Theodosii Spassov (Kaval)
PERFORMER BIOGRAPHY
THEODOSII SPASSOV, Kaval – Bulgarian wooden flute
Theodosii Spassov was born on March 4th, 1961. He began his early training on the kaval at the Kotel Music School and The Academy of Music and Dance in Plovdiv/Bulgaria. The kaval, an eight-hole wooden shepherd’s flute, is one of the oldest Instruments in Europe, rich in tone and technical possibilities. Theodosii Spassov has developed his own unique style of playing the instrument by synthesizing traditional folklore with jazz, fusion and classical music.
For over 20 years, Theodosii has toured all over Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Canada and United States. In 1994, he performed with Sofia Women’s Radio Choir which was awarded with a Grammy award for “Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares”. In April of 1995, “Newsweek” magazine recognized Theodosii Spassov as one of the most talented Eastern-European musicians in its “best of the East” article, noting that “Spassov… is not merely surviving the post-communist cultural wasteland. He has actually invented a new musical genre.”
Theodosii Spassov has contributed to 20 CDs, four of his own, which have been noted worldwide. He has composed and performed numerous film scores including a French-Bulgarian feature film “Granitza”, (“The Border”) 1993. Also he recorded themes for films by Italian composers Carlos Siliotto and Ennio Morricone, entitled “An Italian Story” and “The Breakout of the Innocent”. At the fourth European Jazz Night, Theodosii Spassov was a featured performer along with other jazz musicians, including Winton Marsalis.
At home in Bulgaria, Theodosii Spassov is national figure and musical hero, and was recently honored with the “Music Artist of the Year” award He is the Artistic Director of the world-renown “PHILIP KOUTEV Ensemble Of Music, Drama And Dance”.
Theodosii Spassov was a member of the Irish music and dance company Riverdance, 1998-2001.
FELLOW ARTISTS HE WORKED WITH: Jazz Linia, Trio “Bulgarka”, Dave Liebman, Dimitrios Vassilakis, Andy Sheppard, Krassimir, Yldiz Ibrahimova, Ennio Morricone, Jamey Haddad, Vesselin Nikolov, Albert Mangelsdorf, Mark Johnson, Ivo Papazov, Trilok Gurtu, Radio Sofia Orchestras, Kazumi Watanabe, Glen Velez, Tatiana Sarbinska, “Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares”, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Milcho Leviev, Dionisis Savopulos, Peyo Peev, Petar Milanov, Ivan Georgiev, Genadiy Rashkov and more.
CONCERTS: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Israel, Japan, Nepal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the USA, the U.K.
MUSIC FOR MOTION PICTURES:
“The Warden of the Dead People”, Composer
“Follow Me”, Composer
“Katalii”, Composer
“Gori, gori, oganche”, Composer
“Vesta”, Composer
“Granitsa”, Composer
“La Corsa dell’Innocene”, Carlo Siliotto, Musician
“An Italian Story”, Ennio Morricone, Musician
AWARDS:
The Special Prize of Detroit Flute Festival, 1994
The International Academy of Arts in Paris Award, 1996
“Music Artist of the Year” at the National Music Awards, 1997 and 2002
Apollo Toxophoros for sparkling contribution to Bulgarian music, 2001
National Film Centre Annual Awards-“Best film music composer”, 2006
“Artist Of Salon Des Arts” , 2007
the highest award of the BULGARIAN Ministry of Culture “Golden Age”, 2011