About

I’m a saxophonist and pianist based in Sofia. For more than ten years I’ve played on the professional music scene in Bulgaria, and more recently across Europe. I perform live, write and arrange, compose for the stage, and teach.

Career

2008 – 2020 · 11 years, 9 months

Instrumentalist musician

National School of Music "Lyubomir Pipkov", Sofia

Started on percussion with the Palievs, winning competitions in Sofia and Provadia. Moved to saxophone in fifth grade under Emanuil Manolov-Badema, then Yavor Gaydov. Chamber concerts under Rosen Idealov, and winner of the "Prof. Parashkev Hadzhiev" national harmony competition two years running.

2015 – 2021 · 5 years, 9 months

Saxophonist

Big Band, NMU "Lyubomir Pipkov"

Under Emanuil Manolov-Badema, Velislav Stoyanov, and Todor Bakardzhiev. Concerts at Bulgaria Hall, the National Palace of Culture (NDK), and the Basilica stage in Kyustendil.

Since 2021 · 5 years, 9 months and counting

Solo saxophonist & co-author

Jazu Project, Jazu by Hamachi, Sofia

A residency, plus collaborations with other musicians and DJs. Also handles sound, stage lighting, and represents the other musicians in financial and legal discussions.

Since 2022 · 4 years, 9 months and counting

Saxophonist, various projects

Theatre Sirius · DJ seVenson · DJ MEDO · Alex Panayotova's project · Scherzo Bulgaria

Theatre stages and club nights across Bulgaria — the amphitheatre in Sozopol and OKI Krasno Selo, beach bars on the Black Sea coast, hotels in Sofia and Plovdiv, and mostly French repertoire with Alex Panayotova.

Since 2023 · 3 years, 9 months and counting

Saxophone teacher

Bulgaria

Beginners through advanced players. Personal expression and improvisation first, from the first lesson — the method fits the student, not the other way around.

2024 – 2024 · 11 months

Composer & sound designer

"The Six Little Penguins", stage production, Sofia

Wrote the score and sound design, working closely with director Iliyan Stoilov through the whole process, and recorded every vocal from the cast so the show would sound like the people in it.

Since 2025 · 1 year, 9 months and counting

Pianist & saxophonist

4WD, touring Europe

Concerts across England and the Netherlands, adding original arrangements and covers to the band's set, and helping prep and maintain the sound gear on the road.

The reed that broke two bars into a solo

It happened live, and somehow nobody noticed.

Placeholder story — what actually happened, told the way I'd tell it to a friend, goes here.

The wrong stage, right country

One venue, two saxophonists, zero warning.

Placeholder story — a night that went sideways before it went right.

What a goat taught me about phrasing

Not the lesson I expected from a farm.

Placeholder story — a strange lesson that stuck, from somewhere it had no business coming from.