15–16 September 2018
People who hear Bulgarian music for the first time are often impressed and touched by its immense power, vitality and beauty. Bulgarian singing indeed has a unique style, whose fiery rhythms and unusual harmonies "melt" the soul, a vocal technique which gives power to the voice and voice to the heart.
In this workshop, led by Dessislava Stefanova, participants will have a chance to plunge into this rich living tradition. They will be introduced to the basic techniques of voice production and special vocal effects (like shaking and hiccoughing) used in Bulgarian singing. They will learn Bulgarian songs in two, three and four-part harmony (though discordancemight be a better word). If participants want to bring instruments, Dessislava can include songs with accompaniment.
Dessislava Stefanova grew up singing the songs of her native Bulgaria. Already an experienced international performer by age 18, she went on to become a professional singer and assistant conductor with the renowned Philip Koutev Bulgarian National Folk Ensemble.
Since 2000 she has been working in the UK performing in various art forms, recording film soundtracks (Troy,Elizabeth the Virgin Queen, Boratand many more) and delivering workshops.
She is founder and leader of the London Bulgarian Choir, Open Category Winner of the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year competition in 2006. Thanks to her patience and dedication, this group of largely non-Bulgarian singers has become a performing tour de force, winning hearts and minds in the UK, and further afield, in Bulgaria's concert halls. Dessislava is Bulgarian Woman of the Year, awarded by the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.
→ www.londonbulgarianchoir.co.uk/dessi.html
Supported by Magistrát hl. města Prahy (Prague townhall) and Ministerstvo kultury ČR (Ministry of Culture).