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Event
A Tribute to Esma
Beyond the Borders invites you to a tribute and celebration of Esma's music. Known as the Queen of Romany music and born in Skopje, Macedonia, Esma was the most brilliant exponent of Roma vocal music in Macedonia, and one of the historically most important artists in this unique and powerful tradition. She was also renowned for her cross cultural humanitarian work for peace and her benefit concerts for Roma refugees from Kosvo.
Join Chris Bajmakovich, Boro "Borche" Rzarov, Rumen Sali Shopov, and Meralii celebrating Esma's music and humanitarian good works. There will be ethnic cuisine by Hristo
Chris Bajmakovich, was born in Gary, Indiana into a Macedonian Rom family who immigrated from Macedonia in the 1960s, and began playing accordion at age 5 and studied music in a private music school until the age of 18. His first professional performance began at the age of 14 with his band Balkan, and since then continued to play at weddings, christenings, restaurants kafanas, dances, and private parties, primarily in the large Balkan immigrant communities of Chicago. Although Chicago is where Chris is based, he regularly travels to Detroit and various cities in Ohio, Florida, Arizona, and California to perform at both private and public functions. On several occasions, Chris has toured throughout the US and Canada with famous Macedonian and Serbian vocalists and has performed with many well-known musicians, including Ferus Mustafov, Milan Zavkov, Sasko Velkov, and the San Francisco Bay Areas very own Rumen Sali Shopov. Chris has been featured at many Voice of Roma events and has performed at Balkan Camp in Mendocino, California, Balkanalia in Portland, Oregon and Balkan Northwest in Seattle.
Boro Borche Rzarov, was born in Veles, Macedonia in the Kojnik region which is famous for Veleska Chalgija musicians. Borche began playing saxophone, clarinet and zurna at the age of 8 and studied for six years at Kiro Domov music school located in Veles. He also joined the Veles brass band and was active with that group for many years. Once he completed his 8th grade year in school, he enrolled at Ilija Nikolovski music school in the capital city of Skopje, Macedonia to study classical clarinet. Given the exposure to a vast number of musicians at Ilija Nikolovski music school, he was easily able to connect with other talented young musicians and form the band Senator which immediately began playing for weddings, christenings, restaurant kafanas, and many other venues throughout Macedonia. He was a member of Senator Band until he arrived in the U.S. in 2009. Since his arrival, he settled in the Greater Chicago region where he quickly connected with many Balkan musicians and regularly performs at various functions throughout the U.S.
Rumen Sali Shopov was born in the Turkish/Muslim Romani (Gypsy) mahala (neighborhood) of Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria, Rumen was the pride and joy of a Romani family that loved to have relatives and neighbors over to sing all night. Rumen thus learned many traditional songs by ear. Rumen was a working musician on doumbek (goblet-shaped drum) and guitar by the time he was in his teens, playing in the popular band Biljana for local Roma, regional ethnic groups, and visiting Greeks. In 1978, Rumen was invited to join Gotse Delchevs state folk ensemble, then the most respectable kind of employment for a musician. In this group, the Nevrokopski Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances (the first state ensemble in Bulgaria, est. 1946), Rumens talent and discipline earned him the advanced positions first of tambura (long necked folk lute) soloist and then of concertmaster while he was still a teenager. He collaborated with the ensembles music director, Petar Avramov, and its artistic director, the respected composer Zapryu Ikonomov, on arrangements for the orchestra and on ethnomusicological research in the villages around Gotse Delchev. Rumen was able to travel abroad with the ensemble, a rare privilege during the Cold War, and he toured Western and Eastern Europe as well as Canada. At the same time, Rumen continued to play with the bands of the mahala, taking up the very important role of tapan (double-headed bass drum) player for three-day weddings. In Gotse Delchevs highly competitive multi-ethnic musical marketplace, Rumen became popular for his powerful playing, for his leadership, for his ability to negotiate both the Romani entertainment scene and the national Bulgarian music system, and for his facility with Romani, Bulgarian, Turkish, and Greek musics. In 2002, Rumen began to play and teach in the United States, where his career has flourished amid increasing demand for both traditional Bulgarian music and traditional Romani music. He has served on the faculty of the East European Folklife Centers Balkan Music and Dance Workshops, Kosmos World Music Camp, World Folkdance Workshops, Arcata Folk Festival, Stockton Folk Dance Camp, the San Francisco Kolo Festival, Balkanalia, International Dance Retreat, Mexico; Centro de Estudos Universias, San Paulo, Brazil; and the Jazz School of Berkeley, CA. Among his many Balkan-American collaborators are the ensembles Edessa, Ziyia, Yuri Yunakovs Romani Wedding Band, Balkanski Zvezdi, Ismail Lumanovski, Ivan Milev, Vladimir Mollov, Chris Bajmakovich, Trio Slavej, Romani Routes, Shuvani, and his own bands Orkestar Sali and Inspektor Gadje. In March, 2006 Rumen celebrated the release of Soul of the Mahala a disc of traditional and original music featuring performances by Rumen, his son Angel Acho Shopov, and Romani musicians from Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria on the Voice of Roma/Romani Routes label. Profits from sales of this CD will benefit Voice of Romas humanitarian aid work in the Balkans.
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LocationCroatian American Cultural Center (View)
60 Onondaga Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94112
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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