Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

US musician Christiane Karam holds new master class in Sofia

БНР Новини

A few years ago, we introduced you for the first time to Christiane Karam - a jazz and world music vocalist and composer, an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, a fan of ancient musical cultures, among which Bulgarian folklore occupies a special place. Christiane is the founder of the Pletenitsa Choir which brings together Americans, Europeans, people from the Middle East, from the Balkans...

Снимка

Born in Lebanon, she grew up in Beirut during the military conflict, and later later she settled in the United States. She has worked with a number of famous artists. She does not fail to express her respect for Bobby McFerrin, from whom she has learned much of what she is teaching her students now. For the first time she heard Bulgarian folk music as a child and since then she has not stopped searching and studying our songs. Her Bulgarian teacher is the famous folk singer Binka Dobreva from The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices choir.





Over the past few years, Pletenitsa choir has grown and developed. This is no longer just a group of students singing together, but a true musical ensemble with traditions and an interesting repertoire, says Christiane, recalling the history of the group.





Along with her work as a university music professor, choir conductor and organizer of an annual festival, Christiane writes music and constantly carries out her own projects with different musicians. What is her driving force and what is the unifying element among her various paths of professional expression?





Christiane Karam and her Pletenitsa choir are now preparing a new album with Bulgarian and Balkan music.


English Rossitsa Petcova
Photos: Courtesy of Christiane Karam



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Angel Prodanov Acho and the song Hi

Angel Prodanov Acho is almost 30 and even though he has been playing the piano and studying solfeggio since childhood, he only took up music professionally seven years ago. Since then he has had several television appearances, and in 2020 in “The..

published on 8/26/24 7:55 AM

The Hotalich Fortress rocks again with Kerana and the Cosmonauts, Konkurent, Fandango and Mary Boys Band

The festival season is well underway, and today is the opening of one of the most scenic rock festivals - the one at the Hotalich fortress near Sevlievo .  Since 2017, the ruins of the ancient fortified town have become a stage for Bulgarian..

published on 8/23/24 12:40 PM

Electric Force Crew - Moments

The song Moments transports us to the seashore with Nikola and Linda who sing about their genuine moments. Nikola Dimitrov is author of the lyrics and the recitative which brings to life the atmosphere of Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. The music is..

published on 8/22/24 7:55 AM