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Borislav Petrov

drummer/composer/educator in the field of jazz and Bulgarian folk music

About Me

Drummer, composer, and educator from Bulgaria. A dedicated researcher and performer in the field of Bulgarian odd meters, Bulgarian folk-jazz and cross-over jazz. Member of the Dutch multimedia jazz trio Tin Men & the Telephone and a bandleader of Bulgarian jazz-folk band Jazzanitza. Music genres: jazz, ethno-jazz, big band, fusion, world music, electronica, rock, pop, singer- songwriter etc. He has performed in various theater and television shows. Specialty: odd meter structures in Bulgarian folklore music.

Bachelor's degree from the jazz program at Prince Claus Conservatorium in Groningen, The Netherlands, under the guidance of American jazz drummers Ralph Peterson, Owen Hart, Steve Altenberg.

Master's degree at the Conservatory of Amsterdam under the guidance of Dutch drummers Martijn Vink and Lucas Van Merwijk. Master research: Bulgarian folk rhythms and drumming styles: “Long And Short Beats” focuses on the essence of Bulgarian irregular meters and the historical development of folk drumming, as well as on ideas for expanding Bulgarian rhythms and integrating them into other styles of music. Publications: Bulgarian Rhythms: “Past, Present, and Future” in Dutch Journal Of Music Theory (2012)

Performance credits:

Artists:

Ben Van Gelder, Ruben Hein, Margriet Sjoerdsma, Miguel Martinez, Floris van der Vlught, Tony Roe, Anne Guus Teerhuis (NL).

Jonas Ganzemuller, Dennis Secretarev, Franz von Chossy, Esra Dalfidan, Susanne Alt, Phillipp Braemswig (D).

Dave Douglas, Alex Sipiagin, Simone White, Nick Paul, Jeff Koch, Leah Kline (USA).

Nicholas Simion, Alex Simu, Elena Mindru, Catalin Milea, Sebastian Burneci, Bucharest Jazz Orchestra (RO).

Theodossii Spassov, Krassi Zhelyazkov, Dimitar Liolev, Ludmil Krumov, Anthony Donchev, Vassil Petrov, Angel Zaberski, Dimitar Bodurov, Kamelia Todorova, Mihail Yossiffov, Peyo Peev (BG).

Toured and Performed in: Netherlands, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, UK, Italy, France, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt, India, South Africa, Taiwan, China, South Korea. Next to musical performance, Borislav is strongly involved in music education. He has conducted lectures, master classes, seminars workshops on various topics in Spain, The Netherlands, UK, Germany, Taiwan, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Since 2018: drum instructor at New Bulgarian University, Sofia.

Since 2020: doctorate researcher at National Academy of Music, Sofia