At the beginning of June, the selection for this year’s edition of the “Bansko Jazz Academy”, which helps young talents develop their talents through invaluable lessons in musical mastery, ended.

The committee consisting of Velislav Stoyanov, Mihail Yosifov, Milen Kukosharov, Viki Almazidou, Pavleta Semova, Svetoslav Nikolov, Marina Vasileva and the festival director of the “Bansko Jazz Festival” – Iliyana Ivanova had an extremely difficult time selecting the young performers, as in addition to their large number, the level of applications this year was extremely competitive.

The projects Straight Ahead Quintet (BG/GR), Uke Duo (BG), Suspended Fourth (BG), Ghosted (BG), J City Ensemble (BG) and Jazzology (RS) will be given the opportunity to participate in the academy, which will take place from August 4 to 10 in Bansko. They will have the opportunity to participate in master classes and workshops, perform on the “Young Talents” daytime stage, and participate in the city’s jazz venues.

Following their horizontal policies, the organizers of this year’s edition, the Brass Association, selected the following performers for individual participation – Agleya Kaneva, Alexandra Polezhanova, Yana Miladinova, Marta Dragova. And the director of the “Bansko Jazz Festival” Iliana Ivanova gave the opportunity to the Brass Band of the National Music School “Lyubomir Pipkov” to participate.

For 7 days, the participants of the Academy will attend 4 to 6 workshops per day, with prominent Bulgarian musicians and international stars from the festival’s big stage. In the morning hours, the graduates are divided into modules according to their instrument, and after the lecture panel of the foreign guest mentor, group classes follow, within which a completely new big-band program will be prepared, by contemporary Bulgarian composers, which will be presented at the final concert, within the Academy, on August 10, at 1:00 p.m., on the Youth Stage.

The mentors from Bulgaria are Vili Stoyanov – Playing and Maintenance Techniques – High and Low Brass, Ensemble, Orchestral Difficulties, Mihail Yosifov – Big Band Art, Combo Bands, Milen Kukosharov – Accompaniment, Improvisations, Pavleta Semova – Stage Behavior, Vicky Almazidou – Vocal Practices, Marina Vasileva – Business Works – DYI for Artists.

The moderator of the lecture panel with the foreign guest mentors will be Svetoslav Nikolov, program director of Jazz FM Radio, and some of the names that the participants in the Academy are looking forward to are Jason Miles, Camilla George, Emmet Cohen, Alun Wade and many others.

“Bansko Jazz Academy” was established in 2022 and helps develop young talents. Every day, its lecturers are both specially selected mentors from Bulgaria and guest mentors – participants from the big stage. The lectures place various accents in the performing arts, and in their entirety help the overall professional development of the participants. The concerts held in parallel on the “Young Talents” stages in the morning and “Jazz in the City” in the afternoon transfer what has been learned to a real environment in direct contact with the audience.

In 2023, the Festivals Association attracts the Brass Association, an organization actively working in the field of formal and informal education in musical arts, with a focus on brass instruments, to the permanent mentors of the academy. The interest in the lecturers Mihail Yosifov – trumpet and Velislav Stoyanov – trombone, some of the most actively working brass musicians on the domestic scene, and the opportunity to gain experience from them, attracted a record number of participants to the academy. With this direction of development, the 2024 edition of the Bansko Jazz Academy is entirely entrusted to the Brass Association.