The Female Folk Choir Sofia is an amateur folklore ensemble at John Atanasoff community center in Sofia, Bulgaria. The choir maintains an entirely polyphonic a cappella program with songs from all ethnographic regions of Bulgaria.
☝ We express our gratitude for the previous, albeit modest, support of the Badnina 1982 Community Center, where our choir built its career. To this community center, the singer Maria Stoeva, driven by her love for folk song and the art of choir singing, and also her innate initiative and sense of institutionalism, gave a unique female folk choir. Over the past 16 years, the Sofia Choir has become recognizable with the unique voices of the singers, with its rich repertoire and with the conductors and composers who were attracted to the cause of building a viable choral collective, dedicated to the beauty of the Bulgarian folk song.
From the 2025–26 season, the Female Folk Choir Sofia is a singing collective at the John Atanasoff Community Center in the municipality of Mladost, Sofia, under whose leadership we are looking in one direction – towards new achievements of the amateurs in terms of repertoire and in an increasingly wider distribution of our performances among audiences in Bulgaria and abroad. Because the Bulgarian folk song, carried in the heart of every Bulgarian worldwide and deeply revered by our great classical composers, must be sung and spread the glory of a rich musical treasury, of the culture of Bulgaria.
Since its creation in the spring of 2009, the Female Folk Choir Sofia has established itself in the field of a cappella polyphonic singing. Along with songs from the Shopsko and Graovo areas, typical of the large Sofia region, the choir's repertoire also includes songs from Strandzha, Pirin, Dobrudzha, Thrace and the Rhodopes.
The achievements of the amateurs are the result of the hard work and dedication to the art of folk singing of the conductors Ivelina Dimova, Milena Andreeva, and currently Ivaylo Hristov. Numerous arrangements of folk songs for three-part a cappella choir have been created for the Female Folk Choir Sofia by Zdravka Radoslavova, Georgi Genov, Georgi Andreev and Ivaylo Hristov.
The concerts and stage appearances of the Female Folk Choir Sofia are innumerable. On festival events the choir has won the following awards:
🏆 The Grand Prix at the Antalya Spring Festival, Turkey, May 1-5, 2024.
Nine gold medals from:
🥇 III National Folk Song Competition Spring Rainbow in the village of Kurtovo Konare, May 2025;
🥇 Festival With the Songs of Belchin Yunak through the Centuries in the town of Gurkovo, September 2019;
🥇 III Folklore Festival Songs and Dances from Zlatiyata in the town of Valchedram, October 2016;
🥇 Festival of National Memory and Patriotism in Kotel, June 2016;
🥇 V Balkan Folklore Championship Living Water in Hisarya, 2016;
🥇 World Cup of Folklore in Hisarya, 2016;
🥇 XIII National Peter and Paul Festival of Folk Art in Veliko Tarnovo, June 2015;
🥇 IX IFF Songs and Dances Without Borders in Svilengrad, June 2014;
🥇 The Chicken Sings festival in Sofia, Krasno Selo district, November 2013.
Six silver medals from:
🥈 XXII Folk Festival A Song from Shopsko in the village of Lokorsko, June 2025;
🥈 XXI Festival of Humor and Joke He who laughs, lives long in the village of Baylovo, April 2025;
🥈 XXVI International Competition and Folklore, Dance and Music Festival Prague Stars – first performance of the choir abroad.
🥈 X international Festival Maleshevo Singing and Dancing in the village of Mikrevo, October 2013;
🥈 IV National Championship of Folklore Arts Euro Folk in Veliko Tarnovo, April 2013;
🥈 International Folklore Competition Pautalia in Kyustendil, July 2012.
Three bronze medals for third places from:
🥉 National Folklore Festival In the Middle of the Square in the village of Arbanassi, 2017;
🥉 V National Folklore Festival Shopski Naniz (Shopsko Beads) in the town of Kostinbrod, April 2014;
🥉 V National Examination for Polyphonic Singing, in the village of Korten, Stara Zagora, 2011.
In April 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofiavisited the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, at the invitation of MEP Andrey Kovachev from the European People's Party group. There, along with meetings and conversations, and a detailed introduction to the history and activities of the European Parliament, the choir gave a short concert at the end of working hours at the main entrance of the building named after Altiero Spinelli. The Bulgarian folk songs performed by the Sofia Choir gathered a large audience and earned prolonged applause under the gentle spring sun. The event was covered by BTA with a short report.
For its contribution to the development of Bulgarian art and culture, the Female Folk Choir Sofia was awarded by the Minister of Culture, Prof. Velislav Minekov, on the occasion of the Day of the National Awakeners - November 1, 2021.
In the context of the pandemic, the Choir continued to actively participate in celebrations and anniversaries on the occasion of the Day of Bulgarian Literature, Sofia Day, the Mladost district festival and other occasions.
In May 2019, the Female Folk Choir Sofia celebrated 10 years since its establishment with an anniversary concert at the Terra Hall in the Mladost district.
On March 8, 2018, the Female Folk Choir Sofia visited the National Assembly and congratulated all ladies with their performances on the occasion of International Women's Day.
At the celebration marking the 35th anniversary of the Badnina 1982 community center, the Choir was awarded for high creative achievements by the Union of National Community Centers.
During its visit to Prague in 2017, the Choir performed a solo concert at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute on the occasion of the Day of the Awakeners, November 1.
In May 2017, the Female Folk Choir Sofia sang for the first time at an event organized at the St. Cyril and Methodius National Library on the occasion of the Day of the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and Slavic Literature.
In June of the same year, the first solo choir concert was held on the open stage of Borisova Garden and was included in the Summer Cultural Program of the Sofia Municipality, and the concert in September was a joint one with the folklore group Yastra.
^Ivaylo Hristov – conductor of the Female Folk Choir Sofia^
Ivaylo Hristov is a conductor with a master's degree from the Bulgarian State Conservatory, now the National Academy of Music. He built his musical career in the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra as a trombonist and in a number of chamber ensembles in Sofia, for which he created numerous arrangements of classical works, now played around the world. He is the creator and producer of the children's theater and musical show Ma mere l’Oye on the music of Maurice Ravel based on French fairy tales, which has been performed for years. His Edition Elm, in addition to his own works, publishes Bulgarian works, including first editions of Pantcho Vladigueroff, Milcho Leviev, Milko Kolarov and others.
Taking over the musical direction of the Female Folk Choir Sofia, conductor Ivaylo Hristov devoted himself to hard work to raise the level of the choir and boldly renew its repertoire with new songs - his own a cappella arrangements, along with original songs by established Bulgarian composers. Under his leadership, the choir's stage appearances on festival and concert stages in Bulgaria and abroad became more frequent.
After an initial audition by the conductor, you could sing with us in the Female Folk Choir Sofia. We are waiting for you! 😏
^Current appearances, participations, concerts and tours^
👉 On October 21, 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofia opened a modest celebration of the GERB Party in Mladost municipality. In front of our long-time friend and benefactor in critical situations, the MP Mrs. Yordanka Fandakova, we performed part of our program, which we had just presented in Italy and France.
👉 In early October 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofia took part in the prestigious World Folklore Festival Code d'Azure 2025 in France and Italy. In the cities of San Remo, Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo, and Diano Marina, we presented a program of Bulgarian folk songs from all ethnographic regions of our country in arrangements by Stefan Kunev, Georgi Ganev, Georgi Andreev and Ivaylo Hristov. Our acapella program was enthusiastically received everywhere, both by the large audience and by the other festival participants, who gathered from all over Europe.
👉 The Female Folk Choir Sofia was invited and is going to participate in the National Competition A chickling sings at the end of October 2025 in Sofia.
🔔 On September 24, 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofia sung in the opening ceremony of the ETHSofia conference 2025, held in the John Atanasoff Hall of Sofia Tech Park. Before the audience dived into the otherwise serious and somewhat boring technological topics, our choir brought a touch of humor to the matter.
👉 You may find all past events from our previous season arranged chronologically here.
↪ On October 21, 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofia opened a modest celebration of the GERB Party in Mladost municipality. In front of our long-time friend and benefactor in critical situations, the MP Mrs. Yordanka Fandakova, we performed part of our program, which we had just presented in Italy and France – gallery.
↪ In early October 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofia took part in the prestigious World Folklore Festival Code d'Azure 2025 in France and Italy. In the cities of San Remo, Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo, and Diano Marina, we presented a program of Bulgarian folk songs from all ethnographic regions of our country in arrangements by Stefan Kunev, Georgi Ganev, Georgi Andreev and Ivaylo Hristov. Our acapella program was enthusiastically received everywhere, both by the large audience and by the other festival participants, who gathered on the French and Italian Riviera from all over Europe – gallery.
↪ On September 24, 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofia in the opening ceremony of the ETHSofia conference 2025, held in the John Atanasoff Hall of Sofia Tech Park. Before the audience dived into the otherwise serious and somewhat boring technological topics, our choir brought a touch of humor to the matter – gallery.
↪ On June 12, 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofia performed at the Annual Concert of the Badnina 1982 community center. Along with its repertoire songs, that brought several awards from folklore festivals this past spring, the conductor presented new songs to the audience, which we will hear often on stage next season – gallery.
↪ At the XXII Folk Festival A Song from Shopsko, held on June 8, 2025 in the village of Lokorsko near Sofia, in the Small Choir Ensembles category the Female Folk Choir Sofia presented an entirely a cappella program with songs from the Shopsko region, arranged especially for our choir. Competing with renowned smaller groups in the same category, all of which were singing with accompaniment, we are proud to anounce we were awarded the 🥈 Second Prize – gallery.
↪ The Female Folk Choir Sofia conducted by Ivaylo Hristov was awarded First Prize and a Gold Medal from the Third National Folk Song Competition Spring Rainbow in the village of Kurtovo Konare – May 2025 – gallery.
↪ The Female Folk Choir Sofia accepted the invitation to the Bulgaria Morningprogram on Bulgaria on Air TV – gallery.
↪ The Sofia Choir visited the European Parliamant in Brussels, Belguim, giving a short open-air performance – gallery.
↪ The Female Folk Choir Sofia appropriately celebrated the Day of the Amateur and the wonderful Bulgarian holiday of Baba Marta on March 1, 2025 in the hall of the Badnina 1982 community center in the Mladost district, in the presence of our guests and good friends – gallery.
↪ The Female Folk Choir Sofia is on a seminal holidays in Borovets in February 2025 – gallery.
↪ The Female Folk Choir Sofia participated in a celebration on the occasion of Babinden (Grandmother's day) at 90 Secondary School in Lyulin district of Sofia on January 18, 2025 – gallery.
↪ The Female Folk Choir Sofia participated in a concert of the Badnina 1982 Community Center at the 144 Secondary School in the Mladost district in Sofia on December 7, 2024 – gallery.
^Thoughts by the singers in the choir and press reviews^
A folk song is a beautiful picture. You enter it as if into a wonderful inner world of yours, which you give to the people around you with immense love!
When a Strandzha song, a song from Pirin, from Shopsko, Dobrudzha, Thrace or the Rhodope Mountains is sung, it is as if some gene wakes up in us and starts going crazy!
After a hard day at work, you don't feel like going to rehearsal, you just drag yourself to the rehearsal room. But then you leave with wings on your shoulders!
Some people are now accumulating money, and others are struggling to survive all these years of transition. But neither one nor the other is happy. We are the happy ones with a rich, melodic and beautiful Bulgarian folk song.
As long as there are people in love with Bulgarian folk songs, these songs will sound, delight and warm people's hearts, and we, the singers, are the ones who will give them this gift!
And while we all sing, our souls are filled with light, kindness and joy. This is our power, which is not given to everyone, but only to those who are married, to those who love our folk song unconditionally.
If, even if it was a long time ago, you have ever sung in a choir, if you have a voice and often sing folk songs for pleasure, if you are musically literate, but even if you are not, you easily sing and quickly remember new melodies, and if you would like to join a friendly and cheerful group, then do not hesitate to contact our conductor to arrange an audition. This is your first step towards being accepted into the choir.
Once you are initially approved, after a trial period you can earn a titular place and the right to stand among us on stage, dressed in one of our unique folk costumes, which are our concert costumes. Until then, you will have to diligently, with the help of the conductor and the singers, master the songs from our repertoire and find your right place in the ranks of the Female Folk Choir Sofia.
Throughout its long history, the Female Folk Choir Sofia has been supported by many benefactors – citizens and organizations, without whose support the activities of the amateur choir would be unthinkable. Among them are:
💎 Alco Ltd., Sofia, with manager Mr. Kotov;
💎 Bank Employees Union, Sofia, Mr. Vladimir Spasov;
💎 Neon BG, with manager Mr. Georgi Traykov;
💎 Kate Ltd., with manager Mr. Zhivko Zhelev;
💎 Nedelya Confectionery, Mladost district, with manager Mrs. Zoya Vaseva;
💎 Southern Cross - 2001 Ltd., with manager Mr. Petyo Blaskov;
💎 Kayan Pharmacy, Sofia, Mladost district;
💎 GERB Political Party, Sofia, Mladost district;
💎 Coalition for Bulgaria.
For these gestures of patriotism and dedication to Bulgarian folklore, we express our deepest gratitude!
Once you are willing to donate in favor of the Female Folk Choir Sofia, please contact us.
Here we share some videos that preserve our public performances over the years.
↪ The Female Folk Choir Sofia conducted by Ivaylo Hristov was awarded First Prize and a Gold Medal from the Third National Folk Song Competition Spring Rainbow in the village of Kurtovo Konare – May 2025 – here are some more videos.
↪ On April 9, 2025, the Female Folk Choir Sofia visited the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, where, in addition to participating in a seminar and several important meetings, the choir performed a short concert on the steps of the main entrance – here are some more videos.
↪ In April 2015, the Female Folk Choir Sofia, directed by Ivelina Dimova, celebrated 5 years since its establishment with a gala concert. Here are some more videos.
↪ At the Chicken Sings festival in November 2013 in Sofia, Female Folk Choir Sofia, conducted by Ivelina Dimova, earned its first gold medal. Here are some more videos.
