Ensembles

Tatiana Sarbinska is one of the world’s leading experts on the performance of Balkan folk singing. A gifted teacher, she has directed groups, music events, and workshops in the USA since 1991. She currently serves as artistic director to three ensembles, two in Boston and one in Washington DC, and has recently held workshops at Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Boston Conservatory.

Here’s an introduction to the ensembles Tatiana currently directs:

Tatiana Conducting Divi Zheni, Nov 2009

Divi Zheni (Wild Women)

Boston, MA

Divi Zheni is a Bulgarian women’s chorus and orchestra, founded by Tatiana Sarbinska in 2000. With 25 current members, all of whom fell in love with Balkan singing at some point in their lives, Divi Zheni’s repertoire includes scores of multi-part pieces, village songs, complex a-cappella pieces, and fuller-textured and more urbanized dance songs. The group has performed at festivals, dances, concerts, and workshops in New England, New York, and on tour in Bulgaria, performing in Sofia, Koprivshtista, Plovdiv, Blagoevgrad and Chepelare.

Zornitsa and Tatiana

Zornitsa (Morning Star)

Boston, MA

Zornitsa was founded by Tatiana Sarbinska in 1992, and is America’s first group of men who sing traditional and urban Bulgarian songs. Zornitsa performs at New England international folk music events, and has traveled twice to Bulgaria, in 2000 & 2005, to perform at the Koprivshtitsa Folk Festival, at the State Opera House in Blagoevgrad, and on Bulgarian National Television.

Tatiana & Orfeia, October 2007

Orfeia (Orpheus)

Washington, DC

Orfeia, founded in 2007 by Tatiana Sarbinska, performs traditional unaccompanied vocal music from the Balkans and neighboring regions. The members of Orfeia are American women who are united in their love of this beautiful music. Orfeia’s debut performances were in Washington DC, and, also in Sofia, Blagoevgrad and Chepelare, Bulgaria.

In addition to these three groups which Tatiana currently directs, she has provided direction to many other Balkan vocal groups in the US, including:

• Kitka – San Francisco
• Libana – Boston
• Planina – Colorado
• Born to Drone – California
• Slaveya – Washington, DC
• Chereshka – California
• West Wind – San Francisco