Zhivko Vasilev

ZHIVKO VASILEV is a renowned musician, composer, and educator. His passion for music stems from his father. Born in Smolyan, he grew up surrounded by the beauty of Rhodopean folklore. He studied the kaval at the "Dobri Hristov" National School of Arts in Varna. He earned his bachelor's degree in Pedagogy from Sofia University in 2014, and his master's degree from Codarts University in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2021. In his unique performing style, he combines traditional Balkan folk music with various Western genres such as jazz, funk, Latin jazz, pop, and electronic music, among others. His extensive musical knowledge allows him to participate actively in the music industry as both an instrumentalist and a composer. Since 2022, he has been actively working as a media composer. In 2023, he won first prize in the composition competition hosted by Palms Music and the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National Music Academy for his work La Andaluza. He has worked on various music projects with companies such as Euro Games Technology, Huawei, Coca-Cola, and the Our Home is Bulgaria Foundation. Zhivko Vasilev has toured prestigious world stages and festivals and collaborated with renowned musicians. He also leads several of his own projects—"Authentic" and the "Zhivko Vasilev Quintet"—combining Bulgarian musical folklore with contemporary Western styles. In 2020, he joined the internationally renowned group "Arifa." He frequently performs as a soloist with symphony orchestras, including the Varna Opera Orchestra, the Vratsa Symphony Orchestra, and the Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra, performing his own compositions together with the other pieces.