Eighth Edition of Off the Beaten Path

In 2026, the Off the Beaten Path Chamber Music Festival will continue bringing new music to new venues around Bulgaria, starting at our festival home Kovachevitsa and expanding our programs to other picturesque locations – Gotse Delchev, Dobrinishte, Karpachevo and, for the first time, Troyan in North-Central Bulgaria.

This summer, we will commission and premiere new works by composers David Ludwig (USA), Penka Kouneva (Bulgaria/USA) and Peter Kerkelov (Bulgaria). In addition, we will establish a residency program in Kovachevitsa for emerging composers who will have a chance to work with Mr. Ludwig (Dean and Acting Chair of Composition at The Juilliard School in New York), Ms. Kouneva (a celebrated Hollywood composer) and Mr. Kerkelov (Associate Professor and Head of Composition at the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music in Sofia).

We will continue collaborating with the renowned Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova by presenting her works in new venues. Our guest artists will include distinguished musicians Bella Hristova (violin), Mark Sparks (flute) and Karin Dornbusch (clarinet).