Kremena Stancheva

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Kremena Stancheva is a Bulgarian folk singer. She was born in the village of Kovachevtsi in the Shope region, near Sofia. She began singing at an early age, learning from her aunts and other singers in the village. In 1960, Kremena went to Sofia to study at the Higher Institute of Economics. Although she did finish her course of study, she decided instead on a career in music.

As a 19-year old student, she competed for and won a place in the Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir, the group whose work later became internationally known in the Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares series of recordings. Kremena performed not only as a lead ensemble member, but also as a soloist. She was known for interpretations of the slow diaphonic harvest songs from her native region, which are characterized by their intricate ornamentation and edgy tremolos in close dissonant harmonies with a supporting drone. An example is “Vetar vee”, sung by Kremena and her life-long singing partner Vassilka Andonova, which was recorded by Ethel Raim and released on the Nonesuch album Village Music of Bulgaria.

Kremena has recorded over a hundred songs for the Bulgarian Radio’s archive of traditional songs. And in recognition of her masterful artistry, she has received numerous international awards, including the Bratislava Grand Prize and the Cyril & Methodius Award for her contribution to Bulgarian Culture and Society. She has been featured on dozens of recordings which have been distributed internationally on the 4AD, Nonesuch, Polygram, Jaro, Gega, and Balkanton labels. Most recently, Kremena has released a solo album entitled Rays of Sound (available on cassette), and a CD entitled Bulgarian Folk Melodies, which contains many of the songs that she and Vassilka recorded together.

In 2000 and 2002 the East European Folklife Center (EEFC) and the American women’s vocal ensemble KITKA jointly brought Kremena to the United States for a series of performances and educational activities, including serving on the faculty of the EEFC’s Balkan Music and Dance Workshops in Mendocino, CA and Ramblewood, MD.

Kremena currently teaches at the New Bulgarian University in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as coaching groups of singers in numerous villages in the Sofia and Samokov regions.