“Growing up in the isolated, then-Communist country of Bulgaria, Valentine Martchev didn’t know enough to even dream of playing in a top-notch U.S. symphony,” writes Beth Wood in Sunday’s (9/16) San Diego Union-Tribune. “But through a series of fortuitous events, hard work and constant practice, he became the San Diego Symphony’s principal bassoonist in 2001…. Martchev’s father enrolled him in an accordion class when he was 8…. [After] receiving a full scholarship to Pennsylvania’s Duquesne University [he became] a member of the Bulgarian State Radio Orchestra and the Charlottesville Symphony in Virginia.… He … became a naturalized citizen on Dec. 16, 2016, five years to the day after his son was born. ‘That’s Beethoven’s birthday, so I played his Seventh Symphony the day Enyo was born,’ Martchev said, laughing…. ‘In Bulgaria, it was very unusual to see a foreigner or hear a foreign language. Here, you see all kinds of people—even some Bulgarians! I think America is extraordinary…. The diversity of cultures, talent and brain power in this country makes it strong and unique. That would include the San Diego Symphony, which has an incredible mix of musicians and personnel.’ ”
Posted September 21, 2018
In photo: Valentin Martchev, principal bassoon for the San Diego Symphony. Photo by Howard Lipin / San Diego-Union-Tribune
