Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Choir music with the scent of Bulgarian roses throws a bridge between two continents

БНР Новини
Photo: BGNES

The Varna International music company was founded by Kalin Chonev. Together with his team, this year the company produced 11 concerts in Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Turkey and Great Britain. Music lovers were given an opportunity to listen to five orchestras and twelve choirs from USA. The programme also includes an intriguing Bulgarian-American premiere – the latest work by composer Georgi Andreev, conductor of the Philip Koutev National Folklore Ensemble was performed in Bulgaria hall on May 30. It is called Rose Tear with lyrics by Scott Cairns and is dedicated to oil-yielding roses, one of the symbols of Bulgaria. The stage was shared by the Philip Koutev Folk Song and Dance Ensemble, the Cosmic Voices Choir and two American choirs – Shrine of the Ages and Master Chorale of Flagstaff. The listeners also heard original arrangements of Bulgarian folk music, Afro-American spirituals, classical and contemporary choir pieces by Bruckner, Ravel, Chilcott, Moses Hogan. Here now is Edith Copley, conductor of the American choir:

The concerts organized by the music company this season continue in June in different towns across Bulgaria – Plovdiv, Varna on June 4 as well as in Istanbul, Turkey on June 7. They will all be with the participation of the choirs from Arizona, USA, with conductor Edith Copley the Philip Koutev Ensemble, the Cosmic Voices Choir, conducted by Vanya Moneva, the orchestra of the National Opera, Plovdiv, of the National Opera, Varna, as well as the Boğaziçi jazz choir from Istanbul.

For 16 years the Varna International music company has been organizing international concert tours as well as annual music academies in many Bulgarian towns.

“The sight of men and women of different nationalities and cultures with one purpose in mind - celebrating music, has always moved me deeply,” says Kalin Chonev.

English Milena Daynova



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Hristo Yotsov

Prof. Hristo Yotsov – between classical music and jazz, where stories can be felt

"A concert with original music is a wonderful way for a person to celebrate his birthday," one of the most eminent and creative jazz musicians on the Bulgarian scene, percussionist Hristo Yotsov, says with a smile. For the third..

published on 2/13/25 7:19 PM
Костадин Гугов

90th anniversary of the birth of the famous folk singer Kostadin Gugov

Today we remember the famous folk singer Kostadin Gugov. Born on 12 February 1935 in Sofia to a family of refugees from Kilkis in the geographical region of Macedonia in Greece, Kostadin Gugov is still celebrated as one of the most authentic..

published on 2/12/25 9:45 AM

“Somewhere out there” and Mihaela Marinova

About ten years ago, a little girl with a big voice appeared on a TV show. Mihaela Marinova, then 15, is now an established singer. In that time, she has earned the love of audiences, won a number of awards, taken part in hundreds of concerts and has..

published on 2/11/25 11:51 AM