The show at the City Mark Center will feature three other harpists - Vessela Trichkova, Yana Doynova and the author. Some of the pieces will be played in versions for solo harp the way they are presented in the music book. Others are orchestrated for a larger formation in which Elitsa has included viola, cello and percussions. The show will offer a range of visual effects and between music performances Bulgarian poetry will be recited - by Nikolay Liliev, Bistra Sirin and others. It is curious to find out that this is the first music book with pieces for harp by a Bulgarian composer promoted and distributed by prestigious companies and websites focusing on harp music.

In professional terms Elitsa Alexandrova writes applied music. For about ten years she has been employed as composer and audio designer by an international company for computer games. She has composed music for commercials, films and a theatre show. She has graduated from Lubomir Pipkov National School of Music and Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music in Sofia in the class of Prof. Atanas Kurtev. Revisiting her studies at the Academy, Elitsa says: “The education I received was solid, not only as a pianist but also in a few theoretical disciplines. I loved making arrangements that my colleagues asked for. I gradually started composing music and the harp was my dream.”

“The idea to compose these pieces came spontaneously”, Elitsa goes on to say. “I was invited to play the harp at a presentation of a book by Roman Kissiov. This way I wrote the first piece, Echo of the Ancient Word. It was more like an accompaniment to his poetry. Over time I have composed music for various performers. I decided to make instrumental versions: not for piano (though I am a pianist) but for harp. To me the harp as an instrument closer to the heart, gentler and more thrilling. Originally, I am a pianist and I have been playing the harp for a little longer than two years under the guidance of Mrs. Angela Madjarova. Coming to grips with this instrument has inspired me to accomplish a few ideas that I have had in the past. Some of the pieces are in song form - the so-called verse-chorus pattern. This explains the first part of the title. As to Thrace, to me it is a powerful symbol of our ancient past, an integral part of the image of Bulgaria. I have avoided borrowing directly from Bulgarian folklore. I have rather tried to express the feelings I have for my country, her history and culture.”

Songs from Thrace is an attempt at discovering my roots in lost worlds, apart from familiar time and space, at awakening the layers of genetic memory. I have tried to reciprocate experienced beauty and rapture through the prism of my creative thinking', concludes Elitsa Alexandrova.

English Daniela Konstantinova