ArtsFarmington Presents: Maine Balkan Choir with special guest Elitsa Stoyneva

Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Location: UMF, Nordica Auditorium

Join the Maine Balkan Choir with special guest Elitsa Stoyneva for a festive afternoon of old world village singing and dancing. The Maine Balkan Choir specializes in the traditional open throated singing style of the Balkan countries. The songs, with their unusually close harmonies, modal melodies and complex mixed meter rhythms are full of heart and directness and the messages that they express are universal. The choir was originally formed to perform a single benefit concert. 20 years later they are still singing, drawn together by their mutual passion for the haunting sound of Balkan music.
The choir will be joined by soloist and seven time gold medalist, Elitsa Stoyneva of Turgovishte, Bulgaria. Elitsa graduated from a professional music high school and has performed at numerous concerts and competitions in Bulgaria, Egypt, Switzerland, Greece, Canada, and the US, representing Bulgaria with passion and heart. Elitsa first came to Maine in 2006 and was surprised to find a group singing traditional songs from her country. Since then she has been connected to the Maine Balkan Choir through her teaching and deep friendship. In addition, she has organized and conducted workshops with groups including Yale Slavic Women’s Chorus, Pletenitsa Berklee Balkan Choir and Harvard Radcliffe Choir. Recently she completed an educational project with Chicago Children’s Choir featuring a book and a DVD.

The concert will be held at Nordica Auditorium on the U Maine Farmington campus on Sunday, March 11th at 3 pm and is sponsored by ArtsFarmington. Ticket prices are $12 for adults; anyone 18 or under is free as are UMF students with an ID. No one will be turned away. For more information about the choir please email Anne at ancita47@gmail.com or find us on Facebook “Maine Balkan Choir.”