Singer Vasko Vasilev-Bazilio is marking 40 years on stage, and he will celebrate the anniversary at the Military Club in Sofia, on 29 March with a concert entitled “With the wholesome power of songs”. Vasko will donate all of the proceeds from the concert to a noble cause – the repair of the dilapidated church St. Kliment Ohridski in the former seminary near Cherepish railway station in the picturesque Iskar Gorge in Western Bulgaria.

The start of Vasko Vasilev-Bazilio’s career goes back to 1982, with the Youth Male Choir, Sofia, with conductor Valentin Bobevski. A little after that he joined the Bulgarian National Radio’s Mixed Choir, where he sings to this day. Through the years, Bazilio has had a successful solo career, performing Bulgarian pop and folklore music, and church Slavonic chants, and even opera. He has shared a stage with opera prima Ghena Dimitrova and with renowned folk singer Nadka Karadjova, and has worked with James Levine, Shlomo Mintz, Zubin Mehta. And he has a special kind of love for the BNR’s Mixed Choir.

“The Mixed Choir of the Bulgarian National Radio is one of the top professional choirs in Bulgaria,” the singer says. “We have innumerable concerts, take part in different cultural events, make recordings and travel around the world. Before the Covid-19 pandemic we had lots of tours abroad, there have been years when we have spent six months outside Bulgaria. The choir has given me so much. It has given me the stage, it has given me friends, it has brought me in contact with artists, musicians. It has revealed different cultures to me, it has helped me study their music and make a lot of friends. That is why I am grateful to the institution BNR, to all colleagues I have worked with, and am still working with at the Mixed Choir.”

Nataniela, Vasko Vasilev-Bazilio’s wife is also connected with the BNR. For many years she was a member of Radio Bulgaria’s Albanian-language service, and, just like Vasko, is a person dedicated to her work.

“The radio is our home. We spend most of our time here, devoting our time to our profession. It was here that I met Nataniela many years ago. We established a deep emotional connection and married not long after. I am a happy man. My family is wonderful, my wife is a splendid person, and a strong mother. She was devoted to our children when I was on long tours around the world. And now we have grandchildren.”

Actually, Vasko Vasilev-Bazilio is now officially Mister Grandfather for 2022, after winning the contest for grandfather of the year. “In life, there is sugar and there is salt,” that is how the singer explains the difficulties in life, and thanks God he has been given a talent and a way to pass positive energy to people. It is no coincidence that, at the age of 50, he decided to start studying theology, and is now to defend his PhD at the Faculty of Theology of the St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia.

“Knowledge at the theological academy has pulled a big curtain from my eyes, and has revealed things I have not known or understood. When I enter the building it is like entering a temple. I am thankful for the opportunity I have been given to share in the knowledge of the lecturers from the Faculty of Theology.”

Tonight’s charity concert, marking Vasko Vasilev-Bazilio’s 40 years on stage features spiritual music.

Photos: courtesy of Vasko Vasilev-Bazilio