On April 5^th, 2023, Brass Perspectives Association turned two. Some would say it’s little, some would say it’s a lot, but for us it’s enough. We can now look back to our first steps in a tempo Allegro molto agitato with satisfaction. We put our heart and soul and set the highest possible criteria of professionalism that we strive to work by into each of our already completed projects and in the new ones that we have planned out. So far until the Autumn of 2025 only. 😉 It is already clear to many that we are being drawn to the North – the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, with projects coming up that will take us to Sweden, Iceland, and possibly Norway. There are certainly surprises in store for us, too, as there are dreams that seem unimaginable until we turn them into a beautiful project.

What happened in those two years: 
* Three editions of the Summer Academy for Brass Ensembles in Koprivshtitsa, which started at the initiative of Prof. Dr. Karafezliev in 2020. In 2021 and 2022 we were joined by colleagues – teachers from Sofia and students from all music schools in the country specialising in percussion instruments. The fourth edition of the Academy will take place from 21 to 27 August 2023.

* We created, recorded and released 3 albums. Two of them are from our exquisite snow project where medieval winter festive carols of Scandinavia and Northern Europe are brought to life in new, fascinating arrangements: for 5 trombones and 5 voices in Christmas Brass and Vocal Jazz 2021; for a brass ensemble of 5 trombones, trumpet and flugelhorn, and two very expressive winter scenes for 4 cellos with solo trumpet and solo trombone in Christmas Brass: Through the Winter Darkness 2022. What’s in store for 2023, you’ll find out on November 26^th.

On our third album, the Association acted as producer and publisher. We are grateful for this honour to Prof. Atanas Karafezliev, whose second solo album, The Bulgarian Trombone. 22 Years Later, premiered on December 10^th, 2022, on all music platforms. 

* We are actively working on our official trilingual website https://brass.bg. We are turning it into an online magazine in Bulgarian, English and Dutch, aimed not only at Bulgarian audiences, but also at foreign ones who are interested in brass not only for the music, but also for the exciting and incredible subculture that it comes with.

* For two years now we have been sharing our Brass Stories, which are dedicated to the past and present of the Bulgarian brass school and our guest instructors. All articles and interviews are written especially for this online project, supported by the National Fund of Culture of Bulgaria.

* In our program of certified international master classes we started with trombone and brass ensembles – with György Gyivicsan from Hungary in 2021 and with Remko de Jager from the Netherlands in 2022. In the period between March 23^rd and 25^th, 2023, we organised our first trumpet and brass ensembles International master class with Tero Lindberg - The Golden Trumpet (Finland). It was an exciting new experience with a focus on popular music. What interesting and inspiring international master class awaits you in November 2023, we will keep a secret until the end of the Summer.

Our projects so far have been made possible with the unconditional and benevolent support of our partners: the Embassies of Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands, the National Music Academy "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov", and Koprivshtitsa Municipality, as well as with the financial support of the National Fund of Culture and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria.

We would like to personally thank Her Excellency Ambassador Kristina Kuvaja-Xanthopoulos of Finland, His Excellency Ambassador Jes Nielsen of Denmark and His Excellency Ambassador Simon van der Burg of the Netherlands for their interest and kind support in our North inspired projects. We would also like to thank the teams of the three embassies on whose assistance and support we continue to rely.

We would like to express our gratitude to the Rector of the the National Music Academy "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov", prof. dr. Sava Dimitrov, for the opportunity to hold the international master classes of Brass Perspectives Association BG at our beloved Alma mater.

We are grateful for our long-standing cooperation with the Mayor of Koprivshtitsa Municipality, Mrs. Boyka Dyulgyarova, with whose support our Summer Academy is held in the Renaissance atmosphere of the town and its historic buildings.

We would also like to thank our colleagues from Spectrum Vocal Band, Underground Cello Quartet, NOVE Recording Studio, the artist Svetozar Kolev-Pitkin, our official photographer Vesela Ilkova, and our indulgent prepress designer Nikola Nikolov.

We’re moving on! The tempo is Allegro molto agitato!