Throughout her career Kamelia Todorova has traveled abroad, taken part in different festivals and won awards, among them second prize at the Young Jazz Singers Competition in Lublin, Poland, as well as well as the special prize named after Duke Ellington. She has released several albums.

In the 1980’s Kamelia Todorova’s name was also connected with Bulgarian cinema. The most vivid memory we have of her is in her role in the film The Queen of Turnovo, where she starred alongside famous actors like Nevena Kokanova and Stefan Danailov. The film is based on the novel by Emilian Stanev of the same name. The film is directed by Yanko Yankov who is also scriptwriter and the soundtrack is by Georgi Genkov. There followed other films in which she starred, among them Tide of Tenderness and Bonne Chance, Inspector. Radio Bulgaria’s Sibilla Lilova talked to Kamelia Todorova:

“Positive energy is what gives me strength. It is my reason to live, to work, to smile, and through my music I have tried to pass it on to other people. I love to create and I love my work as a pedagogue at New Bulgarian University. I am very fond of this profession because of the young people I work with. I love to sing.”

On January 24 Kamelia Todorova marks her birthday with a concert at a club in Sofia. Her fans will be able to enjoy music by some of the most prominent jazzmen and their formations - Misho Yossifov Quintet, Zhivko Petrov Trio, Angel Zaberski Jr. Trio, Vassil Petrov, Kalin Velyov. The works they will perform will be a retrospection of Kamelia’s career and include some of her best-loved and emblematic Bulgarian songs, as well as jazz and soul pieces.

“I am currently making recordings at the Bulgarian National Radio for a new album,” Kamelia Todorova says. “I hope it will be ready and will be released by the end of 2014. The album features rewritten works by renowned composers included in a rock project of mine in 1990. This time the music will lean more towards soul and swing. I am also preparing a mini-tour around Bulgaria with a big concert in Sofia at the end of the year.”

The audio to this file contains the following recordings:

-  Mood;

-  Since I Fell in Love with You, a live recording from the Jazz Festival in Rousse in 2007, together with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band, conductor Yanko Miladinov;

-  Goodbye, music Rachel Row, a live recording from the Jazz Festival in Bansko, together with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band, conductor Antony Donchev.

English version: Milena Daynova