www.goranalacki.com.mk

HOME

Biogaphy

Discorgaphy

Photo Galery

Macedonian Pearl Folk Seminar

Goran Alacki
Macedonian Accordion and Macedonian Singing Teacher
Director of the Seminar
G_Alacki@yahoo.com

Goran Alacki has been playing accordion since he was 8 years old. Recognized at a young age for his musical talent, he began performing and recording music as a young teenager. He directs a music academy in Skopje which specializes in training students in the rich folkloric musical traditions of Macedonia. Goran and has taught and performed all over the world; students from as far away as the U.S. and Australia come to Skopje to study with him. Goran has been designated as one of the fifteen national treasures of Macedonia by the Ministry of Culture, and as such is one of only fifteen artists who are supported by the government.
In addition to teaching accordion lessons at the Seminar, Goran will accompany many of the dance classes. He is one of the most highly acclaimed and sought-after dance accompanists in the world, playing for dance classes, Macedonian dance performances, and Middle Eastern solo dancers!

Adrijana Alacki
Singer - Seminar Menager&Coordinator

Adrijana Alacki started as a dancer at 9 years of age in KUD Koco Racin as a student of legendary Atanas Kolarovski. She starts singing career in 1987 at the famous Valandovo Festival where she won multiple awards. She published 7 solo albums with Macedonian music and is one of the most renowned singers in Macedonia. She performed on many continets: Australia, America, Asia, Europe... always representing her country Macedonia. At the moment she is manager and assistant in Goran Alacki Music School and still travels around the world performing concerts and seminars together with Goran.

Bajsa Arifovska
Tapan, Tarabuka, Kaval and Clarinet teacher

Bajsa Arifovska is one of the most famous representatives of forthcoming generations of musicians. She was growing up with the best zurla and tapan players in the village of Ratevo located in the eastern part of Macedonia. In her family the music has a long tradition and it was nursed among many generations which gave famous names such as her father Dzelo Destanovski who is one of the best zurla players in Macedonia. Since from the seven years old, Bajsa started performing with her first instrument made by herself, and today she is professor of traditional folk instruments in state hihg school in Macedonia. She plays wonderfull kaval, tapan, tarabuka, clarinet, tambura... She feels very happy to cooperate with maestro Goran Alachki and Macedonian Pearl Folk - Seminar.

Miljaim Destanovski

Zurla and Dance teacher
authentick Style from Village of Ratevo

Dobre Manasievik

advance dance teacher

Zenil Redzepov
Advance Folk Dance Teacher- Expert for the VILLAGE STYLE dances from the region of Maleshevo and Pijanec-Eastern part of Macedonia

Zenil is most famous dancer and choreograph in Eastern part of Macedonia in a region of Piyanec and Maleshevo. His mother was very famous dancer from village Gabrovo
Zenil start to learn village style of dancing since he was very yang. Today he is dance director of few dance group ensembles in Delchevo , Berovo and Pehchevo. Like choreograph he is a winner of most famous competitions all around Europe :
2006 – 1 st award of International dance competition in Switzerland with dances from Maleshevo region.
2007- 1st award of International dance competition in Poland with same dances from Eastern part of Macedonia. Zenil is supported by Ministry of Culture of Republic of Macedonia like folk-dance EXPERT, from 2003.
His knowledge will be very important for all the participants of Macedonian Pearl Folk-Seminar. Learning old VILLAGE STYLE ,the participants will be discover new dimension of Macedonian dance style old few centuries.

Baba Fima Rusinska

traditional folk dance&song presenter

Most famous traditional costume & hand made craft maker from Maleshevo region

Fima Rusinska is tipical Malesh village-woman with big knowledge about traditional Macedonian folk dances and songs. Born in village Rusinovo, she learn from his grand fathers hundreds of songs and dances from Berovo region. She will join us during the lunch time, every day, singing old traditional songs and in same time working on the old fashion machine making hand crafts in the middle of the restaurant.

It will be very big experience for all the participants of "Macedonian Pearl Folk-Seminar 2009" to learn from Baba Fima secrets of our hand made costumes and crafts authentically from her.

She will teach us few most famous dances from Berovo region too.

Dragi Spasovski
Macedonian Singing Teacher

Dragi Spasovski was born in the small village of Studena Bara, near Kumanovo, only 25 km from Skopje. His family moved to Skopje when he was 4, and Skopje is the place where he made his first steps in exploring life, art, music and dancing. He was “the” actor in elementary school drama, then joined the school ballet group, and finally, influenced by his mother’s singing, mostly in their home, he found himself swept away by the folk spirit.
In 1966, encouraged by his mother, Rajna Spasovska, who was already recording for the Macedonian National Radio, he made his first attempt at professional singing. He had a trial recording with Radio Skopje’s Izvoren Orkestar. At the first rehearsal with the orchestra, his life was totally changed. Here’s how he tells the story:
“The guys were rehearsing Čučuk and in a corner I was dancing for my own pleasure. At some point Pece Atanasovski saw me dancing and asked me, “Who do you dance with?”, meaning, “Which dancing group do you belong to?” That same evening he took me to a rehearsal with the Orce Nikolov group, and from then on my life was not the same. I danced and sang with the group many years. It was with them that I had my first chance to see and explore the rest of the world, to see places and meet people of different cultures.”
On one tour with the group, Dragi met some Americans, singers and dancers of the Koleda group from Seattle. In 1970 he joined them in Seattle and lived there six years.
In 1976 he returned home. For a few years he danced again with Orce Nikolov. He also recorded intensively with all three radio orchestras. Singing became a very important part of his life. This was the period when he did most of his radio recordings, eventually completing over 100 songs for the National Radio of Macedonia.
Due to family reasons, Dragi had to retire from the folk music scene at the peak of his career. He did not resume singing professionally until he returned to Seattle for good in 2002. Since that time he has performed with many orchestras, including Dragi Mitev, Goran Alachki, Stefče Stojkovski, David Bilides, Balkan Cabaret, and various musicians from the East European Folklife Center (EEFC). In 2007 Dragi completed a 3-CD and book project produced by Izvor Music. He currrently is working on a series of podcasts with David Bilides.
Most of the songs Dragi has recorded he learned from his mother, “songs which were inside of me since I was a child, songs which I shared with myself and others when I was happy and when I was sad. The song was, is, and will be a description of me, a picture of my soul.” The general editor of the Folk Department of Radio Skopje, in one of the programs featuring Dragi, said, “Dragi Spasovski did not find singing a main source of his existence, rather for him it was a cultural exchange.” To which Dragi adds, “Singing is the voice of my soul.”

Suat Usein - Cule

Guitar Teacher

Born in Skopje 1959. His first steps in traditional folk music was on age 10. Today he is one of Macedonian cult guitar musician specialist for traditional folk music style. Suat Usein - Cule play wonderful all balkan music styles. His first love was mandolin,then guitar. He was study in high school trombone with a lot of awards on competitions. Like a solist on guitar he is a guest of many famous singers in Macedonia. He was a member of our Macedonian State Chalgia Orchestra. He was a member of our Big Bend State orchestra of Macedonian Radio Television. He is one of the best studio musician and composer of more then 200 songs and arrangemants for many famous musicion and singers all around Balkan countries. He is teaching guitar in Goran Alachki's School of Music in Skopje. Now he is working on his first solo album with traditional dances and songs.

Igor Dimovski
Macedonian Accordion Assistant Teacher

Igor Dimovski is one of the most famous students of "Goran Alachki school of Music". He follows the steps of his Mentor Goran Alachki, playing music on clear lyric Macedonian way...He will play live music together with Goran, Bajsa, Stefce, Ratko and other musicians every night for all the participants of "Macedonian Pearl Folk-Seminar 2009"on his instrument-accordion. He just received brand new "Guerrini&Figli" accordion, model superior 2 President Elegant - ORO- Crystal.

Special guest on the seminar

Michael Ginsburg

Advance dance teacher

Michael Ginsburg is a native of the United States and lives in New York City. He started dancing as a young child with his parents. For many years, Michael has been interested in Balkan music and dances, especially Macedonian and Gypsy. He is an expert in the complicated rhythms of Balkan music.
He has made several research trips to Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia, and studied in Macedonia with Pece Atanasovski, with whom he made research tours of the country. Michael has been teaching since 1962. His energetic and accessible teaching style make him a popular instructor at dance venues all over North America, including the Herman's Folk Dance House, the Herman's Maine Camp, EEFC Balkan Music & Dance Workshop, International Folk Music & Dance Camp, Mendocino Folklore Camp, San Francisco Kolo Festival, Stockton Folk Dance Camp, and Texas Camp He has also taught groups in Europe, South America, and Asia.
Michael is director of the Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band of New York, which has performed four times at the esteemed “Gathring of Trumpeters” in Guca, Serbia. Michael plays the trumpet, accordion, frula, and tupan.
Michael has been a physical education teacher at the Bank Street College of Education in New York City for some time and helps run Folk Dance Fridays, an international folk dance group in New York City. He has taught classes for the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (formerly Etnic Arts Center and Balkan Arts Center) and has been a teacher at some of their festivals.
Michael and Zlatne Uste have produced four fine recordings of Balkan dance music. The latest, Do Zore (“Until Dawn”) is scheduled to be released in April of 2009.

Graciela Alacki
Teacher of
Macedonian language and history

Graciela started learning English when she was 5, and started learning traditional Macedonian folklore when she was 9. She is an active member of the Koco Racin Ensemble of traditional songs and dances. She has visited many countries in Europe, where she has presented programs in Macedonian language and history. Graciela plans to attend university in the United States.

Igor Krsteski
Macedonian Singing Teacher

Igor Krsteski was born 1968 in Prilep Macedonia. His first steps in the music was on music school in Prilep playing piano and singing traditional songs. After high school he went to Music Academy in Skopje to study Theory of music and Pedagogy. After that he was a member of few ethno dance theatres and groups .
He has a lot of experience with polyphonic singing. He is a soloist of National Macedonian Radio Television vocal ensemble. Today he is singer in Macedonian National Opera House in Skopje.

Stojkova Serafimovska Velika
Macedonian Singing Teacher

Stojkova Serafimovska Velika, Ethnomusicologist, born 1973 in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. Graduated in ethnomusicology at the Faculty for Music Art in Skopje and MA studies on ethnomusicology on the Faculty for Music Art in Belgrade (Serbia). Started PhD studies at University “St. Kiril and Metodij”, Skopje, R. Macedonia.
Her research as an ethnomusicologist is focused on the function and the aesthetic in rural tradition, the ritual folklore and the ritual songs and dances in Macedonia, the musical folklore of the Turkish minority in Macedonia and mutual influences between Turks and Macedonians. Until know she has acquired 18 years of experience in fieldwork, mostly in rural areas of Macedonia. Her research includes old polyphonic rural singing, male and female. Her working experience includes working at the State Ensemble for folk dances and songs in Macedonia “Tanec”, stage performance of Macedonian folk songs, research activities in preparing choreographies and working with the vocal group in singing old songs and the reconstruction of polyphonic singing that is almost disappearing in the field. She is also a leader of the vocal group “Clear Waters” performing authentic Macedonian folk songs. She is involved in several projects connected with ethnology and ethnomusicology in Macedonia, and collaborates with numerous ethnomusicologists from the Balkan countries. She is Liaison officer of ICTM for the Republic of Macedonia, Chair of the ICTM study group “Music and Dance in South-eastern Europe”, a member of the Balkan Musical Forum, the southeast European forum for intangible heritage – UNESCO, the Composers’ Association of Macedonia, ICTM and other.
Until now, she has actively participated in 21 international conferences and symposiums in Macedonia and abroad. Her papers have been published in several music magazines.

Temjanoski Trajche
Clarinet teacher

Trajche Temjanoski is a Academic musician who continues traditional Macedonian clarinet playing in the best way and with the next generations of young musicians. He works in a Music School in Ohrid and stil plays on traditional Macedonian weddings in the western part of Macedonia. He has recorded many albums fo Macedonian Radio and TV Production.

Spaseski Trajce from vilage Lacocherej
TAPAN teacher

Traditional village style, one of the foremost weding style tapan player.

Zoran Dzorlev
Violin Teacher
(Macedonian living legend)

Zoran Dzorlev is a violin profesor at the Macedonian state music high school and son of the legendary accordion player and composer Mr.Nasko Dzorlev. Traditional Macedonian song and oro is played in his family continuosly through his life. Today, Zoran is one of the best violin instrumentalists in Macedonia. His great knowledge of the instrument is passed to next generations of musicians from whole world.

For further information: info@goranalachki.com