Romani (Gypsy), Russian, Cossack, Ukrainian, and Klezmer folk songs, dances and music. As well as Jazz, Gypsy Jazz, Jazz-Rock/funk, R&B and fusion.
Instruments: Russian 7-string guitar, 6-string guitar, violin, balalaika, garmoshka, bass, drums, percussion.
Music
Romani (Gypsy), Russian, Cossack, Ukrainian, and Klezmer folk songs, dances and music. As well as Jazz, Gypsy Jazz, Jazz-Rock/funk, R&B and fusion.
About me: Vadim Kolpakov is Russian Rom, professional (Gypsy) 7-string guitarist, singer and dancer. He is also an artistic director and founder of the US based ensemble "VIA Romen". His specialty is traditional Russian Romani folk music, songs and dances. Ensemble "VIA Romen" performs Russian Gypsy traditional dances, songs and instrumental music on guitars and violin. Vadim also collaborate with various arists in the US and Russia.
BIOGRAPHY of Vadim Kolpakov
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Russian Romany (Gypsy) 7-string guitar, voice & dance
Vadim Kolpakov is one of the most prominent and renowned Russian Roma (Gypsy) 7-string guitarists in the world. He was a lead musician of the Moscow Roma (Gypsy) Theatre Romen, where he performed as a guitarist, composer, vocalist, dancer and dramatic actor. To this day, his original guitar compositions are performed in many prominent plays at the theatre as part of the vibrant oral tradition of the Russian Roma culture. Hailing from Saratov, Russia, Vadim graduated from the Roma performing arts school Gilori and studied guitar with his uncle Alexander Kolpakov, the virtuoso Russian 7-string guitarist who served as the musical director of the Romen Gypsy Theatre for over a quarter of a century. At the age of 15, Vadim began work at the Romen Gypsy Theatre, where he worked for 8 years and was the leading guitarist for 7 years.
Vadim has performed extensively in Russia and abroad. He has given concerts in Carnegie Hall (New York City), as well as in the Kremlin (Moscow) for the Russian president Putin, the Kazakhstan president Nazarbaev, and for both the Finnish and Portuguese presidents and parliaments. Vadim has also performed in Europe with the Russian Gypsy group Gelem as lead guitarist, and performed in the famous Roma festival Khamoro in the Czech capital, Prague. He has performed in innumerable other musical projects on Russian, Canadian and American television and radio and was invited to record his own compositions for the soundtrack of the Finnish motion picture Mire Bala Kale Hin. He has recorded several CDs with Alexander Kolpakov and the group Gelem. In 1999, Vadim participated in the major concert tour 'Gypsy Caravan' as part of the famous Romany group The Kolpakov Trio. Selected as leading representatives of the Russian Romany musical tradition, The Kolpakov Trio gave several unforgettable concerts in America and Canada together with premier Gypsy musical groups from 5 other countries: Taraf de Haiduks (Romania), Antonio El Pipa Ensemble (Spain), Musafir (India), Kaly jag (Hungary) and Yuri Yunakov Ensemble (Bulgaria/USA). The New York Times singled out Vadim's virtuoso guitar playing while playing on that tour, which was organized by World Music Institute and included over 15 major American and Canadian cities, including an appearance at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts (Washington D.C.) and Sanders Theatre at Harvard University.
In 2003, the Russian American ensemble TALISMAN invited him to reconstruct and record music of the Russian Roma of the 1820s. The resulting recording, A Tribute to Stesha, was released by NAXOS in 2005, and the program was featured at the Boston Early Music Festival 2005. In that performance, Vadim repeatedly brought the audience to their feet with his expert guitar skills, his passionate dancing and also his singing. Since then, he has recorded several other collaborative projects with the group to be
released in 2007, including Dostoevsky’s Jews and Gypsies (music and dance vignettes drawn from The Brothers Karamazov) and Mikhail Vysotskiy and the Gypsies (an examination of the musical sharing of vocabulary between the early Russian and Roma guitar and vocal traditions. With TALISMAN, he has taken part in performances and lecture/demonstrations at Harvard University, Boston University, Oberlin College, University of Iowa and Grinnell College, and interviews on NPR, teaching audiences about the Roma nationality and cultural tradition through music and dance. Vadim has also performed and recorded Romany activist songs with Eugene Hutz (the lead singer of Gogol Bordello), which he hopes will promote understanding of the Roma nationality and human rights.
In 2004, Vadim assembled his own group VIA Romen, which has already performed at venues such as the New York Gypsy Festival (Roxy Club, NYC), The Festival of International Cultural Exchange (Portland, Maine), and at clubs such as the Avalon and the Middle East (Boston), Club Pearl (Miami), Signet Club at Harvard University, Royalty Theatre (Clearwater, FL), Regent Theatre (Boston) among others. Music by VIA Romen was featured at the Sydney Theatre (Australia) for the production of The Cherry Orchard by A. Chekhov.
Vadim’s musical repertoire includes Russian- and Roma-style compositions by Alexander Kolpakov, music by Sergey Orekhov, 19th-century Russian 7-string guitar repertoire and his own compositions and improvisations on Romani, Russian, classical, jazz, rap and world music. He works exclusively in the oral tradition and have been teaching traditional Roma guitar, dance and vocal repertoire as an Artist-In-Residence at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and to students in his private studio.
Who I'd like to meet: People interested in Romani (Gypsy), Russian, Cossack, Ukrainian, Klezmer folk songs, dance and music.
Every Friday come join us at The L.I.F.E. in Charlotte. NC. You dont want to miss out thiss Friday. Wit many hot Hip Hop, Reggaeton, Rock and other types of music performances every Friday at 7:30pm
Todos los Viernes venga estar con nosotros en The L.I.F.E. en Charlotte. NC. Tu no puedes perder este Viernes. Con muchos diferentes cantantes de Hip Hop, Reggaeton, Rock y otros todos los Viernes a las 7:30pm
FREE ENTRANCE / ENTRADA GRATIS ITS IN ENGLISH Y ESPANOL
Eastown Plaza "Compare Foods Plaza" 3126 Milton rd. Suite J & F Charlotte,NC, 28215
Eastown Plaza "Compare Foods Plaza" 3126 Milton rd. Suite J & F Charlotte,NC, 28215
Bonjour!
Des morceaux de notre nouveau cd en ecoute, une nouvelle page, venez
donc jeter un oeil et une oreille pour nous dire ce que vous en
pensez...
En cadeau, une video du festival Eclats avec un joli rappel:
Happy Birthday, Vadim! Wishing you lots of love, health, success.. You know, I never made it to that festival in NC-- the schedule was way too tight for me to be back in time. But hope to meet you one of these days!
A very happy July to you, Vadim, and thank you ever so much for adding me to your legions of My Space fans! My father was Croatian, so I grew up loving all folk music... but Balkan music will forever make me weep! Thank you for the inspiration, and please keep playing for the world! Always, Holly (a hermit)
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