Kamen Kresnitchki
Location: New York, N.Y.
Occupation: Student, 10th grade.
Connection to Balkan music/dance: I am a member of 101 Kaba Gaidi New York, which is a project of Young Bulgarian Voices New York. I play kaba gajda. Our purpose is to preserve Bulgarian culture and spread it to a diverse audience.
Number of times at Balkan camp: This was my first time.
Studied at camp: There was not a kaba gajda class at camp this year, but there were a bunch of players, so I played with them. I also took lessons in Greek clarinet and played clarinet as part of Čoček Nation.
Memorable moment at camp: Since we had recently lost Vassil Bebelekov, all week there was organizing for a memorial. The way we all came together at the end with bagpipe playing, everybody dancing, created a general sense of unity in the face of loss. We played for over 30 minutes. Even on such a sad occasion it turned into something enjoyable and meaningful.