THIRTEENTH ANNUAL CONCERT OF BALKAN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC: BALKANICUS

BALKANICUS 2017

the Thirteenth Annual Concert of Balkan Contemporary Music

Press Release

What:               BALKANICUS 2017 - 13th Annual Concert of Balkan Contemporary Music

When:              Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 7:30 pm

Where:            Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall in Ferguson Hall

University of Minnesota School of Music of U of M

Admission:      FREE and Open to the Public

The University of Minnesota School of Music

and Balkanicus Institute for Balkan Art, Culture and History (BIBACH)

Present

Balkanicus 2017 will feature a program of American and World premieres of music from Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia (FYROM). There will be two world premieres. The first is

Last Journey for baritone, cello and two pianos by the Greek Aris Carastathis based on text by the great Greek poet of the 1920’s Kostas Karyotakis. The composer will be at the concert. The other world premiere is Paradoxes for cello, bass clarinet and percussion by the pillar of the Bulgarian avant garde Vassil Kazandjiev. The other two composers on the program are the Macedonian Tome Manchev and the Bulgarian Roumen Balyozov.

Featured artists in the 2017 concert include leading musicians from the Twin Cities area – faculty and guest performers – who have collaborated many times on Balkanicus concerts: tenor John De Haan, cellist Nickolai Kolarov, percussionist Fernando Meza, the clarinetist Patrick O’Keefe, the pianists Jill Dawe, and Miryana Moteva, and graduate students.

The Balkanicus chamber concert series was created in 2003 by Bulgarian cellist Nickolai Kolarov to showcase music from the Balkans that is still unknown to the local public. The concerts always present American premieres of works by composers of different generations and styles. Several composers have written and dedicated pieces for Balkanicus. Music inspired by folk, with Western influences, and the most recent developments of the 21st century cross paths on the stage--and all of the pieces convey 'Spiritus Balkanicus!'

For more information and about the previous Balkanicus concerts:  www.bibach.org

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This activity is made possible by voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.Additional support from KFAI Fresh Air Radio, Bulgarian School of Minnesota, St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, St Stefan Romanian Orthodox Church, Temple of Israel, It’s Greek to Me Restaurant, Black Sea Turkish Restaurant, Excel Energy, and private donations.