Biography
Born in Sofia, Bulgaria. Started learning classical percussion from six years old. In 2000 became a student in Maria Palieva's class in the National School of Music "Lyubomir Pipkov", Sofia and in 2012 was accepted in "Codarts University for the Arts" - Rotterdam, The Netherlands. During the years Martin has had the chance to take part in many competitions around the world and has won the following awards:
1st prize - Second national competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2001, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1st prize - Third international competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2003, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1st prize - International festival "Culture of the wine" 2003, Sofia, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Twelfth national competition for soloists and singers "Svetoslav Obretenov" 2004, Provadia, Bulgaria
1st prize - First international competition "Young virtuosos" 2004, Sofia, Bulgaria
Grand prize - First national music competition "You and me" 2004, Sofia, Bulgaria
2nd prize and special prize for best performance of Dobri Paliev’s piece - Fourth international competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2005, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Thirteenth international competition for soloists and composers "Music and Earth" 2005, Sofia, Bulgaria
1st prize - First international competition for young performers Ribarroja del Turia 2005, Valencia, Spain
1st prize - Third international competition "Young virtuosos" 2006, Sofia, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Third international competition "Young virtuosos" 2006, Sofia, Bulgaria - with percussion ensemble "The Virtuosos"
3rd prize - Fifteenth international competition for composers, percussion ensembles and soloists "Music and Earth" 2007, Sofia, Bulgaria
3rd prize - Fifth international competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2007, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1st prize - Twenty-first national competition for soloists and singers "Svetoslav Obretenov" 2008, Provadia, Bulgaria
3rd prize - Drumset Competition 2008, Sofia, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Fifth international competition "Young virtuosos" 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria
1st prize - Fifth international competition "Young virtuosos" 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria - with percussion ensemble "3+3"
2nd prize - Seventeenth international competition for soloists and composers "Music and Earth" 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria
1st prize - Sixth international competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2009, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Fifth international competition for composition and percussion instruments 2010, Cannes, France
"Star academic Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachov" award and prize of the composer Andrei Petrov - Fifteenth International Competition "Galaxy of Talents" 2010, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Ensemble of the year - Bulgarian National Radio Awards 2012 - with "Youth Percussion Pool"
3rd prize and the audience prize - International Percussion Competition Luxembourg 2015 - with percussion quartet "4EXAMPBLE"
Winner - Keep an Eye: The Records 2018 (NL)
- with his own project "Half Easy Trio"
Winner - Erasmus Jazz Prize 2024 (NL)
- with Andrew Moreno Trio
Martin has also participated in the finals of the following competitions:
- Dutch Jazz Competition (NL)
- B-Jazz International Contest (BE)
- Leiden Jazz Award (NL)
Highlights
Soloist of the Sofia Symphony Orchestra
Soloist of the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra
Participant with percussion ensemble "3 + 3 + 1" in the Festival Riba-roja de Turia, Valencia, Spain
Participant in the tour of the ESYO, conducted by Igor Coretti-Kuret
Participant in the 48th International Festival "March Music Days" as a timpanist in the orchestra International Academy "LET’S PLAY ORCHESTRA" in Rousse, Bulgaria (conducted by Sir Neville Marriner)
Soloist of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra "Sofia", conducted by Deyan Pavlov in Rome, Italy
Became a member of the percussion ensemble Youth Percussion Pool, directed by Tatiana Koleva
Participant in the summer school of EUYO
Performed with Classic FM Orchestra, conducted by John McLaughlin Williams
Nominated for a crystal lyre in category "Young performer of the year" - Sofia, Bulgaria
Became a member of the percussion ensemble "POLYRHYTHMIA"
1st prize - Second national competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2001, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1st prize - Third international competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2003, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1st prize - International festival "Culture of the wine" 2003, Sofia, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Twelfth national competition for soloists and singers "Svetoslav Obretenov" 2004, Provadia, Bulgaria
1st prize - First international competition "Young virtuosos" 2004, Sofia, Bulgaria
Grand prize - First national music competition "You and me" 2004, Sofia, Bulgaria
2nd prize and special prize for best performance of Dobri Paliev’s piece - Fourth international competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2005, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Thirteenth international competition for soloists and composers "Music and Earth" 2005, Sofia, Bulgaria
1st prize - First international competition for young performers Ribarroja del Turia 2005, Valencia, Spain
1st prize - Third international competition "Young virtuosos" 2006, Sofia, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Third international competition "Young virtuosos" 2006, Sofia, Bulgaria - with percussion ensemble "The Virtuosos"
3rd prize - Fifteenth international competition for composers, percussion ensembles and soloists "Music and Earth" 2007, Sofia, Bulgaria
3rd prize - Fifth international competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2007, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1st prize - Twenty-first national competition for soloists and singers "Svetoslav Obretenov" 2008, Provadia, Bulgaria
3rd prize - Drumset Competition 2008, Sofia, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Fifth international competition "Young virtuosos" 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria
1st prize - Fifth international competition "Young virtuosos" 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria - with percussion ensemble "3+3"
2nd prize - Seventeenth international competition for soloists and composers "Music and Earth" 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria
1st prize - Sixth international competition for percussion instruments "Pendim" 2009, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
2nd prize - Fifth international competition for composition and percussion instruments 2010, Cannes, France
"Star academic Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachov" award and prize of the composer Andrei Petrov - Fifteenth International Competition "Galaxy of Talents" 2010, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Ensemble of the year - Bulgarian National Radio Awards 2012 - with "Youth Percussion Pool"
3rd prize and the audience prize - International Percussion Competition Luxembourg 2015 - with percussion quartet "4EXAMPBLE"
Winner - Keep an Eye: The Records 2018 (NL)
- with his own project "Half Easy Trio"
Winner - Erasmus Jazz Prize 2024 (NL)
- with Andrew Moreno Trio
Martin has also participated in the finals of the following competitions:
- Dutch Jazz Competition (NL)
- B-Jazz International Contest (BE)
- Leiden Jazz Award (NL)
Highlights
Soloist of the Sofia Symphony Orchestra
Soloist of the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra
Participant with percussion ensemble "3 + 3 + 1" in the Festival Riba-roja de Turia, Valencia, Spain
Participant in the tour of the ESYO, conducted by Igor Coretti-Kuret
Participant in the 48th International Festival "March Music Days" as a timpanist in the orchestra International Academy "LET’S PLAY ORCHESTRA" in Rousse, Bulgaria (conducted by Sir Neville Marriner)
Soloist of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra "Sofia", conducted by Deyan Pavlov in Rome, Italy
Became a member of the percussion ensemble Youth Percussion Pool, directed by Tatiana Koleva
Participant in the summer school of EUYO
Performed with Classic FM Orchestra, conducted by John McLaughlin Williams
Nominated for a crystal lyre in category "Young performer of the year" - Sofia, Bulgaria
Became a member of the percussion ensemble "POLYRHYTHMIA"
During the years, Martin has had the honour and pleasure to share stages with world-renowned musicians such as:
Billy Harper, Seamus Blake, Tineke Postma, Franz von Chossy, Tamara Lukasheva, Niti Ranjan Biswas, Georg Breinschmid, Mehmet Polat, Antoni Donchev, Eva Quartet, Dimitar Bodurov, Vladimir Karparov, Hristo Yotsov, Mihail Yossifov, Tatiana Koleva, among others and perform at international venues and festivals such as:
BIMHUIS - Amsterdam, NL
Taichung Jazz Festival - Taichung, TW
Jarasum Jazz Festival - Gapyeong, KR
JazzDock - Prague, CZ
Trondheim Jazzfest - Trondheim, NO
LantarenVenster - Rotterdam, NL
Kultuursommer - Vienna, AT
TivoliVredenburg - Utrecht, NL
Magdeburger Jazztage - Magdeburg, DE
Tbilisi Jazz Festival - Tbilisi, GE
Paradox - Tilburg, NL
Jammin' Juan - Antibes, FR
A to jazZ Festival - Sofia, BG
Plovdiv Jazz Festival - Plovdiv, BG
De Doelen - Rotterdam, NL
Grachtenfestival - Amsterdam, NL
InJazz - Rotterdam, NL
Jazz Festival Ljubljana - Ljubljana, SI
Macau Cultural Centre - Macau
Education
Jazz Bachelor degree - "Codarts University for the Arts" (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) - in the class of Hans van Oosterhout and Joost Patocka
Pop Master degree - "Codarts University for the Arts" (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) - in the class of Hans Eijkenaar and Martijn Vink
Billy Harper, Seamus Blake, Tineke Postma, Franz von Chossy, Tamara Lukasheva, Niti Ranjan Biswas, Georg Breinschmid, Mehmet Polat, Antoni Donchev, Eva Quartet, Dimitar Bodurov, Vladimir Karparov, Hristo Yotsov, Mihail Yossifov, Tatiana Koleva, among others and perform at international venues and festivals such as:
BIMHUIS - Amsterdam, NL
Taichung Jazz Festival - Taichung, TW
Jarasum Jazz Festival - Gapyeong, KR
JazzDock - Prague, CZ
Trondheim Jazzfest - Trondheim, NO
LantarenVenster - Rotterdam, NL
Kultuursommer - Vienna, AT
TivoliVredenburg - Utrecht, NL
Magdeburger Jazztage - Magdeburg, DE
Tbilisi Jazz Festival - Tbilisi, GE
Paradox - Tilburg, NL
Jammin' Juan - Antibes, FR
A to jazZ Festival - Sofia, BG
Plovdiv Jazz Festival - Plovdiv, BG
De Doelen - Rotterdam, NL
Grachtenfestival - Amsterdam, NL
InJazz - Rotterdam, NL
Jazz Festival Ljubljana - Ljubljana, SI
Macau Cultural Centre - Macau
Education
Jazz Bachelor degree - "Codarts University for the Arts" (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) - in the class of Hans van Oosterhout and Joost Patocka
Pop Master degree - "Codarts University for the Arts" (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) - in the class of Hans Eijkenaar and Martijn Vink