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Kabilé takes their name from the village of the same name in central Bulgaria, where the band played one of their earliest gigs. During their initial ten-year heyday the band played almost every weekend at weddings, festivals and holiday events all over Thrace. In 2007 the band reunited for their first North American tour. They have since become widely known for their bitov (traditional) style and highly-enjoyable melodies. Kabilé's members are all life-long, professionally-trained musicians with decades of teaching and performing experience-
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Donka Koleva (vocals) is a native of the village of Tuzha
in the Stara Zagora region of Thrace. She graduated from the
National School of Folk Arts in Shiroka Luka,
Bulgaria, and performed for three years with the
Sliven Folk Dance and Music Ensemble.
She was director of the Folk Song Chorus of Sopot,
has been a featured soloist on Bulgarian Radio-TV,
has participated in numerous singing competitions in Bulgaria and Europe
and has been featured on numerous recordings.
In 1997 her recording of Javore was named "Song of the Year"
in the Bulgarian national radio competition.
Since immigrating to the U.S. she has taught and performed widely
across N. America,
both privately and at numerous camps, festivals and other events.
In 2017 she and Kabilé are invited guests of honor
at the week-long national Balkan-folklore camp, to be held
in August in New York state.
In addition to her vocal talents Donka serves as Bulgarika's manager
and has organized 12 national tours for the bands Kabile',
Cherven Traktor and Bulgarika, and for the Kolev Family Ensemble.
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Nikolay Kolev
(gadulka),
a native of the Thracian Rose Valley village of Karavelovo,
has been playing gadulka since age 10.
After graduating from the
National School of Folk Arts in Shiroka Luka,
Bulgaria, he performed for three years with the
Sliven Folk Dance and Music Ensemble.
In 1984 he founded the orchestra "Sopot",
in 1985 the wedding-music ensemble "Rozova Dolina" and
in 1992 the prize-winning ensemble "Balkanski Glasove".
In 1994 and 1995 the latter group took first prizes at the Varna Festival.
Nikolay has accompanied many well-known singers including
Vulkana Stojanova, Roumen Rodopski and Todor Kozhuharov.
He has also taught many students at a number of Balkan camps in the U.S.
In 1999, Nikolay was the first Bulgarian to be recognized by
the Slavic Heritage Council of America for his
outstanding contributions to music.
In August 2017 he is expected to perform with Kabilé as
an invited guest of honor
at the week-long U.S. national Balkan-folklore camp.
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Nikolay Doktorov
(kaval)
is from Varna, on the coast of the Black Sea. He is a graduate of the
National Music School "Filip Koutev"
in Kotel, Bulgaria, and the
Bulgarian National Conservatory
and has performed with the world-famous
Trakia Ensemble
and with the Horovod Ensemble in Varna. He directs the folk music
orchestra Spectar, conducts several regional folk ensembles
and teaches kaval and manages the orchestra at the Strashimirov School
in Varna.
In 2016 he was honored by a
guest performance with the Bulgarian National Radio's National Folk Orchestra.
He has taught at a number of American Balkan camps and has been invited
to perform with Kabilé
at the 2017 U.S. national Balkan-folklore camp.
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Ivan Handzhiev (vocals, accordion) is a native of the village
of Lesovo, in the Yambol region of Thrace. He began singing with his
mother and other village singers as a small child and started playing
accordion at the age of nine. He is a graduate of the
National Music School "Filip Koutev"
in Kotel, Bulgaria, and the
Bulgarian National Conservatory.
Ivan is a master of the ornamentation and improvisation technique unique
to Thrace and was a faculty member at the Koutev School for more than 25
years. He is currently on the staff of the
Bulgarian National School of Dance Art
in Sofia. Like the other members of Kabilé, he has taught at
multiple American Balkan camps and has been invited to perform with
Kabilé at the 2017 U.S. national Balkan-folklore camp.
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Dzhenko Andreev
(gaida)
is from the village of Hanovo, in the Yambol region of Thrace. As a boy
he studied with local teachers then went on to graduate from the
National Music School "Filip Koutev"
in Kotel, Bulgaria, where he developed his local style. Specializing in
traditional melodies from his village, Dzhenko has been a soloist with the
Sliven Folk Dance and Music Ensemble
for over 25 years and has performed with them throughout Bulgaria and
internationally. Like the other band members, he has taught at multiple
American Balkan camps and has been invited to perform with
Kabilé at the 2017 U.S. national Balkan-folklore camp.
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