OCTOBER 28.
The Nis Symphony Orchestra Hall, 8pm
TRIO BALKANICUS
Performers:
Nickolai Kolarov – cello, Bulgaria
Pat O’Keefe – clarinet, USA
Jill Dawe – piano, Canada
PROGRAM
Branka Popović (Serbia) – Dream (I. S. o. F) for clarinet, cello, and piano (2022)
Vassi Kazandjiev (Bulgaria) – Trio Sonata ‘In Memory of Lazar Nikolov’ for clarinet, cello, and piano (2007)
Pat O’Keefe (U.S.A.) – ‘Silent Snow’ for clarinet, cello, and piano (2023)
Libby Larson (U.S.A.) – Trio Noir for clarinet, cello, and piano
Bruno Brun (Yugoslavia, Serbia) – 4 Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano
Roumen Baliozov (Bulgaria) – Rhapsodic Improvisation #1 for unaccompanied cello (1971)
Nickolai Kolarov
CELLO
Nickolai Kolarov, Bulgarian born cellist is the founder of the Balkanicus series in 2003 in the Twin Cities, MN. The series has featured music written especially for him. He is the President of the Balkanicus Institute for Balkan Art, Culture and History, a nonfor-profit organization that promote the cultures from the Balkans and the Artistic Director of Balkanicus Ensemble.
Kolarov performs actively both classical and contemporary repertoire throughout the country and appears as a soloist with orchestras from the Midwest. The Bulgarian National Radio and TV, as well as various radio and TV stations in Minnesota and Kansas featured some of his perfor- mances. Kolarov has taught cello at the University of St. Thomas and has delivered lectures and master classes in several universities and colleges.
In 2011 he was invited for a performance-lecture in the Juilliard School. Kolarov holds DMA from the University of Minnesota and he studied with Igor Gavrish from the Moscow Conservatory of Music.
Pat O’Keefe
CLARINET
Clarinetist Patrick O’Keefe has been performing the clarinet in Balkanicus ensemble since the first Balkanicus concert in 2003. Pat is active in a variety of musical genres. He has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras, wailed away for belly dancers, and rocked samba in the streets.
He is the woodwind player for the ensemble Zeitgeist, and also performs with Batucada do Norte, Choro Borealis, No Territories, Balkanicus, and The Maithree Ensemble. O’Keefe holds a BM from Indiana University, an MM from New England Conservatory, and a DMA from the University of Cali- fornia, San Diego.
In 2015 he was awarded a Performing Musician Fellowship from the McKnight Foundation. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.
Jill Dawe
PIANO
Pianist Jill Dawe plays a wide range of chamber music, solo, and concerto repertoire and has a particular affinity for new music and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her recent performances include concerto engagements with the Minnesota Philharmonic, Heartland Symphony and St. Paul Jewish Community Orchestra; solo recitals at the Chautauqua Institution, and Piano By Nature Series.
Dr. Dawe is a native of Newfoundland, Canada and a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York. She is currently an associate professor of music at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, and she has also taught on the faculties of Lenoir-Rhyne College in North Carolina; Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio; Chautauqua Institution, New York.
Jill Dawe has been the pianist performer in Balkanicus Ensemble since 2010.