The singing skills of Vanya Valkova are many sided. Her voice sounds on stage, but also at weddings and other occasions where her songs from the Thracian region bring her fans together. She is soloist of the popular wedding orchestras “Kanarite” and “Young Thracians”. One of the forthcoming events is her concert on March 19 under the motto “Folklore as they have made it”, where she is to perform with Petar Ralchev – accordion, Stoyan Yanculov – percussions, Angel Dimitrov – tamburica and Bogdan Trio. The concert is part of the music programme of “Plovdiv – European Capital of Culture 2019”. Vanya Valkova’s roots are from Dobrudja region, northeastern Bulgaria. Aware with her talents from an early age, her parents encouraged her to continue her education at the Fillip Kutev School of Folk Art in the town of Kotel. She then graduated from the Academy for Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, majoring in folk singing and gadulka (rebec). As early as her student’s years Vanya Valkova was distinguished with awards from singing contests, but also as gadulka performer. In 2001 she made her first recordings with the Folk Music Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio. She is also the initiator and founder of a children’s folk singing music school in the town of Rakovski.

“One is born with one’s talents. But it’s my family that awoke in me the love for folklore”, Vany Valkova explains. “Mom and Dad were taking part in amateur singing groups. My father has a very special feeling about folk music and he saw how much I wanted to sing. He has been supporting me all through so that I become what I am. The first time I sang on stage was in the village of Debrene, Varna region, when I was 4 or 5. At the music school in Kotel I felt like at home. I remember how exigent my teacher Sashka Chenkova was. I sometimes had fears as to whether I am good enough. Later, with my gadulka teacher Velichka Todorova there were times when I had to play one and the same thing for months before it turned out right. That was very useful hard work! At the Academy I realized that what they have been teaching us at school was not simply singing and gadulka lessons. They have given me a direction to head as a person resolved to succeed in music with love and persistence.

I am happy to be on stage with musicians I have been learning from. Music can be presented on all kinds of stages – at concerts, weddings, gatherings, festivals, in the square or at private parties, even with no special occasion at all. But there comes a moment when a musician has to work out one’s own style in order to continue. I have attained what I have been dreaming of. I am grateful to Petar Ralchev, Georgi Yanev, Peyo Peev, Nedyalko Nedyalkov and Stoyan Yankulov. I couldn’t list them all.

A very exciting occasion for me was my guest performance in Amsterdam with the ARIFA Group. It consists of four musicians from different countries, who live in Holland. There were three of us performing – women from Iran, China and Bulgaria. We all play string instruments typical for the respective country. We demonstrated simultaneously and in a very interesting way the folk music of Bulgaria, China and Iran with the accompaniment of the ARIFA Group. We had concerts in several countries and we issued an album.”

English version: Iva Letnikova