Camps and Workshops
2010 International Sessions
Republic of Macedonia Camp
July 18-August 1, 2010 (14 days)
Led by Goran & Adrijana Alachki, Mary Cay Brass
and others
Village Harmony is pleased to announce its first camp in the Republic of Macedonia, a country of great natural beauty--breathtaking mountains, lush forests, pristine lakes--and rich, ancient folk traditions. The two-week camp, led by VH veteran Mary Cay Brass, will be a collaboration overlapping with the annual Balkan Pearls Folklore Seminar, founded and led by virtuoso accordionist Goran Alachki and his wife, the renowned singer Adrijana Alachki. The camp will focus on learning a wide variety of singing styles during the 10-day rehearsal period, followed by a 4-day tour through Macedonia, performing with local ensembles and having home-stays with local people.
We will focus on singing styles from both urban and village traditions in Macedonia--love, work and ritual songs, and music from the urban chalgija tradition. Besides Goran and Adrijana Alachki, our singing teachers will include Dragi Spasovski (who has recorded with many of the major Macedonian folk ensembles) , Stojkova Serafirmovska Velika (ethnomusicologist, specialist in ritual music & leader of the folk ensemble Clear Waters), and Igor Krsteski (folk singer/soloist with the National Macedonian Radio TV vocal ensemble).
Singers will have the option of taking classes in Macedonian cooking and traditional folk dance each day, with a cost of $200 each, payable directly to the camp in Macedonia on arrival.
The first 10 days will be in residence at the Hotel Manastir in Berovo in eastern Macedonia. The four-day end-of-camp concert tour will include the towns of Berovo, Radovish, Bitola or Struga, and Skopje.
Tuition: $1400
Hotel Manastir
Berovo, Republic of Macedonia
In the town of Berovo located in eastern Macedonia in the beautiful Malesevo mountains and near Berovo Lake, the Hotel Manastir will be the Macedonia group’s host for the first ten days of the two-week long camp. The architecture of the hotel is reminiscent of the traditional monastery architecture of St. Michael the Archangel which is next to the hotel. www.hotelmanastir.com.mk
Leaders
GORAN ALACHKI, a virtuoso accordionist and singer, has been designated one of fifteen national treasures of the Republic of Macedonia. He began performing and recording traditional music as a teenager and now directs his own music academy in Skopje which specializes in training students in the rich folkloric musical traditions of Macedonia. Goran’s wife, ADRIJANA ALACHKI, will also join us as a teacher at the Republic of Macedonia camp. Adrijan is an award winning singer. She is one of the most renowned singers in Macedonia, with seven albums of traditional music recorded, and has performed with her husband all over the ?world.
MARY CAY BRASS of Putney, VT Mary Cay Brass is a veteran of the early days of VH. She directs several community choirs in Vermont and Massachusetts and is the co-musical director of Hallowell Hospice Choir. Mary Cay is also a highly-sought after contra-dance keyboardist and accordion player. She spent two and a half years in the former Yugoslavia on a Fulbright Scholarship in ethnomusicology. She has published two book/CD collections of music from that region. Recently, she has led two very successful Village Harmony camps in Bosnia.