EOV trip to the EOFed Festival in Plovdiv

Barbara Steinmann - On the very first evening in Sofia, Ventseslav Nikolov, one of Bulgaria's most important musicians, takes us by candlelight into the sound world of his Venetian cello from 1726, with music ranging from Bach to Georgian folk music of today. In this atmosphere, a cheerful mood quickly develops in our group, which consists mainly of violin-playing members of various Swiss amateur orchestras.

Georgi Palahutev, our excellent state-certified hiking guide and tour leader, as well as his wife and the cellist's daughter accompany us throughout the trip. With their incredibly differentiated knowledge and exciting narrative style, they are able to inspire us with the impressive and diverse history and culture of Bulgaria and allow us to discover the beauty of the sparsely populated nature on the hikes through the Vitosha Mountains or the karst landscapes near Veliko Tarnovo.

Unexpected encounters with a tortoise, wild deep red peonies or the monkey orchid make the hearts of the botanists among us beat faster. The huge Rila Monastery (Unesco World Heritage Site) near the Greek-Macedonian border with the associated hermitage of the founder Ivan Rilski, the idyllically situated Preobrazhenski Monastery in the north or the church hidden in a barn with unique frescoes bear witness to the rich Bulgarian Orthodox church history.

The sacred highlight of the trip is a concert in Sofia with Christian Orthodox chants. The powerful voices of the choir and soloists greeted us with Easter cookies in front of the church. Moved and moved to tears, we listen to their overwhelming singing.

After visiting a rose oil distillery in the Rose Valley, our last stage of the journey, we drive to Plovdiv, enveloped in the scent of roses, where a hustle and bustle awaits us in the huge entrance hall of the Ramada Hotel with a hint of the slightly run-down "grandeur" of earlier times. Registration for the 12th EOFed Festival is underway, with 350 people registered and a strong representation of the younger generation.

Nelleke Greusebroek, Dutch and Vice President of the European Orchestra Federation (EOFed), gives us a warm welcome. Workshops ranging from baroque, classical and film to Bulgarian folk music and jazz are held in the hotel rooms for individual participants. Two days of enthusiastic rehearsals at a high level with highly motivated conductors. In the evening, the first concerts of the registered (youth) symphony orchestras and ensembles, including those from Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Germany, will take place in the open-air Roman Theater. This is located in the middle of the beautiful Capital of Culture Plovdiv. No hustle and bustle in the streets, lively cafés, a Mediterranean atmosphere, men playing chess and cards in the parks - the ideal setting for an orchestra festival! The president Jüri-Ruut Kanguur, Johannes Reinhard, Daniel Kellerhals and the organizing teams deserve a big thank you, everything runs smoothly!

On the last day, the workshop participants eagerly await their performances at various locations and make contacts. Music brings people together! The standard of the performances is high and the audience is in high spirits. The first "swinging" movement from Symphony No. 1 in E minor by Florence B. Price, a forgotten Afro-American composer (1987-1953), remains in the memory. In the evening, the crowning finale in the Roman Theater with an open-air atmosphere. Not even the wind, which occasionally sweeps the notes away from the stands, is able to silence the Estonian players; the "throaty" songs of the Bulgarian singers reverberate, as does the 7/8 time played by the orchestra.

We look back on our wonderful time in Bulgaria with a touch of nostalgia. A big thank you goes to Hedi Boller for the great organization of the EOV trip!