Born in
1983 to a family of wedding musicians, Vladimir
was inspired by the sounds of the accordion from
early childhood. Even at age 18 months he "played"
his little accordion alongside his father at a
wedding. At age seven he began
accordion lessons with the nationally recognized
pedagogue Nadejda Nicheva in Kazanluk, Bulgaria.
Later he studied with other nationally- and
internationally-acclaimed accordion artists. As a
young teen he was taking home top prizes from
world-class accordion competitions, and earning
praise for his virtuosic performances.
At 13 he
participated in an accordion competition in
Vladivostok, Russia, and placed fourth. At 15 he
placed first in the International Competition for
Accordion and Guitar in Asenovgrad, Bulgaria;
received fourth place in the World Accordion
Competition in Castelfidardo, Italy; and placed
second in the national accordion competition in
Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where he received a special
award for virtuosic performance of folk music.
During his senior year in high school he received
a first award in the national competition for
variety music and jazz on accordion in Novi
Pazar, Bulgaria.
From 2002
to 2004 he was a member of the Duquesne
University Tamburitzans and he performed over 350
shows with the ensemble. He also arranged music
for several of the dances and as instrumental
numbers on the shows, fulfilled the position of a
combo leader and performed a solo piece in every
show.
Vladimir is
currently working on composing, arranging and
recording a solo accordion album featuring
folklore, jazz and some new experimental fusion
styles.
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