Gergana Velinova

Vocalist, songwriter, and poet Gergana Velinova has inspired international audiences with her diverse artistic talents.  With a repertoire extending from her own compositions to Duke Ellington, Jobim or Mozart, Gergana is equally comfortable in the world of Jazz, Gospel, Art Song or Musical Theatre.

Gergana is a native of Sofia, Bulgaria.  She has lived and performed in the US, Canada and Europe including Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Seattle, and Vancouver.  She has shared the stage and recorded with Grammy and Juno nominees such as Neil Swanson, Brad Turner, Phil Dwyer,  Jodi Proznick, Keith Ganz, Misha Piatigorsky  to name a few.

She has released six albums featuring her own compositions and original arrangements of jazz classics.  Her albums The Thief and December Wishing received critical acclaim and reached in the TOP 10 of the US CMJ Top 40, Roots Music and the Earshot USA and Canadian Jazz Charts. In early spring 2025 Gergana will release her 7th album showcasing her original composition and lyrics.

Gergana holds a Master of Arts Degree in Classical-Contemporary and Jazz Voice Performance from the Longy School of Music in Boston. In addition to her performance career she is well known for her work as a music entrepreneur, choir director and vocal coach both in Canada and the US.  She is the Founder and  Artistic Director of the Lions Den House Concert Series in Vancouver and a co-founder and Artistic Director of the Summer Vocal Academy in Powell River. She has produced and facilitated numerous multi-art collaborative projects, vocal workshops, and Master classes.

Gergana's Story

A winner of the International Chamber Music Competition "Music and Earth,"  Gergana was raised in a family of musicians and educators.  As a young child she was actively involved in music, theatre, creative writing, and ballet.  At the age of 8 she embarked on her first European tour as a soloist in the popular  children’s choir “Pim-Pam” which included a full-time performing schedule of concert tours and recordings.

After graduating from the National Music School in Bulgaria, majoring in Classical Guitar, Gergana moved to Los Angeles to pursue her post-secondary education in Jazz Voice Performance at the Musicians Institute of Technology  in Hollywood.

Interested in pursuing a broader range of vocal genres, in 1995, Gergana moved to Boston upon acceptance into the Jazz and Classical-Contemporary Music graduate program at the Longy School of Music.  After receiving a Master of Arts Degree in Classical-Contemporary and Jazz Voice Performance, Gergana relocated to New York City where she formed the eclectic band Ensemble Gergana.  There she became actively involved in the vibrant artistic community, performing and producing her own monthly live shows entitled “The Spark Concert Series”, collaborating with musicians, composers, dancers, and visual artists. 

While in NYC Gergana continued her post-graduate vocal education under the mentorship of Metropolitan Opera Diva, Stefka Evstatieva, with whom she studied opera and classical vocal technique.  Gergana’s deep love for contemporary music and art song led her to yet another vocal icon, the world-renowned soprano, Lucy Shelton, who remains her musical idol today.

In addition to Gergana’s performance career, she is well known for her work as a music educator, vocal coach and choir conductor/director.  From 2006-2013 she was on the faculty of the Post Secondary Jazz Program at Camosun College and Victoria Conservatory of Music, in the position of Head Vocal Jazz Instructor and Conductor of the Vocal Jazz Choir in Victoria. Currently she is the Music Director and Conductor of the B Sharp Vocal Ensemble and the West Vancouver Heritage Choir.

Gergana has worked as a conductor of the VSM Summer Academy Jazz Choir, Eagle Arts Academy Youth Choirs, and the One Human Family Gospel Choirs. She is the founder and first conductor of the Bulgarian Children’s Choir and School “Gergana”  in New York City which was named after her departure to Canada in 2006.