Angel Valchinov is a rising star.

He began his formal violin studies at the Plovdiv Music School, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with Tatiana Krasteva. In 1996 he came to the USA to study at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California with Todor Pelev. While at Idyllwild he was honored as Best Scholar in 10th Grade and received the Most Distinguished Arts Student Award. After graduation in 1999, he studied at the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, with Sergiu Schwartz, earning his Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance.

In 2005 Angel earned his Master’s Degree from Boston University, and currently he is working on his Doctoral Degree at the same school, studying with Yuri Mazurkevitch. His teachers also include Naoko Tanaka (assistant to the legendary Dorothy DeLay of Juilliard), Alexander Kerr (Concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebow Orchestra of Amsterdam), and the renowned Aaron Rosand (soloist, and professor at the Curtis Institute and the Manhattan School). In 2003 Angel graduated from the Harid Conservatory with three honors: the Award for Excellence in Violin Playing, the Most Outstanding Chamber Musician award, and the distinction cum laude.

In 2000, Angel was a semi-finalist at the “Vaclav Huml” International Violin Competition in Zagreb, Croatia, and won First Prize at the California Young Artist Competition (at Idyllwild) and the Temecula Young Artist Competition. In addition, he has won the Concerto Competitions at both the Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Harid Conservatory, as well as placing in the semi-finals at the renowned Spotlight Competition in Los Angeles, California. For five years Angel has received full scholarships and fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado, (where he has performed under such conductors as Neville Marriner and David Zinman), as well as full scholarships at the Texas Music Festival in Houston, Texas, and the Bowdoin Music Festival in Brunswick, Maine.

He served as Concertmaster for the Aspen Music Festival Concert Orchestra which made the American premiere of the opera “Gloria: a Pig’s Tale”. This performance received a positive review in the New York Times. Angel has received grants from the Leni Fe Bland Foundation, by Doris Kovner (for Aspen), Marie Iandoli (for Boston University) and has had master classes with Gil Shaham, Midori, Pamela Frank, and Joseph Silverstein, among others.

In command of the violin’s vast repertoire, Angel has performed as soloist with the Gold Country Chamber Orchestra in Sacramento, California, the Pacific Union College Symphony in Napa, California, the Plovdiv Philharmonic and the Pazardjik Symphony in his native Bulgaria. When he soloed with the Idyllwild Chamber Orchestra with conductor Ransom Wilson, his performance was broadcast over the internet. Angel has held solo recitals in Miami, Boca Raton, and Boynton Beach, Florida; Idyllwild, California, and over Plovdiv State Radio in Bulgaria.

Angel wishes to state: “ I am truly grateful to Hristo Tchechmedjiev for the pleasure of playing on the violin he made in 1998.”