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© London Bulgarian Choir 2017

2007

Outlook, BBC World Service

Bush House, London, 18 December 2007

We're took part in Outlook's program to celebrate 75 years of the World Service.

Program was transmitted on Wednesday 19th, timings vary by location. Listen to the program (Wednesday edition) at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/outlook.shtml. We sing (parts of) Izgreyala Yasna Zvesda at the start, Shto Mi E Milo in the middle, and Ergen Deda at the end.

A World of Difference with Paul Goodwin

Hayes FM, London, 15th December 2007

Dessi joined Paul for an hour of his Sunday show, talking about Bulgarian music and playing a selection of tracks from Bulgaria - and from our CD.

Christmas Concert

Conway Hall, London, 14th December 2007

A few hundred core supporters turned out for our first time at the Conway Hall, clearly avoiding the biggest office-party night of the year. Joined by the lovely Dessibelles, we wove a bunch of new material around songs from Alyana Galyana and other favourites. The full house stamped their approval and significantly reduced our stock of the new album. A fine time was had by all.

Reuters filmed the concert for their newsfeeds - details when we have them.

Alyana Galyana recordings

Various locations around London, April - October 2007

The choir gathered on four separate occasions to record Alyana Galyana.

We were privileged to have Dill Katz presiding over the recordings, Chris White lending his expert ears, and Nick Robbins putting his magic into the final master.

You can hear the album on our 'listen' page, and buy it from us at concerts.

BBC Christmas Fair

BBC Television Centre, White City, 5th December 2007

We joined forces with Maspindzeli to sing carols in the BBC's courtyard, and followed up with a longer set in the BBC Club.

Nadder Music CafÈ

Nadder Hall, Tisbury, 1st December 2007

We enjoyed a warm welcome in Tisbury's Nadder Hall, where we entertained for the evening as part of their ongoing series of musical events. Organised by Maxwell Steer, in support of the Cherubim Music Trust.

Bulgarian Christmas Party and Fundraiser

Bulgarian Embassy, London, 30th November 2007

Friends of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian City Club organise an annual Embassy Christmas party to raise funds for Bulgarian Orphanages and Children's Charities - in particular, the work of Zov UK. We opened the event with a short set.

Radio Gagarin

Notting Hill Arts Club, London, 25th November 2007

We returned to this fine Klezmer/Gypsy/Balkan/Soviet club night (see http://www.myspace.com/radiogagagarin ), as part of the London Jazz Festival 2007 programme.

Magnificent Me launch Party

The Pool, Shoreditch, 6th November 2007

We sang to support the launch of Veronica Simpson's Magnificent Me magazine - a new magazine for women with minds of their own.

Special event to support work with Bulgarian children in care

St Mary's-On-Paddington Green, London, 1 November 2007

This meeting was triggered by issues raised in the program Bulgaria's Abandoned Children transmitted by the BBC earlier this autumn. Hosted by the director of the documentary, Kate Blewett, the meeting discussed ways that the children and young adults featured in the documentary could be helped. The choir sang a short set.

If the plight of the children of Mogilino moves you, please go to the support website http://www.tbact.org/ to see progress, to donate and to discover how you can help. The choir also supports Zov UK (http://www.zovuk.org.uk/), which does great work improving children's homes across Bulgaria.

English Folk Dance and Song Society 75th Anniversary Celebrations

Cecil Sharp House, London, 20 October 2007

Our half-hour concert at this anniversary kneesup ended with a huge circle dance. Following that, we sang for our dancing friends in the BalkanPlus dance group, who were having a particularly Bulgarian evening with two teachers from the Rhodopi.

Bulgarian City Club 10th Anniversary Ball

The Lansdowne Club, Mayfair, 27 September 2007

The BCC celebrated its 10th birthday in style, with a black tie do at The Lansdowne. Valia Balkanska sang, Theodosi Spasov played, and we did our thing.

Lost Souls Parade

Brick Lane to Hoxton, 14 September 2007

We formed the 'Lost Soul's Parade' and sang our way from the curry-houses to the clubs of the East End.

Parade was to raise awareness of The Journey - a protest against sex traffiking. Event filmed by Quiet Storm Films. Pictures here. Main installation in Trafalgar Square from 23-30 September 2007.

Rye Arts Festival

St Mary's Church, Rye, 13th September 2007

The choir kicked off the season by travelling down to Rye on the South Coast. We left them dancing in the aisles! More details on the Rye Festival site.

Summer Concert

Regent Hall, London, 11 July 2007

We sang songs of socks and peppers, heroes and fertility at one of our favourite London venues in our last concert of the season. The Dessibelles sounded better than ever. We were pleased to see so many new friends from the Singing River in the audience - and in a new departure, we ended with the Georgian song we'd learnt at the event.

Guest performances from:
The Dessibelles

Streatham Festival - House of Spirit

Lewin Road Baptist Church, Streatham, 10 July 2007

We sang the second half of this evening of drumming, chanting and song - and were bowled over by the audience's reaction! Kiril Todorov's Muri Yano had its UK premiere - and sounded marvellous. Streatham Festival Website.

Exhibition Road Music Day

Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 21 June 2007

We gave three performances at this midsummer music festival, in the Raphael Gallery, in the gardens, and on the steps of the Grand Entrance. More details from the website: Exhibition Road Music Day

Singing River / Royal Festival Hall Overture

Tower Bridge to the Royal Festival Hall, London, 8-9 June 2007

To celebrate the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall, six choirs sailed upriver at dusk from Tower Bridge to the RFH. Details and credits here: Overture.

We were lucky enough to be singing at the start and end of the journey to an audience of thousands packed along the bridges and waterfront, and felt very privileged to be part of such an extraordinary event. The event repeated on Saturday, and the choir finished off with a concert in the Green Bar. Our thanks to everyone - and particularly Orlando Gough and Tom Ryser.

Records of the event: Singing River Photos on our flickr page - many thanks to Tony. Here is the South Bank Centre's own page, and their video of us on YouTube. A friend from Raise the Roof sent this link to their video of edited highlights of the voyage (Saturday night version).

Virgin Queen: Best Television Soundtrack

Ivor Novello awards, 24th May 2007

Martin Phipps' fine soundtrack had contributions from the London Bulgarian Choir, and solos from Dessi.

Heart of the World Festival

Emmanuel United Reformed Church, Cambridge, 10th May 2007

We had a wonderful time singing to a full house in a joint concert with Chela, Cambridge's Georgian choir. The concert was organised by Moving Tone to raise funds for 209radio, and was part of the Heart of the World festival.

Europe Day Celebration

London Eye, 9th May 2007

As dusk fell (and the rain held off), we sang for a small but appreciative audience. The Eye was lit to match the European flag, and we were filmed for the European Commission's news service.

Details here: http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/press/frontpage/09052007_en.htm

The Choir

BBC Radio 3, 18:30 - 20:00, 18th February 2007

Dessi was the special guest on Aled Jones's regular Radio 3 programme The Choir, which this week concentrated on Bulgarian choral music. The program featured recordings of a range of Bulgarian choirs, including folk choirs, orthodox chanting, and a modern composition written for the remarkable voices of Angelite. The program also spent a while at one of our rehearsals, and included interviews with choir members, and four songs.

Programme website here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thechoir/pip/4sg32/

Extravagant Acts for Mature People

Claremont Centre, Islington, 2nd February 2007

The Clod Ensemble invited us to perform at this monthly event - we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and our audience were enthusiastic.

. . . it wasn't a dark fog . . .

Dessi and James' Big Wedding, 21st January 2007

The choir filled the night with joy and surprises, and gave their all with old songs, new songs - and a panto.

Ambassadorial Reception at the Foreign Office

Foreign Office, 10th January 2007

We kicked off the year with a short selection of songs at a Foreign Office do to celebrate Bulgaria and Romania's new membership of the EU. Assembled dignitaries included Margaret Beckett, Geoff Hoon, Ambassador Matev and John Prescott. Nice canapÈs . . .