Winter 2021-22

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Winter 2021-22
Profile

Profile: Eva Salina

By Julie Lancaster

Although Eva Salina represents the younger generation of American teachers at the EEFC workshops, she has been on staff off and on over the past 18 years, teaching singing. As an American who “grew up at Balkan camp,” she is a professional performer and teacher whose work is steeped in Balkan music. Continue Reading

Winter 2021-22

2019 Scholarship Recipients

In 2019 our community sent 25 individuals on scholarship to the summer Balkan Music & Dance Workshops—the most recent in-person camps. Read the first batch of their reports here. Continue Reading

Winter 2021-22

New and Notable

By Kef Times Staff

New recordings and books by folks in the EEFC community. Continue Reading

Winter 2021-22

Origin of the EEFC Auctions

By Sandy Ward

Inspired by conversations during Kafana in the 2021 East Coast Virtual Camp, Sandy Ward wanted to follow up by sharing her memory of the way camp auctions began. She was “in the room where it happened.” Continue Reading

Spring 2019

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Spring 2019
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Profile: John Morovich

By Julie Lancaster

Whether leading a tamburica ensemble in the kafana, trading licks with another musician at a picnic table, or assembling an impromptu group to perform Emil Cossetto’s immortal “Ladarke” suite in the dance hall, John Morovich is a vibrant presence at Balkan camp. Having grown up surrounded by Croatian music in Seattle, he has taught classes in Croatian singing, klapa and/or tamburica ensemble at EEFC camps since 1987. Continue Reading

Spring 2019

2018 Scholarship Recipients

By Kef Times Staff

Vivid, funny, or touching—the impressions of last year’s scholarship students are well worth taking some time to read. Continue Reading

Spring 2019

New & Notable

By Kef Times Staff

Check out new music from people in the EEFC community. Continue Reading

Spring 2019

2018 Workshop Photos

See photos from the 2018 Mendocino and Iroquois Springs Workshops. Continue Reading

Spring 2019

In Memoriam: Karen Guggenheim

By Kef Times Staff

In this issue we honor Karen Guggenheim, gajda player and Balkan camp teacher, who recently died. Continue Reading

Fall 2018

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Fall 2018
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Profile: Paul Brown

By Julie Lancaster

Paul D. Brown (the D is for Douglas) has been house bassist, a non-teaching staff role, at the EEFC workshops since 1996. He is known for his easygoing personal style and intense musical chops on both electric and acoustic bass. While consistently providing a reliable bass line in the many ensembles he plays with, he is also inventive and adventurous in his melodic playing. With an eye from the bandstand on almost every flavor of music presented at camp, he has a unique perspective on the scene. Continue Reading

Fall 2018

2017 Scholarship Recipients

By Kef Times Staff

In 2017 our community sent 25 individuals on scholarship to the summer Balkan Music & Dance Workshops. Scholarship types included the EEFC’s Dick Crum/Kef Scholarship and the Čoček Nation, Stefni Agin, and Lillie Cooper scholarships. Click to read … Continue Reading

Fall 2018

New & Notable 2018

Check out some new music from people in the Kef Times community. Continue Reading

Fall 2018

Rare Sounds Come Down From the Mountains: A Review of Drómeno’s “Music from Epirus”

By Joan Carol Friedberg

Sometimes, by pure serendipity, you come across a new experience that reaches into your soul. . . . Continue Reading

Fall 2018

2017 Workshop Photos

See photos from the 2017 Mendocino and Iroquois Springs Workshops. Continue Reading

Vlad and Tinka in memoriam
Fall 2018

In Memoriam

By Kef Times Staff

In this issue we honor two giants in our community and beyond who died in 2017: Vlad Popovich, tambura player and teacher, and Dinka Ruseva, singer, teacher and Bulgarian folk celebrity. Continue Reading

Spring 2017

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Spring 2017
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Profile: Merita Halili and Raif Hyseni

By Julie Lancaster

Singer Merita Halili and accordionist/composer Raif Hyseni, world-class performers from Albania and Kosova, respectively, began teaching at the EEFC camps in 1997. Read about their remarkable lives. Continue Reading

Spring 2017
In the Hood

Boston’s Balkan Music Night – Over 30 and Still Going Strong!

By Henry Goldberg

In the mid-1980s, there was a small, but established, Balkan music scene on the East Coast. Groups like Novo Selo in Philadelphia, Ženska Pesna in New York, and Evo Nas in Boston . . . . Continue Reading

Spring 2017

2016 Scholarship Recipients

By Kef Times Staff

In 2016 our community sent 16 individuals on scholarship to the summer Balkan Music & Dance Workshops. Read their reports here. Continue Reading

Spring 2017

New and Notable

By Kef Times Staff

New recordings and books by folks in EEFC land. Continue Reading

Spring 2017

2016 Workshop Photos

By Kef Times Staff

See photos from the 2016 Mendocino and Iroquois Springs Workshops. Continue Reading

Spring 2017

In Memoriam

By Kef Times Staff

In this issue we honor two giants in our community and beyond who died in 2016: Vassil Bebelekov, gajda player and teacher, and Esma Redžepova, singer, teacher and humanitarian. Continue Reading

Spring 2017

Join the EEFC!

By Kef Times Staff

The Balkan Music & Dance Workshops have been life-changing for many of us . . . but tuition doesn’t cover the cost of the workshops. Here we salute all those who donated or joined during 2016. Continue Reading

Winter 2015-16

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Winter 2015-16
Profile

Lise Liepman

By Julie Lancaster

Known for her warm and welcoming teaching style, Lise Liepman has taught santouri (Greek hammered dulcimer) or Greek ensemble off and on at EEFC Balkan Music & Dance Workshops since 1988, mostly at Mendocino and several times at the East Coast Workshops, and taught Turkish dancing at balkanalia! when that camp was produced by EEFC. She’s also a carousel-restoration artist. Continue Reading

Winter 2015-16

2015 Scholarship Recipients

By Kef Times Staff

The community pulled together this year to make 18—count ‘em, 18!—scholarships available for the summer 2015 Workshops. Continue Reading

Winter 2015-16

New and Notable

By Kef Times Staff

New recordings and books by folks in the EEFC community. Names in bold type indicate EEFC Workshop campers, staff, teachers, and other EEFC supporters. Continue Reading

Winter 2015-16

Balkan Songs

By Bill Cope

This issue’s Balkan Song is a medley of three Bulgarian pravo tunes. Continue Reading

Winter 2015-16

2015 Workshop Photos

By Kef Times Staff

See photos from the 2015 Mendocino and Iroquois Springs Workshops. Continue Reading

Winter 2015-16

In Memoriam

By Kef Times Staff

In this issue we honor two towering figures of Balkan music: Bulgarian accordionist Ibro Lolov and Macedonian singer Usnija Redžepova. Continue Reading

Winter 2015-16

Join the EEFC!

By Kef Times Staff

The Balkan Music & Dance Workshops have inspired generations of singers, instrumentalists and dancers . . . but tuition doesn’t cover the cost of the workshops. Here we salute all those who donated or joined during 2015. Continue Reading

Spring 2013

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Spring 2013

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Low-resolution 2-page spread (good for viewing with a large monitor)

High-resolution single-page layout (perfect for printing out and reading under an umbrella at the beach)

Features
  • Tzvetanka Varimezova — Julie Lancaster
  • Balkan Arts Series — Jay House Samios
  • From the Executive Director — Jay House Samios
  • From the Board of Directors — Corinna Skema Snyder
  • From the Program Committee — Demetri Tashie
  • Forum Folkloristika
  • From the Editor — Julie Lancaster
  • New & Notable
  • Photo Spreads: Mendocino 2011-2012 / Iroquois Springs 2011-2012
  • Dick Crum/Kef Scholars
  • 2013 EEFC Members & Donors
  • In Memoriam: Kremena Stancheva — Carol Freeman

Spring 2011

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Spring 2011

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Features
  • Alan Zemel — Julie Lancaster
  • Decades of Research Find Permanent Home in Serres — Yvonne Hunt
  • Fabulous Lineups for 2001 Workshops — EEFC Program Committee
  • From the Board — Brenna MacCrimmon
  • From the Editor — Julie Lancaster
  • New & Notable
  • Photo Spreads: Mendocino 2010 / Iroquois Springs 2010
  • Dick Crum/Kef Scholarships
  • 2010 EEFC Members
  • In Memoriam: Dennis Boxell, Nadka Karadžova

Spring 2010

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Spring 2010

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Features
  • Ruth Hunter, Christos Govetas and Family — Julie Lancaster
  • From the Board — Brenna MacCrimmon
  • From the Editor — Julie Lancaster
  • Sneak Peek at the 2010 Workshops — Denys Carrillo
  • New and Notable
  • Photo Spreads: Mendocino 2009 / Iroquois Springs 2009
  • Dick Crum/Kef Scholarships
  • 2009 EEFC Members
  • In Memoriam: Athan Karras, George Caba
  • Remembering George Caba — Leslie Barr
  • Blasts from the Past

Spring 2009

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Spring 2009

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Features
  • Beth Bahia Cohen — Julie Lancaster
  • From the President — Michael Sensor
  • From the Editor — Julie Lancaster
  • New and Notable
  • New Faces at the Workshops for 2009
  • Csenge’s Summer Violin Experience — Beatrix Nagy
  • How You Can Help the EEFC — Linnea Mandell
  • Photos from Mendocino 2008
  • The Wedding of Mina & Kalin
  • Photos from Iroquois Springs 2008
  • Blasts from the Past
  • EEFC Members: Contributing Members as of March 1, 2009
  • Letters from the 2008 Dick Crum/Kef Scholarship Recipients
  • In Memoriam: Bora Gajicki, George Tomov, Vulkana Stoyanova, Sami “Buco” Zekirov

Spring 2008

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Spring 2008

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Features
  • Jerry Kisslinger — Julie Lancaster
  • O Kyklos / The Circle — Jay House
  • From the Editor — Julie Lancaster
  • From the EEFC Board
  • New and Notable
  • Contributing Members as of May 2008
  • Blasts from the Past