Bozhidar Simeonov

Born in Vidin (1981) in a family of vlachs (Romanian minority at the south of the Danube, in Bulgaria), Bozhidar Simeonov started to show interest for music (especially folklore) since a very early age, asking his grandfather to teach him how to play the clarinet and later beginning to study the accordeon at a special school in Varna. At a certain point, he discovered the bagpipes, which felt like another identity of his own artistic voice. He had the chance to form as a musician in a double context: academic (studied foklore interpretation at the Plovdiv Conservatoire - Ma in 2004) and informally, through practice "on field" - experimenting also many kinds of style metissage (which could sometimes be defined as "ethno"-jazz, other times escapes stylistic pre-conceptions). Bozhidar started to be known in the world of balkan ethnomusicology as a very special type of performer, who is able to make any archaic tune fresh and intense through extensive use of improvisation and techniques derived from other styles. The strong emotionality of his artistic presence creates an aura around him, being able to form a very open connection to the audience.