Balkan Festivals Northwest Presents
an Evening of Macedonian Music
Tuesday, Jan. 13th
It's a Beautiful Pizza
3342 SE Belmont St.
Portland, Oregon
Doors open at 8:15pm.
Show at 8:45.
$5 cover
Adrijana
Adrijana Alačka
started as a dancer when she was 9 years old with the Kočo Racin ensemble and as a
student of the legendary Atanas Kolarovski. She began her singing career in 1987 and in
1991 won first prize at the Valandovo Festival. She has recorded 7 solo albums of Macedonian
music and is one of the most renowned singers in Macedonia. She has also performed in Australia,
North America, Asia, and Europe. Currently Adrijana is the manager of the Goran Alački Music
School and continues to travel around the world performing concerts and seminars together with Goran.
Goran
Goran Alački
is Macedonia's premier accordionist. He began playing at age 8 and was performing internationally by
the time he was 12. He stuided music at the Skopje Music Academy, and played with the national folk
orchestra of Macedonian National Radio and Television for two years.
Goran began composing songs in the late 1980's, and he won several awards in Macdonia and
Australia for his compostions. Often these songs were first performed by famous folk
singers, such as Dragan Mijalkovski.
As owner of his own recording studion, Goran was able to record many festivals
throughout Macedonia. He also collaborated with many musicians, including
Vlatko Stefanovski of Leb i Sol.
Goran is heavily involved in teaching. He runs his own music school,
and he teaches seminars and workshops around the world, in person and even online.
He is a valuable resource to his country, and since 2003 he's ben supported by the Ministry
of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia.
Dragi
Dragi Spasovski was born in the small village of Studena Bara, near Kumanovo, only 25 km from
Skopje. His family moved to Skopje when he was 4, and Skopje is the place where he made his first steps
in exploring life, art, music and dancing. He was "the" actor in elementary school drama, then
joined the school ballet group, and finally, influenced by his mother's singing, mostly in their home,
he found himself swept away by the folk spirit.
Most of the songs Dragi has
recorded he learned from his mother, "songs which were
inside of me since I was a child, songs which I shared with myself and others when I was
happy and when I was sad. The song was, is, and will be a description of me, a picture of my soul."