Kabile is a bitov (traditional wedding) band formed in 1978. Named after the little village of Kabile, near Yambol, the group specialized in performing native music on traditional village instruments, resulting in an acoustic experience quite different from that played on Western instruments influenced by American jazz. This form of Bulgarian wedding music has attracted worldwide attention and scholarship for its incredible virtuosity and musicianship. During its heyday, the band played almost every weekend at weddings, baptisms and cultural festivals in Thrace.

In late 2007, émigrés Donka and Nikolay Kolev returned to Bulgaria to record Kabile Reunion with their former band members. The debut CD contains 11 of the most popular numbers from their years as a group and includes both vocal and instrumental versions of native Bulgarian songs.

The band plays all the instruments of a traditional Bulgarian village band. The gaida is a bagpipe made of goat skin and pipes. The vtapan is a large wooden drum covered with sheep or goat skin and played with two specially designed drumming sticks: the kukuda is a pipe-shaped stick of walnut and the pracka is a thin switch, usually made of dogwood or willow. The kaval is a flute-like instrument open at both ends, played by blowing on the smaller, sharpened end. The gadulka is a pear-shaped string instrument, played vertically in front of the musician. These four instruments have a centuries-old history in Bulgarian folk music; as a "modern" addition, the band also includes the accordion (ca. 1832).

St. Lawrence Club

13 Highland St, Steelton Directions

Bulgarian Dance Party: 7:30pm

• $10 General Admission

• Children 12 & under FREE

• Admission is at the door.
• For more information, call Bart at 717-234-3844
  or email bart.carpenter (at) sfmsfolk.org

About Kabile Bitov Ensemble

Ivan Handzhiev (vocals, accordions) is a native of the village of Lesovo in the Yambol region of Thrace. He began singing as a small child with his mother and other village singers and started playing accordion at age 9. He attended the Philip Koutev Secondary School in Kotel, then went on to the Plovdiv Conservatory. Ivan is a master of the ornamentation and improvisation technique unique to the Thracian style and has been on the faculty of the Philip Koutev Secondary Music School for over 25 years. When Larry Weiner of Lyuti Chushki heard Ivan sing, Larry thought he was one of the finest Bulgarian traditional singers he'd ever heard.

Nikolay Doctorov (kaval) is from Varna on the Black Sea coast. He is a graduate of the Philip Koutev Secondary Music School in Kotel and the Plovdiv Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts. He has performed with the "Ensembl Trakiya" in Plovdiv and the Horovod Ensemble in Varna, and is the director of the folk music orchestra Spectar. Nikolay is also the conductor of several regional folk ensembles and is currently on the staff of the "Anton Strashimirov" (post-secondary) High School in Varna, where he teaches kaval and conducts folk orchestra.

Dzhenko Andreev (gajda) is a gajda player from the village of Hanovo in the Yambol region of Thrace. As a boy, he studied with local teachers and later attended the Philip Koutev Music High School in Kotel, where he developed his local style. Specializing in the traditional melodies from his village, Dzhenko has been a soloist with the Sliven Ensemble, and has performed with them in Bulgaria and abroad for over 20 years.

Nikolai Kolev (gadulka), a native of Karavelovo in Bulgarian Thrace, has been playing gadulka since age 10. After graduating from the music high school in Shiroka Luka, he has performed constantly, first as soloist of the Sliven Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances. In 1985 Nikolai formed the folk wedding music ensemble Rozova Dolina, and in 1992 he founded the prize-winning ensemble Balkanski Glasove. Nikolai has accompanied many well-known singers, including Vulkana Stojanova, Roumen Rodopski and Todor Kozhuharov.

Donka Koleva (vocals) is a native of the village of Tuzha in the Stara Zagora region of Bulgarian Thrace. She graduated from the Musical Folklore High School in Shiroka Luka, and performed for three years with the Sliven Folk Dance and Music Ensemble. She was the director of the Folk Song Chorus of Sopot, has been a featured soloist on Bulgarian Radio-TV. Donka has participated in many singing competitions in Bulgaria and Europe. Donka's voice has been featured on numerous recordings, and in 1997, her recording of "Javore" was named "Song of the Year" in the Bulgarian national radio competition.

Since emigrating to the U.S. in 1995, Nikolay Kolev and Donka Koleva have played an active role in fostering Bulgarian music across the country. Now based in New York City, they teach workshops in their respective fields and perform as a duo, as soloists, and as a family quartet with their daughters, Penka and Maria.