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Folk,
classical groups to offer taste of Bulgarian music
HOUGHTON ’Äì A taste of Bulgarian culture comes
to the Upper Peninsula
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The folk ensemble Bulgari will present a taste of traditional Bulgarian music, song and dance at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23, in Michigan Tech’Äôs Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. |
this week. Two groups of
artists, a folk ensemble and a classical duo, bring
three spirited opportunities for entertainment. The
collection of folk musicians, singers and dancers
called Bulgari will give one performance only at 8
p.m. on Monday, October 23, at the Rozsa Center for
the Performing Arts on the Michigan Tech campus.
Later in the week flutist Natasha Uzunova and
clarinetist Michael Deynov Ivanov will perform
Bulgarian music at Tech Tea Time at 4 p.m. on
Wednesday, October 25, in the lobby of the Rozsa
Center and also at 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 26,
at Portage Lake United Church in Houghton.
Calumet resident and folk dancer Doug McDowell is
pleased that the artists are visiting the area. Doug
has been dancing for about 40 years and really
enjoys the variety that Bulgarian dance and music
bring to folk dancing.
"I like the complexity, the rhythm and
singing," Mc Dowell said. "I find all of
these interesting and challenging."
He noted groups like Bulgari are excellent
because they spend years in national Bulgarian music
clubs. They sometimes go on from there, like Bulgari,
to be "throw-backs," forming small
traditional folk groups. Bulgari, McDowell added ,
is a crew of popular and esteemed Bulgarian
musicians playing instruments that range from the
Bulgarian bagpipe called a gajda to the tepan,
an authentic Bulgarian drum.
The musicians in Bulgari are all celebrities in
their homeland. Georgi Doichev, founder and leader
of the group, is the premier bagpipe/gajda player in
Bulgaria and for many years was the principal
soloist in the Filip Koutev Ensemble, a group of 100
musicians.
Uzunova and Deynov Ivanov, also renowned
musicians, bring professional touches of Bulgarian
music to the industry. Uzunova has played for the
Varna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vratza
Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vratza Wind
Orchestra. Deynov Ivanov has been the principal
clarinetist of the Vratza Philharmonic since 1967.
He has also served as principal clarinetist of the
opera orchestra in Rudolstadt, Germany, and appeared
as soloist with the orchestras in Vratza and in his
native Vidin, Bulgaria. The duo will be presenting a
variety of traditional music, accompanied on the
piano by Hancock resident Neil Paynter, accompanist
for the MTU Concert Choir. Paynter also plays
keyboards with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra,
teaches privately and performs chamber music
throughout the Lake Superior Region.
Another Copper Country resident is anticipating
the excitement Bulgari, Uzunova, Deynov Ivanov bring
to the area.
Mariana Tonchev, a native of Bulgaria, who came
to Houghton many years ago, said of the Bulgari
performance, "We’Äôre going because we don’Äôt
want to miss it. We’Äôre going because they’Äôre
Bulgarian, and we’Äôre going because they’Äôre the
best."
Anyone interested in world music, dance, song or
spirited performance should not miss this rare
opportunity to experience authentic Bulgarian folk
culture. Tech Tea Time is free and open to all. For
information on the Monday and Thursday performances
call the Rozsa Center ticket office at 487-3200.
Tickets can be purchased on the Web at http://www.tickets.mtu.edu.
’Äì
Jenny Drewyor
October 21, 2000
Editor’Äôs Note: Houghton resident Jenny
Drewyor is a guest reporter for Keweenaw Today and
a folk dancer. Click
here for this week's Arts and Culture update ...
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