Orfeia

Честита Нова Година – Happy New Year!

HELP SUPPORT ORFEIA! We’ll be selling hand-made jewelry, artwork and other hand-crafted items at the FSGW Winter Minifest on February 1, 2020. A triple whammy — enjoy all the great music, get yourself some one-of-a-kind jewelry, and give us a helping hand in our mission to preserve and share the traditional music of Bulgaria and the Balkans.

TAKOMA PARK ARTS PRESENT ORFEIA. We really enjoyed our Balkan journey with a full house of passengers! And bravo — you sounded great on Gura beli belo platno!

VESELA KOLEDA! We shared Bulgarian holiday music and traditions with a lovely audience in a great setting as part of the Holiday Festival at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

The SECOND ANNUAL BALKAN CHESTNUT FESTIVAL was fantastic – we went, we got the t-shirt! Dancing, dancing, dancing, wine, food, and glorious weather in a beautiful setting. Everyone enjoyed the renowned Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band and local Balkan ensembles Orchester Praževica and Szikra — and Orfeia! Dance instruction by Jamie Platt of Dancing Planet Productions meant that everyone could join in the fun. Looking forward to the Third Annual!

HARVEST MOON FESTIVAL. World music and shopping at Silver Spring Town Center — we had a great time.

ANOTHER AWARD FOR OUR DIRECTOR! Tanya has been awarded the Order of St. Cyril and Methodius, first degree, one of Bulgaria’s highest honors for individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of culture, art, education and science. Congratulations, Tanya!

ART, MUSIC, FOOD, WINE. A lovely afternoon at 410 GooDBuddY Gallery in D.C. with enthusiastic art, music, mezze and wine lovers. Thanks to Wiebenson & Dorman Architects PC and Jt Roy for hosting us at their gallery!

KUDOS TO THE RHIZOME CHORUS! The kids – and grown-ups – did a stellar job mastering Bulgarian words, music and choreography after only two workshops (and a dress rehearsal) and performed to an enthusiastic audience. Bravo! Thanks to Rhizome for hosting and providing such wonderful programs for the community.

EUROPEAN UNION EMBASSY OPEN HOUSE! As always, we had a delightful time greeting visitors to the Bulgarian Embassy with traditional Bulgarian songs at this signature D.C. event. A lovely way to welcome spring!

STARTING THE DAY WITH CREATIVE MORNINGS — a wonderful series with a wide-awake and very enthusiastic audience!

THANKS TO THE RALPH J. BUNCHE LIBRARY and the Department of State for hosting our performance of Eastern European traditional music. Not surprisingly, the audience did a great job learning a Bulgarian song! We were delighted to be joined by Ambassador Tihomir Stoytchev and Dr. George Lazarov.

THE BALKANALIA WAS A BLAST. Great fun joining forces with Orchester Praževica and DMV Balkan Brass for “Balkan Beltway – A Balkan Musical Showcase” – Multiflora Productions’ Flash of the Spirit Worldwide Sounds Festival 2018.

BULGARIAN MUSIC SOCIETY 10th ANNIVERSARY GALA. The Bulgarian Music Society has presented 60 concerts featuring more than 400 performers from all over the world, and we were delighted to be a part of this concert featuring the beauty of classical music, the majesty of a $3-million modern organ, the joy of musical theater, the power of opera . . . and the magic of Bulgarian folklore!

MNOGAJA LETA, GEORGE LAZAROV! Orfeia was honored to be a part of Да Даваш от Душа (You Gave From the Soul), a documentary about Dr. George Lazarov, a renowned and innovative surgeon and long-time supporter of the arts in the U.S. and Bulgaria. That’s Orfeia’s Elin Zurbrigg you hear over the closing credits.

CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS AND PERFORMANCE. The kids were amazing – they sounded great and sang before a full house at the Botev Academy. Check out our Facebook page and the Botev Academy Facebook page for photos! Here’s a sample of what they learned, sung by two of the participants!

LIVE@5 on WPFW! It was a delight to be invited back by such a great station! Hope some of you jazz and blues lovers are now Balkan music fans.

TANYA ON THE JUDGES PANEL. Tatiana Sarbinska joined other luminaries of Bulgarian traditional music to judge the bi-annual “New Music in 7/8” competition held in Chepelare, Bulgaria. 7/8 is one of the most characteristic of Bulgarian traditional music’s unique rhythms. Check out the competition!

CONGRATULATIONS, TANYA! Tatiana Sarbinska was awarded the Honorary Medal of the President of Bulgaria for her contribution to Bulgarian arts and culture. The award was presented by Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria. БЪЛГАРИЯ СЕ ГОРДЕЕ С ТЕБ — Bulgaria is proud of you — and so are we!!

ORFEIA IS ON AmazonSmile! You can help Orfeia every time you shop! Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and choose Orfeia as your non-profit organization of choice — up to 0.5% of your purchase price will be donated to us! Please take a second to do this — we need and appreciate your support.

A NEW BULGARIAN MUSIC FAN! Ansu emailed us, “Your performance at the Embassy of Bulgaria for #EUOpenHouse was entrancing. I especially liked your explanation of dissonance and rhythm in the Bulgarian folk compositions, that helped us appreciate what we were hearing even more. I loved the slightly eastern-tonality of your pieces. I look forward to attending more performances. People literally stopped in their tracks on the street to listen to you…outstanding harmonies and unusual, stimulating sound. Great job you all! I posted about you on Twitter.” Thanks!!