Vivi Vassileva & Percussion Collective

Her interpretive mastery and innovative approach to programming are appreciated not only by critics but also by the general public, thanks in part to her environmentally themed projects in which she uses percussion instruments made from recycled (waste) materials. Vivi is the recipient of several prestigious international awards, including the Leonard Bernstein Award (2023) and the Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis (2017). In 2014, she participated in the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, where she made history as the youngest semifinalist ever, receiving two special prizes. Vivi is an enthusiastic advocate for percussion in classical music and regularly collaborates with contemporary composers. For her Slovak debut, she will appear as a soloist with the ensemble Percussion Collective, which was formed in 2024 at the initiative of the Viva Musica! festival. Members of Percussion Collective are outstanding Slovak percussionists Adam Druga, Richard Havran, and Martin Zajac, who all studied under the renowned Slovak percussionist and educator Peter Solárik, the ensemble’s artistic director. The concert program will include works by Anders Koppel, Minoru Miki, Gregor A. Mayrhofer, Nigel Westlake, Jason Treuting, Tim & Tom Ouderits, Tomer Yariv, and Owen Clayton Condon.