Ralitsa Tcholakova
Encyclopedia
Early life
Tcholakova obtained a Master's degreeMaster's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from the State Academy of Music in Bulgaria, and a Diploma from the Hochschule fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. She has been a Long Term Artist in Residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts
Banff Centre
The Banff Centre, formerly known as The Banff Centre for Continuing Education, is an arts, cultural, and educational institution and conference complex located in Banff, Alberta...
. During her residency at The Banff Centre, Tcholakova was involved in more than 25 concerts, including Chamber Music performances with Lawrence Lesser and Gilbert Kelish.
Career
Tcholakova has an international solo career, and has performed as a soloist with orchestras and at chamber music series and festivals in AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. Her concerts have been recorded for broadcast for CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
and other radio stations in Canada, as well as for Bulgarian and Argentinean National radio and television.
Tcholakova is also a published author. In 2006, her essay Footsteps to Eternity about Mozart's life, was published in the first anthology book in connection with the celebration of the composer's 250th birth anniversary in Bulgaria. The anthology Mozart-Genius is a project sponsored by the Austrian Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In 2008 her paper on "Women Composers from Quebec city" was published in a Journal for Canadian Studies in Argentina.
In 2006, 2007, 2008 the Canadian Embassy in Romania granted Tcholakova their entire budget for Bulgarian culture, in order to organize "Days of Canadian Culture" festivals in Sofia, November 24 - 26, 2006, December 1 - 2, 2007, November 29-30, 2008.
In June 2008 Ralitsa Tcholakova received a grant from Ottawa City Arts Funding for music recording and together with Elaine Keillor recently recorded a CD at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. The CD “Remembered Voices” features music by Canadian composers Gena Branscombe, Violet Archer, Mary Gardiner and Patrick Cardy, as well as pieces by the Bulgarian composer Pantcho Vladigerov. The CD is released under the label “Carleton Sound” affiliated with Carleton University and distributed to all CBC (national radio) libraries across Canada.
"As a violin and piano recording, this one is immediately evident as being at the top of the genre. Performers are first rate, and playing with a passion. Audio production is unusually well done ...Excellent choices were made for the music on this CD. ...Tcholakova and Keillor show an admirable commitment to Canadian repertoire, beginning with Gena Branscombe's unjustly neglected A minor Sonata, well represented in this performance." And the review ends: "An excellent CD." (Whole Note magazine)
"Tcholakova and Keillor are wonderful collaborators who perform with sound musical chemistry. They present a polished, single-minded vision of the music and are able to create all the necessary moments of passion, lyricism, austerity, and dramatic climax. Tcholokova's intonation is excellent, and she possesses a rich and vibrant tone in the gypsy music, and one that is more subtle and intensive in the more serious works... These are voices worthy of remembering." (IAWM Journal)
Her CDs "Soul of Tango" , "Remembered Voices" and "Ballad of the North" are available on iTunes and on the Web.