Residencies and Workshops

Nevenka is available to work with your group in a variety of ways, from one-hour teaching sessions to half-day workshops.  These can be scheduled in combination with a performance at the hosting school or venue.  We are happy to tailor our program to any level of experience with Balkan music.

The following are examples of past workshops and presentations:

  • A performance and workshop at the FolkWorks Folk/Roots Festival: Nevenka helped open the festival with a 30 minute on-stage performance, then taught a Beginning Balkan Singing workshop to festival attendees.

  • World music lectures to students at Occidental College and the Colburn School of Music: These lectures included information about the complex rhythms of Balkan music, regional vocal styling and instrumentation, and some history about the evolution of folk music in the 20th century.

  • A singing workshop and joint concert with the Occidental Women's Glee Club: Nevenka met with the choir to teach them several Bulgarian songs. Because these choir members were skilled singers, our session emphasized proper pronunciation and vocal styling. Several weeks later, Nevenka returned to Occidental to perform a joint concert with the Glee Club.

  • A performance at a preschool end-of-year celebration: We presented a program of lively, family-friendly songs from Russia, Croatia, Bulgaria and beyond.  The children were invited to answer questions, clap along, and interact with the performers. Afterwards, we fielded questions and comments from the families about our music.