Berlin, Sept. 01, (BTA/GNA) – Internationally renowned world music and jazz clarinet virtuoso Ivo Papasov of Bulgaria is the winner of the WOMEX 2022 Artist Award, the Bulgarian Music Association (BMA) reported on Thursday. This is the top award presented by WOMEX (short for Worldwide Music Expo), an international world music support and development project based in Berlin, whose main event is an exposition held annually in different locations throughout Europe.
The award has been presented since 1999 in recognition of outstanding achievement in music on a global scale, musical virtuosity, social significance, impact and overall merit. Papasov was honoured “for his resilience in remaining the epitome of his style through every difficulty and obstacle; his dedication to the advancement of Thracian and Turkish-Roma music in Bulgaria; and his sheer, passion-filled mastery of the clarinet”.
Hailing from the Turkish-speaking Roma population of Bulgaria’s Thrace region, Papasov’s style of wedding music has influence from Turkish, Greek, Balkan and Roma music, as well as jazz and off-kilter rock. His extreme virtuosity and expert command of his instrument quickly secured Papasov and his Trakia Band as the most-wanted wedding entertainers in 1970s Bulgaria.
During the closing ceremony of the WOMEX 2022 exposition on October 23, Papasov and his band will give a concert in the 125-year-old building of Teatro Municipal Sao Luiz in Lisbon.
For the first time, WOMEX will have a Balkan MOST stage under a music project for Southeastern Europe called MOST, in which the BMA is among the partner organizations.
The Bulgarian music group Oratnitza is included in the showcase programme of WOMEX 2022 as one of the finalists in the project. Established in 2009, Oratnitza play acoustic music, a mix of Bulgarian folk music and present-day styles such as dubstep, drum and bass, and hip-hop.
The 22nd edition of WOMEX will bring together over 260 artists and 2,600 other music professionals.
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