Just before the end of 2023, we look back at the challenges we faced. We had been discussing the idea of making a separate line of educational events for popular music since the Autumn of 2021. In March 2023, it turned from an idea into a reality with the International Masterclass with Georgi Velev and Tero Lindberg – The Golden Trumpet. For our team, this is a conceptual step that opens up new opportunities for innovative educational events in our ambitious calendar. We continue to invite foreign teachers and mentors – performing artists and arrangers from the European stage, who come to our country for the first time to share their experience and good practices. With their very presence, these musicians encourage young Bulgarian musicians to continue to improve themselves and to make full use of the endless opportunities that the global 21^st century offers them in classical, contemporary, and popular music. And the guest appearance of the Golden Trumpet of Finland is another proof of that.

The masterclass for trumpet and brass ensembles of Tero Lindberg was carried out with the assistance of one of the most famous and beloved Bulgarian trumpeters, Georgi Velev (AKAGA). At his invitation, Tero Lindberg came to Bulgaria to introduce us to his experience as a performer and his training and teaching methodology. Thus, we successfully, as well as emotionally and beautifully, launched the new line in our educational events with a focus on popular music.

We would like to wholeheartedly thank our partners: 

🎺 Once again, we relied on our traditional partner, National Music Academy "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov", which provided the halls for the classes and the Closing Concert. We would like to thank the Rector of the NMA, Prof. Dr. Sava Dimitrov, for the support. We are glad to have started an active collaboration with the Pop and Jazz Art Department. We would also like to thank the jazz trumpeter Mihail Yosifov – Project Consultant – for the assistance he provided. 

🎺 Tero Lindberg’s visit was organised in partnership with the Embassy of Finland, whose team provided us with significant support both in the preparation and promotion of the masterclass events. We were honoured by the personal presence of Her Excellency Ambassador Kristiina Kuvaja-Xanthopoulos at the Closing Concert in the Great Hall of the National Music Academy. Ambassador Kuvaja and Tero Lindberg together presented the certificates to the participants in the master class. 

🎺 The International Masterclass with Tero Lindberg – The Golden Trumpet and Georgi Velev, was organised with the financial support of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the Creative Development 2022 Programme. This is the fourth project that we are conducting with the support of the NCF and we hope that our cooperation will continue in the future.

The International Masterclass with Tero Lindberg from 23.03.2023 until 25.03.2023 showed that there is a serious interest in such events among our popular music oriented young trumpeter colleagues. Pupils from National Music School "L. Pipkov", students from the Instrumental Faculty of National Music Academy "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov" , the Pop and Jazz Art Department, young trumpet players, such as Martin Bodurov, Aleks Vitkov, and others. It is gratifying that the morning lecture modules with playing, in addition to pupils and students, were also attended by prominent trumpeters and educators of the Bulgarian and European stage.

On the second day, Tero Lindberg presented his “The Trumpetist’s Handbook", written in collaboration with Aki Välimäki – a long-time principal trumpet of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the most famous classical brass musicians in Scandinavia. The Handbook was published in Finnish at the end of 2022, and its presentation in our country was its European premiere. The Handbook consists of a printed and an online part linked by QR codes to access Tero Lindberg’s exercises and lessons of various levels of complexity. An English version will be released in early 2024. The Finnish musician made a proposal to the Brass Perspectives Association BG to release a Bulgarian version. We are considering the possibilities for a similar joint project in 2025.

The most impressive event of the master class was the Closing Concert held on 25.03.2023 in the Great Hall of the National Music Academy. According to the tradition of Brass Perspectives, not only the participants in the classes, but also the teachers themselves played in these concerts. Tero Lindberg chose a wonderful program, in which all those present enjoyed his mastery, his duets with Georgi Velev and with Mihail Iossifov, the trio with Georgi Velev and Krasi Kirilov – Jojo (trombone), as well as the big band of schoolchildren and students on stage, who were joined by Ivo Kazasov (AKAGA). Tero Lindberg chose to play Misho Yosifov’s piece “I Dance with Style” for 4 trumpets and a band in the program, performed by the author and three of his students from the Pop and Jazz Art Department – Mihail Todorov, Ivaylo Blagoev, and Valentin Atanasov. We also heard Tero Lindberg’s favourite pieces, such as Tijuana Taxi, the Theme of The Fistful of Dollars movie, Spanish Flea, Cherry Pink and the Apple White... We added a classical accent with Edward Abrahamyan’s Concerto Scherzo for Solo Trumpet, which we turned into a spectacular duet of Martin Bodurov and the youngest participant in the master class Pavel Petkov (eighth grade at National Music School "L. Pipkov") under the accompaniment of Mrs. Snezhana Abrasheva. And the finale was reserved for The Green Hornet Theme.

We still feel the reverberations of the project implementation in the conversations with teachers, pupils, and students. This positive wave and inquiries about further events prompted us to plan a trumpet master class with the teacher Martin Bodurov with a focus on popular music in the fifth edition of the Summer Academy for Wind Instruments in Koprivshtitsa from 26.08.2024 until 01.09.2024.

For November 2024, we now have confirmation from the British jazz trumpeter and longtime principal trumpet of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s Big Band, Gerard Presencer. We extended the invitation to him at the suggestion of Mihail Yosifov. In the program of the masterclass from 14.11.2024 until 16.11.2024, in addition to jazz trumpet class, where participants will get to know the specific teaching methodology of Gerard Presencer, for the first time in our country there will also be a big band class. Stay tuned for details on both events in the spring! 

Take a glimpse to the best moments of our Spring trumpet masterclass (23 - 25.03.2023)
International Masterclass with Tero Limberg - The Golden Trumpet (Day 1)
International Masterclass with Tero Lindberg - The Golden Trumpet (Day 2)
The Closing Concert of the masterclass with Tero Lindberg - Finland (Day 3)
Deep gratitude to Mrs Neli Kurteva - our brave and patient photographer

The event was held with the financial support of
the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria