Plovdiv - stars of music
1 September 2023, 20:00 
Ancient Theatre

The official opening of the Autumn Salon of Arts Plovdiv 2023 - the largest cultural format under the hills, which brings together festivals and individual events of all genres, will take place traditionally on September 1. On the ancient stage of the Ancient Theatre in Plovdiv at 20.00 begins a festive concert "Plovdiv - stars of music" of the Dobrin Petkov National School of Music and Dance, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the patron of the school - Dobrin Petkov (1923 - 1987). The event is supported by the Plovdiv Municipality and is part of the city's Cultural Calendar for 2023.

The concert will feature a symphony orchestra of current and former alumni of the Dobrin Petkov Institute with soloists Emma Tahmizian - piano (USA) and Moni Simeonov - violin (USA).  The conductors will be Naiden Todorov - Chief Conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, graduate of the Plovdiv School of Music and Konstantin Dobroykov - Chief Conductor of the Sofia Soloists Chamber Ensemble, conductor of the symphony orchestra of theDobrin Petkov National School of Music and Dance, graduate of the Plovdiv School of Music. The audience will have the opportunity to see "The Power of Bearing the Name of Dobrin Petkov" - documentary footage about the life and creative activity of Dobrin Petkov and the history of the Plovdiv Music School.

In the programme we will hear: Giuseppe Verdi - Overture to the opera "The Power of Destiny", Pancho Vladigerov - Song, from the "Bulgarian Suite", for violin and orchestra, Georges Bizet - Farandola, from the Suite "The Harlesian", Maurice Ravel - Rhapsody "Gypsy", for violin and orchestra, Ludwig van Beethoven - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5 Op. 73 in E flat major.

Admission is free!

Emma Tahmizian - piano (USA), active concert performer of world renown, artist of the highest class, laureate of the most prestigious international piano competitions such as Robert Schumann, Van Cliburn, P. I. Tchaikovsky, etc., piano teacher at some of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the USA. He is a graduate of the Plovdiv School of Music, the Bulgarian State Conservatory - Sofia and the Juilliard School - New York. In the early years of his performing career, he played as a soloist Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 for piano and orchestra under the baton of Dobrin Petkov.

Moni Simeonov - violin (USA), concert performer, director of the String Instruments Department and professor of violin at the Conservatory of Music, California State University, Long Beach, USA. He is a graduate of the Plovdiv School of Music, the Academy of Art University in Aylwild, CA, Yale University, and the University of Southern California, USA, where he studied with the world-renowned violinist Midori and subsequently performed and taught with her in a number of charitable international programs.