Photo: Famous musician Ivan Varimezov has recently celebrated his 60th jubilee. He is one of those bagpipe players who have found success both in this country and internationally. His genes have their contribution to the high level of performance for sure, alongside the solid education, received at the Kotel-based Filip Kutev music high school and the Plovdiv Music Academy. Family environment was his first teacher – he was born in the Strandja town of Sredets near Burgas, where the bagpipe is sacred for the local musical tradition. His uncle, famous bagpipe player Kostadin Varimezov cultivated the taste for the unique Strandja performance style and the young man was thankful for that. This experience proved to be priceless for Ivan’s professional path as a solo orchestra player with the Thrace Ensemble for Folklore Songs and Dances. Later on he became the conductor of the folklore songs and dances orchestra in the town of Pazardjik. There he managed to create a top folklore ensemble together with his wife Tsvetanka Varimezova – a conductor of the choir ensemble. When the family moved to Sofia Ivan spent over a decade in the Folklore Music Orchestra of the BNR. He’s had more than 150 studio records as a soloist, member of the orchestra, participant in chamber bands and music author. At the same time he is a bagpipe tutor for children in the capital city, his own daughters Radka and Tanya having been among his students too. In 2001 the Varimezovs settled in LA, following the invitation of Prof. Timothy Rice – an ethnomusicology expert who is in love with Bulgarian folklore culture, a bagpipe student of uncle Kostadin Varimezov and author of the May It Fill Your Soul documentary – a family story of the Varimezovi clan.

‘We have been lecturers at the California University in LA, the Ethnomusicology Dept. as of 2001,’ Ivan says. ‘We teach Bulgarian folklore music. My wife Tsvetanka Varimezova teaches vocal techniques and folklore signing and I teach instrumental music. Thus we popularize our music that we are proud of. My bagpipe is my pride, it is always with me – as a Bulgarian flag worldwide. Whenever I start playing Bulgarian tunes people come to ask me about the instrument and Bulgaria in general. This makes me be punctual in my work with young people.’

Ivan Varimezov also shared his gratitude for the long-year cooperation with Prof. Timothy Rice:

English version: Zhivko Stanchev