BORJAN CANEV (born 1973 in Skopje) made his debut with Sofia Philharmonic in 2004 and subsequently became its permanent guest-conductor. After completing his years of training he established a successful career with European musical ensembles and on the festival stages in Macedonia and Bulgaria. Mr. Canev graduated in 1997 from the Academy of music in Skopje; in 1998 – a master’s degree from the Academy of music in Sofia in the class of Academician Vassil Kazandzhiev. In 1999 he joined as conductor the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted its guest-performance in Zagreb in 2000. In 2001 during his specialization in London’s Royal College of Music, Canev attended master classes and practice with foremost contemporary conductors Janos Furst, Daniele Gatti and Sir Simon Rattle.
Mr. Canev acted as assistant-conductor of Sir Colin Davis in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and conducted the London symphony orchestra as a part of a master course led by Colin Davis. Received the August Man Award (2001) for best conductor of the Royal College of Music in London. From 2002 became associate professor in the Academy of music in Skopje. A year later, Mr. Canev became principal conductor of the Skopje Soloists chamber orchestra. Guest- performed with the chamber orchestra at the Macedonian Philharmonic in Rome, Paris and Istanbul in the period 2001-2004. Debuted at the Macedonian Opera and Ballet in 2005, in 2006 year staged a production of Mozart’s Magic Flute 55 years after the last production of the opera on the stage of the theatre as a part of the celebrations of 250th the anniversary of Mozart.
Canev has released recordings for the Macedonian National Radio and Television and for the Bulgarian National Radio. Mr. Canev was a guest of a number of festivals in Bulgaria and Macedonia: Ohrid Summer, Skopje Summer, Macedonian Music Days, May Opera Evenings, Zagreb Summer Evenings, Chamber Music Days in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, Autumnal Festival of Music in Skopje, Young Conductors, Soloists and Composers – Sofia, Musical Summer – Bitola, among others.
In addition to Mr. Canev’s performances with the Sofia Philharmonic, he also collaborated on Bulgarian stage with local ensembles such as Collegium Musicum – Bankya and with the National Academy of Music Orchestra. He has also conducted: the Sinfonieta at the Royal College of Music – London, London Symphony Orchestra, International Chamber Orchestra – London, the Jeunesses Musicales Macedonia Orchestra, Skopje Soloists, the ALEA Ensemble for Contemporary Music, the Stanislav Binichki Symphony Orchestra – Belgrade, among others.
Mr. Canev has partnered with soloists such as Peter Lucas-Graf, Pavel Vedernnikov, Stephania Belody, Sergey Kravchenko, Xavier Phillips, Anton Dikov, Velika Tsonkova, Yovcho Krushev, Oleg Kondratenko, Stoyan Dimov, Ann Durlovska, Maximiliano Martin and many others.