Kaval

Lyuben Dossev, born in Pleven, Northern Bulgaria on April 12, 1953. Following in the footsteps of his father, Tsvetan Dossev the kaval player for the North Bulgaria Folk Ensemble, Lyuben started to play the kaval at a very early age. As early as in 7^th grade, he was recruited to play at youth folk camps to teach younger children how to play the kaval. After Lyuben graduated from the Pleven Music High School he moved to Plovdiv to attend the Plovdiv Music Academy. During this time he was one of the founders of the first Vocational Music High School in the town of Shiroka Lûka, in the Rhodope mountains. Lyuben received his degree from the Plovdiv Music Academy, and has been teaching there ever since; he has taught almost all of the current generation of Bulgaria’s most well known kaval players and has been a mentor for many young musicians as well as colleagues at the Academy. In 2004 Lyuben was elected the Dean of the Department of Music Folklore, Choreography and Arts, at the Plovdiv Academy. For the past 10 years, Lyuben has taught numerous times at folk camps in the USA and is proud to be the Program Director for Folk Seminar 2005.

Kolyu Kostov, born in the village of Kamen Vrûh, Yambol area of Thrace in 1936. From 1969 until his retirement in 1997 Kolyu played kaval for Ensemble Pirin in Blagoevgrad and accompanied them during their worldwide tours. Kolyu is an exceptional kaval player with an incredible sense of humor. His style is purely Thracian even though he played a lot of Macedonian music during his tenure with the Ensemble Pirin. After retirement, he returned to his home village because he "felt very homesick", having spent his entire adult life away from his parents. In 2002 he became a priest at the village church, so now he is known as Father Nikola. Kolyu continues to play and entertain his friends and native villagers.

Gaida

Georgi Prisadov (Thracian gaida) Prisadov is the youngest member of our staff. He was born on August 27, 1978 in Shiroka Lûka, in the Rhodope Mountains. He is a graduate of the Shiroka Lûka Music High School. From 1999 to 2004, Georgi studied at the Plovdiv Academy, where he is currently a part-time teacher of Rhodope gaida.

Dafo Trendafilov (Rhodope gaida), from the village of Gela, Smolyan District in the Rhodope Mountains is one of the masters of the kaba (low) gaida (bagpipe). He learned to play gaida like all the gaida players in the Rhodopes, up in the mountains grazing the sheep. Dafo, now in his eighties, cannot remember a single day in his life when he did not play kaba gaida. In his hands, when he plays, the gaida not only plays, but fills the soul, and in his native area people cannot keep from dancing “tyozhko” (heavy) horo and singing songs like “Byala Sum, Byala Yunache”. Not only a masterful player, Dafo has been an instructor at the nearby Shiroka Lûka Music High School since the schools inception.

Gûdulka

Todor Kirov, born on November 27, 1950 in Veliko Tûrnovo, North Bulgaria. In 1976, Todor graduated from the Plovdiv Academy and was offered a position as a gûdulka teacher, which he accepted and holds to this day. He has taught almost all of the current generation of professional gûdulka players and is a highly distinguished figure in Bulgarian gûdulka playing and teaching.
Todor Kirov has carefully studied the peculiarities of his instrument and has published a number of books about how to play gûdulka, including "Evolution of the gûdulka and gûdulka playing in Bulgaria," "The art of the gûdulka in Dobrudja," and "Tunes for gûdulka."

Rangel Karakitukov, born on January 10, 1944 in Panicheri, Plovdiv area. After completing 8^th grade in his native village, Rangel moved to Plovdiv to attend the Carpentry School, majoring in Instrument Making and Care. There he learned how to make violin, cello, stand-up bass, guitar, etc. In the meanwhile he purchased a gûdulka from a friend and taught himself to play by repeating the music he heard.
Soon he auditioned for Kosta Kolev's band at Radio Sofia and that was the beginning of his professional career as a gûdulka player. Throughout his life he has been making and repairing gûdulkas. Rangel continues to play gûdulka in studio recordings with Lyuben Dossev.

Tambura

Vladimir Vladimirov, born in 1975 in Stara Zagora, Thrace. Vladimir graduated as a tambura major from the "Filip Kutev" Music High School in Kotel. In the year 2000, he completed his Bachelor's degree at the Plovdiv Music Academy. In 2002, Vladimir began teaching tambura part-time; he has been working as a teaching assistant at the Plovdiv Music Academy since 2004.

Ignat Kukov, born on May 9, 1934 in the village of Chernogorovo, Pazardzhik area. Ignat is the oldest tambura player in the Plovdiv area as well as the most respected. When he was a boy he learned how to play the tambura from his father. He worked for many years with the Assen Diamandiev orchestra and the orchestra of Radio Plovdiv. Ignat has played for the records of ALL the folk singers of the region. He founded the prominent Srednogorska Troyka (The Trio from Srednogorie) in 1971.
Although retired, Ignat spends a lot of time among young musicians. His son, Sotko Kukov, studied tambura at the Academy and has worked on multiple recordings with his father at Radio Plovdiv as well as the National Radio Sofia.

Tûpan

Assen Musov, born on June 16, 1939 in Plovdiv. In 1959, Assen began his folk career as a dancer and drum (tupan and tarabuka) player at the Ensemble of the Army in Sofia. From 1975 to 1985, Assen performed with Ensemble Trakia in Plovdiv. Today, Assen plays with the newly founded Ensemble Bûlgare. Assen has played with the most popular groups in the Thracian region. He has toured with the famous choir, "The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices," throughout Europe, India, Mexico, Columbia, Iran, Algeria, and many other countries. Assen is equally well known for his virtuoso tupan playing and for his outgoing personality.

Clarinet

Petko Radev, born on April 9, 1933 in the village of Svoboda, Chirpan region of Thrace. As a child Petko started to play on his father's clarinet. During his first 15 years of playing clarinet he played only folk music. During the next 15 years Petko concentrated on the classical genre and he graduated with “excellence” from the Sofia Music High School and the Sofia Conservatory. Petko’s first folk recordings were made with Radio Sofia and soon he became everyone's favorite, and a mentor to many younger musicians. Petko has been featured on numerous folk recordings for Balkanton records from the 1960s-1990s. Equally skillful in classical and folk music, Petko was the clarinet soloist at the Milan Philharmonic Orchestra for 11 years. When he returned to Bulgaria he started teaching clarinet at the Sofia Conservatory, and has recently retired from there. He is now a professor at the Plovdiv Academy and continues to be one of the most respected and popular clarinet players among lovers of folk music.

Accordion

Krasen Gospodinov, born on May 26,1965 in Zhitnitsa, Dobrich area, Dobrudzha. Krasen started playing accordion at the Children's Music School when he was 5 years old. He won first place at both the 5th and 6th National Festivals in 1979 and 1983 respectively and also won the Special Award for Young Performers from Radio Shumen in 1982-83. He graduated from the Plovdiv Music Academy in 1998 as a music pedagogy major. Krasen has bean featured on numerous shows for National Television, Bulgarian National Radio, Radio Shumen, Plovdiv Community Television and many others. Krasen has toured the world from India to France and played at famous venues where he has been the featured performer. Krasen currently plays accordion and composes music for Ensemble Trakia in Plovdiv. He's intending to compete as the fastest accordion player for the Guinness Book of World Records.

Violin

Ivan Paskalev was born in 1968 and he began his musical training when he was 12 years old. His first instrument was the "gudulka" which is the most common bowed instrument in Bulgarian folk music. When he was 15 years old he began playing violin (which is called "tsigulka" in Bulgarian) and at that time it became his major instrument. During that period he was accepted as a student in the prestigious Secondary School for Folk Instruments and Singing in Shiroka Luka, Smolyan District, Bulgaria.
After completing his studies at Shiroka Luka Ivan was much sought after because of his musical talent. He has played with some of Bulgaria’s most famous folk bands including "Astra," "Rhodopi," and Ivo Papasov’s "Trakiya" group. He has appeared countless times on Bulgarian Television and is in constant demand to play for Bulgarian wedding parties and at restaurants. He has traveled with various groups to perform is Serbia, Macedonia and Switzerland.
He has also appeared in several on the CDs of traditional Bulgarian folk dance music produced by Lyuben Dossev and Iliana Bozhanova.

Thrace

Tanya Dosseva, born on December 24, 1954 in Sinapovo, Strandzha region, in Eastern Thrace. Tanya's first singing experiences date back to her early childhood performances at village fairs, celebrations and competitions where she often moved the audience to tears with her sad slow songs and beautiful voice. Tanya graduated from the Plovdiv Academy in 1977 and was immediately hired as a teacher at the Shiroka Luka Music High School; she was simultaneously appointed a soloist for the Academy Folk Choir, a position that she held for 11 years. Throughout her singing career, Tanya Dosseva has performed at the most prestigious venues in Bulgaria and Europe. She now sings with one of the most popular wedding bands in the country, the the Konushenska Group. In the summers of 2000 and 2001, Tanya taught at the East European Folklife Center’s Balkan Music & Dance Workshops at Camp Ramblewood in Maryland, USA. She is delighted to welcome her American friends into the bright halls of her Alma Mater.

Stoyanka Yordanova, born on September 28 1943 in the village of Dûlgo Pole, Plovdiv region. Stoyanka is the daughter of the famed Bulgarian violin player Georgi Arabadzhiiski who is also known to be the eldest violin player in Bulgaria. At 18, Stoyanka started her singing career with the Assen Diamandiev Ensemble in Plovdiv. That ensemble disbanded 2 years later and she started making her living as a singer at weddings, village festivals, celebrations, fairs and concerts. In the meantime, Stoyanka married accordionist Yordan Yordanov. In her singing career she has recorded with the Konushenska Group, Lenovskata Groupa, Karadzhoovski Folk Band, Pilashevo Band, Radio Plovdiv orchestra, Todor Prashtakov Band and Delcho Mitev Band. Stoyanka now lives in Kochevo, Plovdiv region of Thrace.

Shopluk

Yordanka Ilieva, born on July 8, 1939 in the village of Borika, Sofia region. She grew up singing and dancing with her family. She went to Sofia at a young age to sing with the "Shopski Ensemble", and there met her husband to be, Georgi Iliev from Gabra in the Shopluk region. She and Georgi returned to Gabra and founded the “Gabra Folkloren Ensemble” which has preformed at the Koprivshtitsa Folk Festival, throughout Europe and for the former president of Bulgaria. Yordanka has received 6 gold medals for her solo performances at Koprivshtitsa and has received wide acclaim for her recordings. She and Georgi (who will be teaching dances from Gabra at the Plovdiv seminar) still live in Gabra.

Vocal Program Coordinator: Tanya Dosseva