site.btaConductor Alvin Arumugam from Singapore to Perform in Vratsa on May 8

Alvin Arumugam from Singapore will conduct his first concert in Bulgaria with the Vratsa Symphony on May 8 at the City Concert Hall in Vratsa. Dalia Cholakova (violin), Nikolay Tsvetkov (piano) and Teo Nikolov (guitar) will take the stage as soloists and perform established classical works under the baton of Arumugam.

"Music has been part of my life from an early age, I started as a percussionist, then became a flutist," the Singaporean conductor told journalists on Thursday, adding that it was working in an orchestra that led him to conducting, as he wanted to see and build the overall sound picture, not just one instrumental line.

The concert programme in Vratsa will include the overture to the opera Hansel and Gretel by Humperding, Concerto No. 1 for Guitar and Orchestra by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, as well as works for violin by Tchaikovsky and Concerto No. 2 for Piano by Liszt.

"I chose the overture to Hansel and Gretel because it tells the story of young people discovering the world and their possibilities," Arumugam pointed out, noting that this is a direct connection to the young soloists who are still building their path in music and seeking their place on the world stage.

Alvin Arumugam is the winner of the International Conducting Competition in Oradea in 2024 and has previously conducted in Romania and Hungary. He is the Music Director of the Musicians' Initiative in Singapore and has gained international recognition for his dynamic leadership and innovative programmes.