Music Beyond Borders / AGBU Sofia chamber orchestra

OPERA ROLES

Puccini – Mimì, La Bohème – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2024

Tchuhajian – Olimpia, Olimpia – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2024

Puccini – Liù, Turandot – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2023

Verdi – Violetta, La Traviata – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2021

Puccini – Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2021

Verdi – Gilda, Rigoletto – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2021

Rossini – Corinna, Il Viaggio a Reims – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2019

Mozart – Pamina, Die Zauberflöte – Kuwait Opera House, 2018

Massenet – Manon, Manon – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2018

Bizet – Micaëla, Carmen – Dubai Opera House, 2018

Mozart – Susanna, Le Nozze di Figaro – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2017

Donizetti – Adina, L’elisir d’amore – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2017

Tigranyan – Anoush, Anoush – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2016

Bellini – Giulietta, I Capuleti e i Montecchi – Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, 2016

Angel Zaberski Jr. is a pianist, arranger and composer of jazz and classical music. He was born in 1969 in Sofia, Bulgaria, into a family of distinguished musicians – the composer and conductor Angel Yankov Zaberski and the singer Margarita Radinska. From an early age he showed a strong interest in music and began playing the piano at the age of six.

In 1988 he graduated from the Lyubomir Pipkov National Music School in Sofia, where he further developed his musical education and performance skills. After completing the compulsory two-year military service typical of that period, he continued his studies at the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music, graduating in 1995 with a degree in Composition and Conducting. At the academy he studied counterpoint, musical forms, elementary music theory and solfège – the foundations of a solid classical music education. During these years he also took his first steps in jazz.

A turning point in his musical development came when his father gave him a recording of the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. Peterson’s virtuosic and emotional music became the starting point for Zaberski’s new artistic exploration. At the same time he began drawing inspiration from other iconic figures of world jazz such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Art Tatum and many others. He started passionately collecting recordings and listening to jazz with genuine devotion.

At the same time he closely followed the development of the Bulgarian jazz scene. He regularly attended concerts by Bulgarian musicians performing in the iconic Sofia club “Pod Operata” (“Under the Opera”). Among them were the acoustic project of Antoni Donchev and Hristo Yotsov, Simeon Shterev “Banana”, Lyudmil Georgiev, Mario Stanchev, Stoyan Yankulov, Vasil Parmakov, Ventsi Blagoev, Teodosiy Stoykov, and other prominent jazz performers of the 1980s.

The first ensemble he formed was a jazz trio featuring Dimitar Dimitrov (drums) and Petar Slavov Jr. (bass). Both musicians later moved to the United States, where they continue to work and develop professionally. With this trio Zaberski recorded a number of performances for the television program “Jazz Time” on Bulgarian National Television, which gained wide audience interest.

At the same time he created his first big band arrangement – “The Days of Wine and Roses” by Henry Mancini. From that moment orchestral music became his main field of development. He began independently studying the American school of big band and symphonic arranging.

Among his principal inspirations and role models are Thad Jones, Henry Mancini, Don Sebesky, Bob Brookmeyer, Bill Holman, Quincy Jones, Gil Evans, Sammy Nestico, Russell Garcia, Ernie Wilkins, Peter Herbolzheimer, Jorge Calandrelli, and many others. Angel Zaberski works actively in the fields of orchestral and jazz music and has also made significant contributions to film music, the classical stage and even folk music arrangements. He composes music for symphony orchestra, big band and chamber ensembles.

He has worked as arranger and conductor with many leading Bulgarian performers and orchestras, including the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Sofia Wind Orchestra. His collaboration with the national radio has given him valuable opportunities to refine his skills in writing for large orchestral ensembles.

For many years he has collaborated with the singer Vasil Petrov, creating arrangements both for jazz trio and for symphony orchestra. Together they have appeared at prestigious festivals such as Apollonia Festival of Arts, Bansko Jazz Festival, and Ruse Jazz Fest, as well as on international stages in Moscow, Lugano, and numerous Bulgarian cities. They have also performed at major jazz forums and festivals in Varna and Plovdiv.

Angel Zaberski’s name is also associated with internationally renowned musicians such as the trumpeter Rex Richardson, the conductor Francisco Noya, the bassist Christian McBride, the vocalists Bobby Carcasses (Cuba), Monty Lyman, and the American jazz icon Patti Austin in the concert “For Ella”, dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald, performed with the Classic FM Radio Orchestra and Brass Association under his baton.

He has also performed in Germany, Greece, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Slovenia, and Bulgaria.

Zaberski has composed and performed with many of the most popular jazz artists on the Bulgarian scene, including Kamelia Todorova, Hilda Kazasyan, Petar Slavov, Teodosii Spasov, Stoyan Yankulov, Dimitar Semov, Dimitar Karamfilov, Hristo Yotsov, Vicky Almazidou, the singers of Sentimental Swingers, Vera Shandell, Nadya Toncheva, and many others.

Frequent collaborators in Zaberski’s recordings and concerts include some of the most prominent figures of the contemporary Bulgarian jazz scene – the trumpeters Mihail Yossifov, Martin Tashev, Ventsi Blagoev, the percussionist Stoyan Yankulov, the bassist Boris Taslev, and many others. In 2018 Zaberski composed specially for the clarinetist Borislav Yotsov the charming symphonic work “Fantasia” for clarinet and symphony orchestra.

In recent years he has regularly presented author concerts as composer and conductor of his own big band, as well as with his established formation Angel Zaberski Trio, featuring Stoyan Yankulov – Stundzhi and Boris Taslev. The trio is well known both to Bulgarian and international audiences for its stylistic maturity and innovative approach to jazz standards and original music.

Discography:

2000 – Angel Zaberski Trio
2006 – Hot Brass & Rhythm
2008 – Definitely Mr. Zaberski
2011 – Live Album
2012 – Reflections
2014 – Big Band in Action

2016 – LIKE JAZZ 1
2018 – LIKE JAZZ 2
2020 – Zaberski vs Yossifov
2021 – LIKE JAZZ 3
2024 – Confession of a Son

Zaberski has received numerous awards, including:
Union of Bulgarian Composers Award,
recognition from the Music Academy for Jazz,
Crystal Lyre Award (2002) – Jazz category,
UBB / Apollonia Award for Culture and Arts (2008),
International Composition Competition in 7/8 – Second Prize (2010),
12th International Competition in 7/8 – Third Prize (2013).

Angel Zaberski is also a lecturer in piano, harmony and improvisation at New Bulgarian University. In 2012 he obtained a PhD with a dissertation titled “The Creative Work of Angel Zaberski (father)”, and in 2020 he was awarded the academic title Associate Professor. He successfully combines teaching and mentoring with an active concert career and compositional work, encouraging young musicians to discover and develop their own musical voice.

BORIS TASLEV (bass) is a musician well known on the Bulgarian music scene. He began his musical education at the age of six with classical guitar. He graduated from the National Music Academy “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” in Sofia.

His diverse concert and recording career includes numerous projects and performers with different musical orientations.

Among the artists with whom he has long-standing musical partnerships are Angel Zaberski, Hristo Yotsov, Antoni Donchev, Dimitar Lolev, Mihail Yossifov, Milen Kukosharov, Vasil Petrov, Militsa Gladnishka, and Lili Ilieva.

He also performs with the Folk Music Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio.