Musicians from Poland and from Bulgaria unite traditions of different cultures using the jazz idiom in a concert from our Sofia Jazz Peak festival at the Bulgaria Hall today at 7 p.m. World Orchestra is led by Grzech Piotrowski and stars kaval-player Theodosii Spassov, the women choir Bulgarian Voices Angelite (The Angels) conducted by Georgi Petkov, string quartet of The Classic FM Orchestra, Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Sebastian Wypych (bass), Robert Luty (drums) and the Atom Sring Quartet. Presented by Jazz FM, Cantus Firmus and The Polish Institute in Sofia, this event is also part of the European Music Festival and is dedicated to the International Jazz Day and the 65th anniversary of the establishment of The Polish Institute in Sofia. The concert is supported by the Municipality of Sofia and the Ministry of Culture and is part of Sofia and The South-Western Region’s bid to be European Capital of Culture in 2019.
“Our duty is to cultivate tradition and to write new music for the next generations,” says Grzech Piotrowski in a Jazz FM interview. The Polish musician created World Orchestra in 2009 to assemble musicians of different cultural traditions for performing music that merges them. “There is a lot of wisdom in folk music of different peoples. Jazz can be its common language”, adds The Bulgarian Voices Angelite choir conductor Georgi Petkov. The singers interpret Bulgarian traditional and religious music to worldwide acclaim – they have presented concerts all around the world, recorded for Hollywood productions and participated in Bobby McFerrin projects. What unites the differences in musical traditions, musical expressions and personal visions legendary kaval player Theodosii Spassov describes as the free interpretation of the free spirit of music: “There are surprising inventions that happen in the moment as we play. A fresh wave of European music is what our listeners have to get prepared for.” Theodosii Spassov has a special dedication to jazz: “If it wasn’t for jazz music, I would have been a very boring and sad person. It gave me freedom and helped me discover myself.”
