Nusha vocal studio was set up two years ago at Vuzrazhdane Cultural Center in Sofia. Its founder and leader is folk singer Nelly Andreeva, soloist of the Philip Kutev Folklore Ensemble. Regardless of its short history, the formation has a few prizes won at international competitions and a diverse concert schedule. The core of the studio is Nusha trio in which Nelly sings together with her daughters - students at Lubomir Pipkov School of Music in Sofia. The elder one Kalina plays the double bass and Ioanna is trained in the violin. Both have chosen classical music but continue to give time and effort to folk singing. The vocal studio includes also several young ladies aged from 16 to 24.

And here is where the name of the vocal studio comes from. “With great love we remember Nusha Ishizaka, a Bulgarian married to a Japanese man. For many years she was doing a great job to popularize Bulgarian folklore in Japan and across the world”, Nelly Andreeva says. This way the trio, and then the vocal studio commemorate that remarkable woman.

More from Nusha leader, singer Nelly Andreeva:

„The vocal studio has already won a few distinctions. We joined for the first time the Black Sea Sounds International Choral Festival in Balchik, and won a special prize - The Future of Europe. In Braila, Romania, we won the first place at an international forum of Danube countries. We are very proud of this success. We also have a few off-the-wall distinctions - like the Golden Ant from an annual art festival in Sofia. We celebrate our birthday with a concert at the Russian Cultural and Information Center in the capital city. We are thankful for the nice stage given to our event. We have invited guest performers - soloists from Philip Kutev Folklore Ensemble, and Tsvetnitsa band led by Valentin Yankov. We are grateful that these talented musicians have honored our celebration. We are happy that Nusha vocal studio has enjoyed appreciation from both specialists and the general audience. A few months ago we joined the folklore festival in Belfort, France. In official statistics it welcomed 80,000 viewers. Our outdoor concert attracted an audience of 4000 and the moment was unforgettable. At the end of October and the first week of November I am going to lead a workshop in Berlin. I will work with the signers from the Bulgarian Voices Berlin choir. Most of them are German women who are in love with our music. Their conductor is Boryana Cerreti-Velichkova. Apart from repertoire for women's choir I will also present children's music folklore. My daughters will join me and we will sing some Nusha songs. We have planned a final concert together with the Berlin choir.”

The concert for the second birthday of Nusha vocal studio is on 15 October at the Marble Hall of the Russian Cultural and Information Center in Sofia.

English Daniela Konstantinova

The audio file contains the following pieces:

1. Dambara, dumbara

2. Galiam, galiam

3. Sharena gaida