site.btaBig Band of the National Music Academy Begins Season with New Instruments

The Big Band of the National Music Academy in Sofia has begun the new season with new professional-grade instruments, the Academy announced Thursday.

The new equipment includes jazz trombones, trumpets, flugelhorns, electric guitars, a drum kit with stands, a synthesizer, and a range of percussion instruments such as tambourines, congas, bongos, guiros, bells, and a percussion table.

According to the academy, the acquisition was made possible through targeted funding from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education and Science, as part of efforts to support contemporary music education in Bulgaria.

The instruments will be used in public for the first time on November 3 in Hall 3 of the National Palace of Culture, during the concert BG Jazz in the Salon, part of the autumn Salon of the Arts festival. The program, led by Mihail Yosifov, will feature works by Bulgarian composers Milcho Leviev, Bentsion Eliezer, Yanko Miladinov, Yosif Tsankov, Angel Zaberski, Vili Kazasyan, Svetozar Rusinov, and Hristo Yotsov.

On the following day, November 4, the Academy will hold another concert, On the Road of Folklore, in Hall 9 of the National Palace of Culture. The program will include performances by students—instrumentalists and singers—from the classes of Dimitar Hristov, Vanya Moneva, Darina Slavova, Neli Andreeva, Ivelina Dimova, Hristina Beleva, Nedyalko Nedyalkov, and Petyo Kostadinov. The concert will feature songs and instrumental pieces from the Bulgarian folklore tradition by composers Krasimir Kyurkchiyski, Filip Kutev, Stefan Kanev, Ivan Valev, Anastas Naumov, Georgi Andreev, Petar Ralchev, Stoyan Paurov, Dimitar Hristov, and Peyo Peev. Performances will also include the Academic Folklore Choir conducted by Vanya Moneva and the Academic Folklore Orchestra led by Dimitar Hristov.