What's the cut-off date for registration?
When is the Seminar orientation?
How can I contact Seminar staff when I am in Bulgaria?
Can we contact you at the Koprivshtitsa festival?
How can I get from Sofia to Koprivshtitsa?
Will there be bus transportation from Koprivshtitsa to Plovdiv?
How can I get from Plovdiv to Sofia when the Seminar ends?
Can I make recordings at the Seminar?
Can you give us some general hints about money and travel in Bulgaria?
Will there be a Bulgarian language class?
Is it possible to add a Bulgarian folk violinist to the staff?
What's included in the seminar cost and what's not included?
What will the program be like?
How might this seminar be different from others?
Do I need to be a member of PayPal to pay with a credit card?
Why won't the "old masters" be at the seminar for the entire period?
Why didn't I receive a Confirmation Notification email from the Seminar after I paid with PayPal?
If I have more questions, comments or suggestions, whom do I contact?

What's the cut-off date for registration?

Registration will stay open until the last day of the Seminar (August 13, 2005). However, registrations by check or cash may only be done in person at the Music Academy from August 8 through August 13, 2005.

Registrations using the seminar.lyutichushki.com web site may be submitted until August 13 with payment through PayPal.

Payments postmarked after July 13 cannot be processed and will be returned to the sender as soon as possible.

When is the Seminar orientation?

The seminar orientation will take place at the Music Academy in the Concert Hall at 5:00 pm on Monday, August 8, 2005. The Music Academy is located in the center of town at the top of the hill in “Old Town” just above the ancient Roman Theater. The orientation will give students, teachers, and the Music Academy rector and staff an opportunity to get acquainted, and provide time for students to meet their fellow students. Instrument loan (borrowing) will take place at the Seminar Orientation. This will also serve as an opportunity to discuss local restaurants, the schedule for the week, any changes in scheduling, some planned evening events, and any logistical issues that are of concern.

How can I contact Seminar staff when I am in Bulgaria?

The general telephone number for the Music Academy is (032)-628-311 (Note, the city code (032) does not need to be used if you are in Plovdiv)
If you would like to reach me (Larry Weiner) or Lyuben Dossev in Koprivshtitsa or in Plovdiv we can be reached at:

Larry
If dialing from outside Bulgaria my Plovdiv home phone number is: 011-359-32-627-009
If dialing from within Bulgaria my Plovdiv home phone number is: 032-627-009
If dialing from outside Bulgaria my cell phone number is: 011-359-889-663-238
If dialing from within Bulgaria my cell phone number is: 0889-663-238

Lyuben Dossev
If dialing from outside Bulgaria Lyuben’s cell phone number is: 011-359-886-710-668
If dialing from within Bulgaria Lyuben’s cell phone number is: 0886-710-668
A very reliable, and relatively inexpensive, calling card for making calls to Bulgaria, or calling to North America from Bulgaria is available through www.bulink.com There is a local access number in Plovdiv for this service and calls back to the USA are 7 cents/minute.

Can we contact you at the Koprivshtitsa festival?

We don’t know how "overloaded" the cell phone system will be in Koprivshtitsa, but when we were there this past spring our cell phones worked well. If you need to reach us you can call either Lyuben or Larry on their cell phones (see above). However, if cell phones are not working, you can leave a message for us at either of our hotels. I (Larry) am staying at the "Bozova Kushta" on Purvata Pushka ul. & Lyuben is staying at "Bashtina Stryaha" also on Purvata Pushka ul. (ul means street) a few houses closer to the center of town and near Purvata Pushka Most (the Bulgarian word Most means bridge). (The bridge where the first shots were fired in the uprising against the Turks in 1876). (See Koprivshtitsa map and mark "X1", circle # 44).

How can I get from Sofia to Koprivshtitsa?

If you are planning to take the bus from Sofia to Koprivshtitsa, departure times are 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm daily and reservations may be made up to 3 days in advance.

Will there be bus transportation from Koprivshtitsa to Plovdiv?

Almost all of the seminar registrants have requested bus transportation from Koprivshtitsa to Plovdiv. We have rented a large bus and it is currently scheduled to depart from the parking lot near Koprivshtitsa Post office at 5:00 pm on Sunday afternoon, August 7, 2005. (See Koprivshtitsa map, circle #25.) The bus will be rented from the Stoichev Bus Company and have a sign reading “ART ACADEMY –Plovdiv.” We are trying to arrange for the bus to transport participants to their hotels in Plovdiv, so please email us the name and address of the hotel where you will be staying. It is approximately a 2 hour drive from Koprivshtitsa to Plovdiv. There will be a small charge for bus transportation.

How can I get from Plovdiv to Sofia when the Seminar ends?

In planning your return trip from Plovdiv to Sofia, we suggest taking the bus; it is usually about a 2 hour trip. The bus from Plovdiv to Sofia is every hour. You need to be at the bus station 1 hour earlier in order to purchase your ticket on the day of departure. The busses depart from Bus Station "South"- Avtogara "Yug" - close to Train station.

Can I make recordings at the Seminar?

Audio recording will be allowed during all classes at the Seminar. Videotaping will be allowed during all instrument and vocal classes at the Seminar. Videotaping will be allowed during each of the dance review sessions at the seminar. The dance review sessions are scheduled to take place during the afternoon dance classes on Wednesday and Friday and during the last dance session on Saturday afternoon.

Can you give us some general hints about money and travel in Bulgaria?

• If you need help with something in Bulgaria (and don’t speak Bulgarian), try to find a young Bulgarian person to assist you. Today most young Bulgarians speak some English.
• In Plovdiv taxis are very inexpensive (by western standards) and a taxi rarely costs more than 4 leva (approximately $2.50 US) to go from one side of town to the other. Generally the driver is not tipped. Taxi fares increase somewhat past 10:30 pm. I have found that most Plovdiv taxi drivers will take you to your destination using the most direct route.
• In Plovdiv if you want to be driven to the Music Academy, just say “Music Academy” to the driver; they all seem to know where it is.
• Changing money - I have found that generally the best rates are available through a bank’s ATM machine using your bank debit card (not a credit card.) The money changing kiosks at Sofia airport have amongst the worst rates in Bulgaria. There are many ATM machines in the downtown Plovdiv area. It is a good idea to ask your bank how much you will be allowed to withdraw using a foreign ATM machine. I have found that the limit is usually $200-$300 per day. The current exchange rate (July 11, 2005) is 1 USD = 1.61990 BGN, 1 BGN = 0.617322 USD . But that rate changes somewhat daily and also varies according to where you do your exchange.
• Waiters do not expect tips to be given to them at restaurants.
• Travelers Checks – Don’t waste your time. Six months ago I found that no bank in Bulgaria would accept an American Express Travelers check. I doubt that situation has changed.
• Most small and medium sized businesses do not accept credit cards issued outside of Bulgaria. Large hotels will often accept non-Bulgarian credit cards.
• The bottom line, most transactions are done in Bulgarian Leva, although some places will allow you to pay in US Dollars or Euros.

Will there be a Bulgarian language class?

There will be a Bulgarian language class daily from 2:00 - 3:00 pm. The class will be taught by Angela Roedel, an American ethnomusicology student at the Music Academy and an accomplished Bulgarian speaker (and language teacher). She is planning to use the most recent edition (2003) of “Teach Yourself Bulgarian” which has an accompanying set of 2 CDs. She is assuming that most students have had little or no experience with the Bulgarian language and suggesting that students familiarize themselves with the Bulgarian alphabet beforehand. The book and CD are available through Amazon for $19.11. The link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0071430237/103-8252683-9118262?v=glance

Is it possible to add a Bulgarian folk violinist to the staff?

We have added Ivan Paskalev to the staff. He will only be teaching students that are experienced violin players. We have not changed the web page to allow you to select this as an instrument, however, if you are interested in taking this class please indicate your interest by email to the Seminar registrar.

What's included in the seminar cost and what's not included?

We've decided that we will not "bundle" food and lodging with the seminar because there is such a broad range of accommodations and eateries close to the Music Academy. This will afford the participants great latitude in picking accommodations best suited to their desires and food that meets their dietary and financial needs/desires. We plan to publicize a list of close-by walking distance lodging at the time the web-site becomes available. Public transportation is very inexpensive and taxis are everywhere to be found and, by North American standards, quite inexpensive.

What will the program be like?

The program will have equally strong vocal, instrumental and dance class components and attendees may mix-and-match classes according to their interests and abilities.

Instrumental classes will be offered in most of the major "traditional" instruments (gaida, kaval, gudulka, tambura & tupan) and two modern instruments (accordion & clarinet).

Vocal classes will be offered focusing on regional styling.

Dance classes will focus on village/regional traditional repertoire.

Bulgarian Language classes will be offered if sufficient interest is expressed.

Side trips to various traditional instrument makers are planned.

For music classes, group classes (by experience level) will be held in the mornings and individual/small group classes will be held in the afternoons.

How might this seminar be different from others?

We are attempting to take advantage of the wealth of expertise that exists at the Music Academy. One of our objectives is to have instructors that have not previously taught outside of Bulgaria. Our plan is to have multiple instructors and assistants for each class. For example, we are making arrangements to try and have each music (instrumental and vocal) class be co-presented by faculty at the Music Academy (who are accustomed to teaching) and by "old masters" (who are generally not accustomed to teaching) but who have their own regional/local repertoire.

The plan for Bulgarian folk dance sessions would be similar in that we want to feature regional/village dancers from various parts of Bulgaria (Shopluk, Macedonia, Thrace, North Bulgaria etc); but to have them "assisted" by English speaking dance staff that are familiar with how non-Bulgarians learn dance. Dance classes will take place throughout the morning and afternoon.

Do I need to be a member of PayPal to pay with a credit card?

No, you do not need to be a member of PayPal to pay with your credit card through PayPal.

Why won't the "old masters" be at the seminar for the entire period?

In some cases these "old masters" are in poor health and at this time cannot commit to being at the seminar for the entire week. As the seminar draws nearer we will try to update the website to indicate the days on which a specific "old master" will be teaching.

Why didn't I receive a Confirmation Notification email from the Seminar after I paid with PayPal?

The Confirmation Notification email is automatically sent to the registrant's email address after the registrant selects "Return to Merchant" from with-in PayPal. If for any reason you do not successfully "Return to Merchant" (e.g. your computer crashes, your internet connection is lost, you close your browser window while in PayPal) and as a result you do not receive a confirmation email from us, you should "Contact Us" with a "Website Related Issue" and describe what happened. We will check our PayPal records and determine if we received a correct payment, if so, will send you a confirmation email. If however, we did not receive PayPal payment, and you still want to register, then we suggest re-registering and going through the PayPal process again, or sending us an appropriate Bank Check or Money Order.

If I have more questions, comments or suggestions, whom do I contact?