On 29 March, the children’s vocal group Medeni Zvuncheta (Honey-voiced bells) of the Metropolitan Bishop Avksentiy of Veles School in Samokov is marking 25 years since its foundation. The jubilee concert will take place at the Paisiy of Hilandar community culture club in the town. The celebrations will be joined by students and alumni of the school, including renowned folk singer Velichka Chausheva, who is a first-generation “bell”, as well as instrumentalists from the school’s music classes.

“The Medeni Zvuncheta children‘s vocal group has a special place in my heart, it is a symbol of my love of art. When I discovered folklore it changed my life and became my profession. I am thankful for having been a member of this formation, for the wonderful times we have had together,” former members said for the special newspaper published to mark the occasion.

Daniela Georgieva – founder and leader of the formation – has heard a great many words of thanks. Having obtained a classical music education at the Vesselin Stoyanov music school in Rousse and the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, she has been living in Samokov for decades. After starting as a music teacher at the Avksentiy of Veles School Daniela founded a children’s singing group. Her work is widely appreciated and she has been awarded a number of prizes, among them a Ministry of Education award.

“Music classes and classes for the extended study of music were introduced at our school in 1991” Daniela Georgieva remembers. “I set up a group, and to begin with we performed school songs but later I decided to try folklore. The children were able to read sheet music and my husband, a professional bagpipe player, made arrangements of three-part songs which the children enjoyed as did I. In 1993-1994 we started working with folklore more seriously, studying the specifics of the songs. I myself preferred songs from the Shoppe region around Sofia. I am from Veliko Turnovo and the Shoppe sound I discovered in Samokov really made an impression on me. I had been leader of a group from Govedartsi village for 19 years where I heard the typical old-time kind of female singing, and that was a great help. Looking back now I see that 90 percent of the songs from the repertoire are from Govedartsi, and they are connected with tradition, with horro-dancing songs etc. I really took to the typical two-part singing, the dissonances, the calling out, all of the things that make our own performances stand out. I chose the name of the group – Medeni Zvuncheva, honey-voiced bells, and it has been a name we have been living up to through the years. We first took part in the “Folklore without borders” international festival in Dobrich/Albena in 2011, and the international jury awarded us first prize. Our participation in the international festival “Italian magic” in Rimini, Italy in 2011 was also a success. In the past 4-5 years we have invariably received prizes at national competitions like “Bird singing”, Sofia and “The children of the Balkans” Ethno-fest, Haskovo mineral springs. My work is really gratifying. I have 11-12 year old children coming to me, and then, just 2-3 months later they are singing on stage. Some have never even listened to folk music before, but they go on to sing folklore from the heart. All people who come to the concert will be able to see and hear for themselves – former and current members are inspired artists, they love folklore, it is part of their lives.”

English version: Milena Daynova