By Iva Taralezhkova | Board Chair, Devetaki Plateau Association
From 28 to 30.06.2024, in the picturesque countryside and in the villages nestled between Sevlievo, Lovech and Letnitsa the tenth, jubilee edition of the festival "Jazz under the stars of the Devetaki Plateau" was held.
Every year the audience of the festival grows and covers more and more diverse age and social groups from all over the country. That is why the events in the three days were addressed not only to the hard core of jazz-lovers – we targeted families with children, teenagers and people with an interest in music, open to new styles and genres.
On the first night we started with a concert of the trio "JaZta Prasta" - Martin Lyubenov, Angel Demirev and Mihail Ivanov. The formation unites music from different traditions and ethnicities - motives from Bulgarian, Turkish, Serbian, Romanian and Gypsy folklore were presented through the language of jazz and improvisation.
The second day had three major parts:
- A lecture "Jazz - Traditions and Challenges" presented by Professor Vladimir Radulov, pianist, teacher and long-time host of the "Jazz Studio" programme on the Bulgarian National Radio. The lecture was aimed at the general public and had an educational - informative character - Professor Radulov told and musically illustrated some interesting facts from the history of jazz music.
- "Jazz Improvisation" - a free masterclass for young talents from all over the country, pupils and students from music schools and academies. The masterclass was held under the guidance of Konstantin Kostov, a pianist and teacher with extensive experience in Bulgaria and in many other countries.
The first two events took place at the Old Mill, renovated a few years ago by the Devetaki Plateau Association.
- The evening concert on the stage near the Garvanitsa cave brought together more than 15 stars of Bulgarian jazz. Traditionally, the evening was opened with a Dixieland march, in which the musicians started from the "Garvanitsa" cave and walked playing to reach the official stage. The highlight of the program were our special guests from Spain - the singer Carme Canela and the pianist Joan Monné, who were in Bulgaria for the first time. They were later joined by Arnau Garofe, Dimitar Karamfilov, Atanas Popov and Petar Terziev, thus creating an international sextet especially for the event. Original music and arrangements were also presented by Steve Hamilton, Konstantin Kostov, Dimitar Blagoev, and others. The concert was complemented by jazz versions of folk songs by the ladies of the folklore group from Gorsko Slivovo village, demonstrating the event’s connection and significance for the local community. And the jam-session that followed lasted until dawn.
- On Sunday morning, the "Jazz for Kids" musical matinee was especially for children and their parents. This event was held for the third time in the Devetaki Plateau under the excellent guidance of Ventsislav Blagoev and is already a favourite element of the festival, especially for the young families with children from the area.
Thanks to all of you, dear donors, and also thanks to the Ministry of Culture and the three municipalities - Letnitsa, Lovech and Sevlievo, the event was again free of charge. This year’s edition of the small initiative we started 10 years ago has been another great success – it was visited by almost 2000 people of all ages and from all around Bulgaria. And it has proven that although our team is small, when we have many people like you and our volunteers join efforts and work together in one direction, it is even possible to enliven our villages and improve the lives of the local communities there!
By Iva Taralezhkova | Board Chair, Devetaki Plateau Association
By Iva Taralezhkova | Board Chair
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