Autumn Newsletter 2025
2025 Edition Recap
The Seventh Edition of our festival was the most exciting to date – offering a number of new adventures. In addition to our now well-known locations of Kovachevitsa and Gotse Delchev, we ventured to new venues and regions of Bulgaria. One of them was Dobinishte – a spa town near Bansko, rich in folklore traditions, where we performed the first classical music concert in the town’s history, in collaboration with the Municipality of Dobrinishte and Mayor Ivan Sakarev.
Our second new location was Karpachevo, a lovely village in North Central Bulgaria, on the Devetaki Plateau. We first heard about Karpachevo from our designers Youlian and Silvia Avramovi, who are building their own house there, inspired by the community efforts of the Devetaki Plateau Association and Iva Taralezhkova, the region’s tireless leader and champion.
Our concerts in Dobrinishte and Karpachevo were part of our new project “Communities in Harmony”, supported by the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria. We would like to thank especially Silvia Avramova, who worked tirelessly to welcome our team and guests to her new state-of-the art guest house Indilia.
Photos from performances in our new venues: With the Mayor of Dobrinihste Mr. Ivan Sakarev (1) and the Mayor of Karpachevo Ms. Veny Raykova (2). On stage in Dobrinishte (3).
Special Guest Artists
This year our festival took place over two weeks and included performances by renowned Bulgarian musicians, now well-known by our audiences, as well as a number of guest artists who visited us for the first time: the American composer Kenji Bunch, who was our composer in residence and also participated as violist, Monica Ohuchi, a powerhouse pianist and wife of Mr. Bunch, who is on the faculty at Reed College in Oregon, and Stefan Arzberger of the Leipzig String Quartet, who is familiar to Bulgarian audiences from his appearances as guest concertmaster of the National Opera House in Sofia for their Wagner Festival. The Swedish/Swiss clarinetist Karin Dornbusch joined us for the second festival weekend in Karpachevo and, like all of our musicians and guests, was charmed by the community spirit and natural beauties of the Devetaki region.
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Stefan Arzberger, Nikola Takov, violin (1), Kenji Bunch, composer and violist and Monica Ohuchi, piano (2), Karin Dornbusch, clarinet (3), Monica Ohuchi, piano (4).
Unique Programs
Our programs continued to combine popular works, such as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by W. A. Mozart, alongside rarely performed compositions from the classical repertoire, such as the magnificent piano quintets of Vincent d’Indy and Frank Bridge. As per our tradition, we also performed a number of works by living composers, starting with three chamber music compositions by Kenji Bunch, including a special commission for this edition of the festival – Three Madrigals for piano trio. We also premiered the poignant new piano trio Moments of Memory by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, our first international collaboration, initiated by the Istanbul Music Festival in partnership with five other prestigious European classical music festivals. We also brought to the Bulgarian stage the string trio Continuum by Bulgarian-American composer Henri Lazarof and once again worked with our good friends Dobrinka Tabakova (her Stone Trail Piano Quintet was performed in Dobrinishte and Karpachevo) and Peter Kerkelov, whose work “… when space began to toll…” was at the center of our Karpachevo residency. All in all, we gave seven unforgettable concerts in four locations, featuring fourteen performers and composers.
As we reflect on a successful summer season, we would like to express our deepest gratitude not only to our artists, but to our incredible team behind the scenes, and the growing community of supporters who helped us every step of the way by volunteering, hosting, and supporting our campaigns. We can’t wait to embark on our next adventure, featuring more musicians and composers in more exciting Bulgarian locations!
A special “Thank you” to our online supporters and everyone who joined us for our first fundraising concert in Sofia, which took place in July and featured our good friend, the renowned US flutist Carol Wincenc.
Stefan Arzberger, Dora Dimitrova, Nikola Takov, Georgy Valtchev, Rumen Cvetkov, Kenji Bunch, Teodora Atanasova and Alexander Somov. Photo: Jordan Simeonov
Coming up – Peter Kerkelov in New York
We are very excited to expand our collaboration with composer Peter Kerkelov. At the end of the summer season, we recorded the work he recently created for us “… when space began to toll…” and intend to release it in a special video next season. Peter also gave an engaging talk about his work and the inspiration he draws from authentic folk music at the Old Mill in Karpachevo – a great historic space, beautifully renovated as a community center by the Devetaki Plateau Association.
We will next present Peter’s work on December 10, 2025 at the prestigious DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York. Mr. Kerkelov will be joining us for the U.S. premiere of the work and we look forward to introducing him to our colleagues and friends – composers and musicians in the city. DiMenna is located inside the Baryshnikov Art Center, a space named after the great ballet dancer and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov that is dedicated to serving the independent music sector. In addition to Kerkelov’s work, we will present the U.S. premiere of Kenji Bunch’s Three Madrigals for piano trio, and other works by Bulgarian composers.
Stay tuned as we finalize our plans, program and musicians for this special event!
Our musicians with Mr. Kerkelov after the recording session at the Prof. Pancho Vlаdigerov National Academy of Мusic, Sofia.
Off the Beaten Path Featured in The Arts Desk
This summer we had a special visitor in Dobrinishte and Kovachevitsa – the music journalist David Nice. David is the classical music and opera editor of the British online publication theartsdesk. A former music critic for The Guardian and The Sunday Correspondent, he has made regular appearances on BBC Radio 3, including in the long-running series Building a Library. He is the author of short studies on Elgar, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and opera history, and is currently working on the second volume of his Prokofiev biography for Yale University Press.
We are very thankful that David joined us this summer and attended four of our concerts, experiencing not only our programs, but also the unique atmosphere of our locations. He wrote an in-depth account of his experience, which was shared widely in the music community in the United Kingdom and Bulgaria, including on the Bulgarian website kultura.bg, as translated by Boris Deliradev.
David’s closing statement says it all:
“If you’re looking for the best in summer chamber music, in the most beautiful and unusual of locations, book soon for next year. I hope to be back.”
CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE AT THEARTSDESK
David Nice (on the right) pictured with composer Dobrinka Tabakova and publisher Matthew Knight of Schott Music before the concert in Dobrinishte, featuring Tabakova's Stone Trail for Piano Quintet.
Community Building Initiatives
Our festival collaborates closely with local businesses, organizations, and activists, supporting important causes, starting with our beloved Svetlina Cultural Center in Kovachevitsa. To date, we have invested over 50,000 BGN for renovations, raised by the Svetlina Charitable Society, which we founded in support of this cause. This summer our efforts continued as we supported the construction of new bathrooms in the basement with 4,800 BGN. Our campaign will continue in 2026 when we hope to renovate the windows of the concert hall.
Find out more at www.dar-svetlina.com.
We also continued to partner with the organization Clean and Green Gotse Delchev, who organized a community action to clean up the surroundings of Kovachevitsa on the last festival day. Many of our musicians, composers and audience members joined the 7 a.m. initiative, collecting garbage in the surrounding Rhodope mountains.
Our new partner this year was Zaedno v chas / Teach for Bulgaria. We are delighted to have contributed 10% of the festival proceeds from ticket sales to this wonderful organization, which works to ensure that all children in Bulgaria have access to great education. The contribution was made in celebration of the First School Day in Bulgaria – September 15.
You too can support this cause by contributing at www.zaednovchas.bg
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Clean up action with Clean and Green Bulgaria (1), The Community Center at Karpachevo (2), The Old Mill Karpachevo (3), and a conversation with Kenji Bunch and Dobrinka Tabakova in Kovachevitsa (4).
Beyond the Music
As it has become our tradition, our audience in Kovachevitsa and Gotse Delchev was treated to many delightful experiences by our growing team of partners. During every intermission, our guests tasted magnificent wines by Uva Nestum Wine and Spa, enjoying the marvelous views from the terrace of the Svetlina Community Center in Kovachevitsa. Many of our special guests stayed at the Uva Nestum Spa Hotel in Gotse Delchev and were kindly transported with hotel vehicles to the festival venues each evening.
Numerous well-known leaders of business and the arts attended this year’s festival. We were thrilled to welcome the renowned Bulgarian kaval player Theodosii Spassov and the famous Bulgarian journalist Boyko Vassilev (on invitation of Mr. Ivan Bilarev of Uva Nestum). We also welcomed Ms. Milena Dragijska-Dencheva, CEO of Lidl Bulgaria, on her second festival visit, as well as representatives of Postbank, the American Foundation for Bulgaria, and other businesses and organizations. As always, our events were supported and attended by Mr. Vladimir Moskov, Mayor of Gotse Delchev, Mr. Kiril Zhuglev, Mayor of Kovachevitsa, and Mr. Manol Peykov, publisher and Member of the Bulgarian Parliament.
Our special partnerships included cocktail receptions by Harmonica at the Shindarov Art House, a Dinner for Sponsors at Lavanda, and meetings with our composers and special guests at the Kalinia and Pachalov guest houses. Our list of partners has expanded to include the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism, Lidl Bulgaria, the Villa Melnik Winery, as well as the Indilia and Ongal guest houses in Karpachevo.
We are most grateful to them and to everyone who ensured that our guests were able to enjoy their festival time by providing them with delightful culinary experiences.
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A few of our special guests this summer -- Mr. Bilarev and family, Mr. Boyko Vassilev (1) Mr. Theodosii Spassov (2), Mr. Manol Peykov and Lora Tchekoratova (3) and Ms. Milena Dragijska-Dencheva and family (4).
Singing Hearts
In July, our own Mariana Karpatova, a native of Gotse Delchev, once again gathered children from the region in the Cultural Center of Gotse Delchev, and, in partnership with Bulecopack, offered them a weeklong music camp and a number of community events, including a clean up of the park with Clean and Green Gotse Delchev and performances for the local community and the elderly and disabled in the town. The camp was very popular with our young talents and received wonderful reviews in the local press.
Special thanks to the Municipality of Gotse Delchev for the support!
Mariana Karpatova with her Singing Hearts.
Festival Team Spotlight Yovka Kirova, Volunteer
This summer, we were blessed with a new volunteer, who helped us with our events in Dobrinishte and Kovachevitsa. We will be thrilled to continue working with her on a regular basis.
Yovka is a teacher by training and vocation, but for a number of years she also ran her own commercial company. She has recently worked in business administration, with a focus on project management, work team efficiency and communication. She is presently interested in developing training courses on screen addiction and critical thinking. She devotes part of her spare time to the preservation of ancestral memory. She loves volunteering and mountain running.
Thank you, Yovka!
In process
Here is what you can expect from us in the next few months:
New Paths – a documentary about our new locations by Stela Stoykova and Damian Stefanov of Insieme
“…when space began to toll…” – US premiere of composer Peter Kerkelov at DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York City
Art video of Peter Kerkelov’s work
More commissions and more venues in 2026!
Follow our news on social media and our YouTube channel.
Communities in Harmony (2025) is made possible with funding from the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the program "Dissemination".
Learn more about our sponsors and partners HERE.