Yuli Damianov

YULI DAMYANOV (b. 1959) is a conductor and composer. He graduated from the Lyubomir Pipkov National Music School in Sofia, where he studied piano with Lina Popova, and from the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music, where he studied orchestral conducting with Prof. Konstantin Iliev and choral conducting with Prof. Lilia Gyuleva. Since 1986, he has been a conductor at the “Stefan Makedonski” State Music Theater (now the State Music and Ballet Center – Sofia). From 2008 to 2010, and again from 2013 to the present, he has served as its chief conductor and artistic director. Since 2012, he has also led the Sofia Wind Orchestra, where he is currently the chief conductor. Over the course of his career, he has staged dozens of premieres and conducted hundreds of performances and concerts across Bulgaria, Europe, and Asia. He is the author of numerous musical works, including stage pieces for both adults and children; the Missa Catholica Bulgarica; the symphonic variations The Old and New Testaments; the symphonic suite Samodivski Dances; a string quartet; Romantic Sketches for two pianos; and a variety of choral songs, some of them set to his own texts. As both conductor and composer, he has received numerous distinctions. He was awarded the Crystal Lyre for conducting (2013) and twice in the Production Team category. He is a laureate of the “Music in 7/8” International Composition Competition (2003 and 2004), the music award of the “Magic Curtain” International Festival of Children’s Performances in Targovishte (2008), and the third prize of the Boris Hristov Music House for a work for bass voice and piano (2011). With the Collegium Canticum choir, he has won awards at international choral competitions, festivals, and Olympiads. He also won the competition for the anthem of the Confucius Institute in Sofia (2016/2017). In 2019, he received the Golden Pen, the Honorary Badge of Sofia, and the Award of his hometown Pernik for his contribution to Bulgarian culture.