Tanya Dosseva
Tanya was born in 1954 in Sinapovo, Strandzha region, in Eastern Thrace. Her first singing experiences date back to her early childhood performances at village fairs, celebrations and competitions where she often moved the audience to tears with her sad, slow songs and beautiful voice. Tanya graduated from the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv in 1977 and was immediately hired as a teacher at the Shiroka Lûka Music High School; she was simultaneously appointed a soloist for the Academy’s Folk Choir, a position that she held for 11 years.
In addition to being an exceptional performer, Tanya also mentors and teaches children interested in Bulgarian folklore. She is an integral part of the Plovdiv Folk Seminar taking place at the Plovdiv Academy each summer where, for a week, she shares her talent and intimate knowledge of the Bulgarian folk song with people from all over the world.
Throughout her singing career, Tanya has performed at many prestigious venues in Bulgaria, Europe and North America as a soloist, as well as with the Sofia Women's Choir; for almost 20 years now she has been the lead singer for one of the most popular wedding bands in the country, Konushenski Orkestar. In the summers of 2000 and 2001, Tanya taught at the East European Folklife Center’s Balkan Music & Dance Workshops in Maryland. She is particularly excited to be part of this year's Washington Revels and present the beauty of the Bulgarian traditional music to thousands of people in our area.
Lyuben Dossev
Lyuben Dossev was born in Pleven, North Bulgaria, in 1953. Following in the footsteps of his father, Tsvetan Dossev, long time kaval player for the famous Severnyashki Ensemble, Lyuben started to play the kaval as a small child. After Lyuben graduated from the Pleven Music High School, he moved to Plovdiv to attend the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts. During this time, he was one of the founders of the vocational music high school in the town of Shiroka Lûka in the Rhodope mountains, the first of its kind in Bulgaria. Lyuben received his Bachelor’s degree from the Academy and has been teaching there ever since; he later went on to earn his Doctorate degree, also from the Academy. Lyuben has taught nearly all of the current generation of Bulgaria’s most well-known kaval players and has been a mentor for many young musicians, as well as colleagues at the Academy.
In 2004, Lyuben was elected Dean of the Department of Music Folklore, Choreography and Arts, at the Academy. He has taught numerous times at folk camps in the U.S. and is excited to come back to the U.S. and perform for his Bulgarian and American friends on this side of the Atlantic.
Late in 2008, Lyuben became Bulgaria's first kaval player to achieve full professorship and was elected Vice Rector of the Music Academy. In October 2013, Lyuben was awarded the highest academic degree of Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Arts (or "Akademik" in Bulgarian) – only the second such award ever given to a musician and scholar specializing in folk music – an extraordinary recognition for his significant contributions to the Bulgarian culture, arts and folklore education.
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