Press
Since moving to the U.S. in 1991, Tatiana has performed in concerts and festivals across America, including performances in Boston, New York, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, Connecticut, and Washington DC at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Library of Congress.
In 2003 Tatiana was invited to perform a full-length concert, including music from all of Bulgaria’s folkloric regions, on the Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Click here to view a video of her performance.
In 2004 Tatiana was the recipient of the Wammy — Washington Area Music Award — for World Music Vocalist. And in 2006, at a cultural celebration and ceremony in Sofia, Bulgarian Ambassador H. E. Elena Poptodorova delivered the prestigious Ivan Vasov Medal award to Tatiana for her contribution to Bulgarian culture.
As well as these, Tatiana has received glowing reviews from media sources in Bulgaria and America, including The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Voice of America, Nedelnik, 24 Chasa, Pary, Struma, Vyara, Duma, Vsichko za Zhenata, and others.
Theodosii Spassov and Tatiana Sarbinska – Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles, CA © 2009
“Friday night’s concert at the Ebell, celebrating 100 years of Bulgarian independence, was sheer delight. Joined by musicians from Bulgaria, D.C. resident Tatiana Sarbinska delighted a mostly Bulgarian audience with songs from home.
Grammy winner Theodosii Spassov led the modified Bitov (traditional village) orchestra. Each of the musicians in this tight, dynamic quintet is a virtuoso in his own right. Resplendent in a dazzling costume from the Shope region of Bulgaria, Sarbinska held the audience in the palm of her hand. Presenting tunes that range from plaintive to playful, she gave each song its due, alternately heartbreaking and coquettish. Her voice, which ranges from smoky lows to shimmering highs, is impressive, and her command of the vocal ornamentation which is so quintessentially Bulgarian is expert.
Sarbinska was a soloist with Bulgaria’s renowned Pirin Ensemble before emigrating to America. She is a living museum of vocal styles from all over her homeland. (Americans can scarcely conceive of the extraordinary ethnic diversity of a country as small as the state of Virginia!) Arriving onstage in evening attire for her second set, Sarbinska joked about the good-natured rivalries that exist among Bulgaria’s ethnic regions. She presented material in contrasting styles – those of Macedonia, Pirin, Shope and nearby Serbia, to name several. She sang village songs as well as those from the city. Tatiana Sarbinska connected profoundly with her audience, inviting them with dancerly movements to join in a ruchenitsa or kopenitsa, at times moving close to the stage’s edge to make an artistic point or to meet eye-to-eye. Everyone who attended the concert went home feeling that they had made a new friend.”
“In Bulgaria, these songs are often carried through mountains and villages in the harmonies of women’s and girls’ voices, which, once heard, are difficult to forget, and which have gained an international following. [Sarbinska’s] Divi Zheni, a women’s Bulgarian folk ensemble, has been dedicated for 10 years to bringing these sounds to area audiences.”
“Tatiana Sarbinska keeps the music of Bulgaria alive. Her voice cutting through with the sharp, bright sound of the great Bulgarian singer.”
“Tatiana Sarbinska performs with a brilliant style, with a rich vocal technique, a wide vocal range, and a lively artistic presence”
“Krai Vardaro” By the Vardar (a river in Macedonia); “A happy event is the joining of two eminent performers — Tatiana Sarbinska who achieved fame as soloist with the National Ensemble of Songs and dances “Pirin,” and Kolyo Kolev, whose qualities as singer and musician are evident in many Balkanton productions. Their artistry gives different shadings to each number they perform and underscores the unique beauty of each melody.”
Masters of Macedonian Folk Songs — “This was a musical presentation featuring the finest masters of these songs: Tatiana Sarbinska and Kolyo Kolev. Deserving special admiration was the wide range of styles Sarbinska displayed, quickly changing vocal techniques.”
“This party is for all ages, though, and it’s not a matchmaking event. Sarbinska and her Balkan choral group Divi Zheni (Wild Women) will lead partygoers in traditional Bulgarian Christmas caroling and other songs, and there will be plenty of dancing and Eastern European treats to taste.”
“Tatiana is amazing. She’s an amazing artist, and amazing performer, an incredible voice teacher, very, very generous both when she teaches and when she performs. She brings a wealth of experience from her professional life in Bulgaria, and she has really changed the sound of this group.”
From the article: Bulgarian Nightingale Teaches Americans to Sing
“The concerts of the National Ensemble of Folk Song and Dance Pirin, Blagoevgrad, are applauded in every comer of our country. Deserving special note is soloist, Tatiana Sarbinska.”
A New Recording from Singer, Tatiana Sarbinska; “Tatiana Sarbinska performs with a brilliant style, and a rich technique. In the interpretation of this varied and demanding repertoire, the singer displays her truly tasteful style and her penchant to find the unique and individual characteristics of each song.”