autumn it is calm and intriguing, with ripe figs and sweet grapes dropping into soft foliage... Plovdiv can hardly be described in simple words... One should see it and feel its unique atmosphere in order to understand it.

About Koprivshtitsa, Bulgaria

Koprivshtitsa, one of the most charming small Bulgarian towns still preserving the atmosphere of the National Revival period, is huddled in folds of the Balkan mountains 111 km (approx. 70 miles) east of Sofia. A unique combination of a legendary history and a fascinating present, no other Bulgarian museum town boasts such a large number of houses and monuments - 383 in all, most of which have been restored to their original appearance. A unique collection of ethnographical treasures, old weapons, National Revival works of art, fine fretwork, household weaving and embroidery, national costumes and typical Bulgarian jewelry has also been preserved. It was here that the first bullet of the April Uprising against the Ottoman oppressors was fired in 1876.

The town of Koprivshtitsa has preserved the traits of the whole cycle of Bulgarian “renaissance” architecture, and thereby illustrates the creative searching of the Bulgarian master-builders of old which culminated in the symmetrical composition of the houses in Old Town Plovdiv.

Koprivshtitsa occupies an important place in the Bulgarian folk music calendar. The Koprivshtitsa national music festival, a huge gathering of musicians, dancers, singers and storytellers from all over the country, takes place on a hill outside the town every five years. A smaller regional festival involving local folk groups is held annually (except when the big event takes place), usually on the weekend nearest to the Feast of the Assumption (Sveta Bogoroditsa), on August 15.