Balkana

About Balkana

BALKANA is an “all-star” group comprised of the famed vocal ensemble Trio Bulgarka; Bulgaria’s most renowned performers on the gaida (a bagpipe made from goat-skin) and tupan (a two-headed cylindrical drum), Kostadin Varimezov and Ognyan "Jimmy" Vassiliev; and one of the country’s foremost instrumental groups, Trakiiskata Troika, featuring Stoyan Velichkov on kaval (an end blown flute), Roumen Sirakov on tambura (a long-necked strummed lute), and Mihail Marinov on gadulka (a short-necked, pear-shaped bowed lute).

Trio Bulgarka Yanka Rupkina is a Merited Artist of Bulgaria and one of the country’s most accomplished performers. Born on the Black Sea coast in 1938, she began singing at age 6 for dances and harvests, often with her grandmother. She joined Sofia’s State Radio Ensemble as a soloist in 1961. Eva Georgieva comes from Dobrudja where she learned music from her mother and grandmother. She was a founding member of the Radio Ensemble in 1952 and initiated the formation of Trio Bulgarka 25 years ago. Stoyanka Boneva was born in 1937 in Bulgaria’s Pirin region. She also learned singing from her mother and grandmother, and joined the Radio Ensemble in 1955.

Trakiiskata Troika Stoyan Velichkov is a Merited Artist from the Bourgas area. He has been with the Radio Ensemble since 1955, has toured widely, and is featured on hundreds of recordings. Roumen Sirakov, of western Bulgaria, studied mandolin with his father and has played tambura professionally with the Radio Ensemble since 1959. Mihail Marinov learned gadulka from his uncle in his native Strandja. He joined the Radio Ensemble in 1964.

Jimmy Vassiliev, also a Merited Artist, comes from a family of musicians in Pernik. Originally hired as a dancer for the Bulgarian State Ensemble in 1951, he now plays tupan in the groups’s folk orchestra. Kostadin Varimezov joined the Radio Ensemble in 1954, and has trained more than 25 professional musicians on this instrument.