Harmonia

A multi-cultural group of master musicians from several countries performing on authentic folk instruments, Harmonia presents the virtuosic and passionate traditional music of Eastern Europe.

Brilliant. Lush. Dazzling.. raved SingOut! Magazine.

Harmonia presents the traditional folk music of Eastern Europe, ranging from the Danube to the Carpathians. Its repertoire reflects the cultures of this region: Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian and Gypsy. Performing on authentic folk instruments, and styled after turn of the century East-European Gypsy bands, their music is their music is drawn from both urban cigányzene and rural folk sources of Eastern-Europe. The ensemble’s performances evoke the full range of human emotions; interspersing fiery, passionate virtuosity with soulful melancholy and nostalgic yearning. The six-piece ensemble uses instruments as varied as accordion, upright bass, violin, panflute, and cimbalom, the East-European 125 string hammered dulcimer. Capturing the emotion, depth, fire and passion of Eastern Europe; Harmonia’s rhythms move in a heartbeat from mellow and dissonant to loud and frenzied. The musicians come from varied East-European backgrounds, finding a common musical language in Harmonia.

Their technical brilliance only adds to Harmonia’s breathtaking performances .dizzying cimbalom solos coupled with soaring violin lines, haunting flute and accordion solos and soulful vocals are a joy by any standard. In addition to being polished performers, Harmonia’s members are adept at explaining their music and culture - the ensemble is equally at home on the concert stage and in academic or workshop settings.

Walt Mahovlich, Accordion
Harmonia's founder, Walt Mahovlich, grew up listening to the Croatian andHungarian music of his family. He got his start playing Croatian and Macedonian weddings at the age of19, and spent much of his youth playing with traditional village musicians. He's played extensively at traditional events for East European immigrant communities throughout the United States and Canada as well as in frequent concert tours of Europe. His career has included performances at Smotra Foklora in Zagreb, Croatia, the Smithsonian's Festival of American Folklife, Jimmy Carter's Inaugural, the Rededication of Ellis Island, the Bicentennial Celebration of the Constitution in Philadelphia as well as performances in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
Walt made his off-Broadway debut in Tony Kushner's adaptation of the S. Ansky classic, A Dybbuk, performing at New York's Public Theater and appeared in the film, The Suicide. Walt's been a faculty member at the Balkan Arts Music Camp as well as director of the Cleveland Tamburitzans. His album, Nova Domovina: Balkan Slavic Music from the Industrial Midwest won the Unesco award for ethnomusicology. In addition to appearing on CDs with Harmonia Walt's clarinet playing is also featured on Budowitz: Mother Tongue on the Koch International label.
www.myspace.com/harmoniatheband

Alexander Fedoriouk, Cimbalom
Alexander Fedoriouk began playing the cimbalom at the age of 7 in his home-town of Kolomyia, Ukraine. Growing up in the Carpathian mountains, he played at weddings in mountain villages in Ukraine and Moldavia. He studied music at the Kolomyia Music School, Chernivsty Musical College and received his Bachelor's degree in music from The Kiev State Conservatory. He has performed as a soloist with The New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Johnstown Symphony, Youngstown Youth Orchestra, New York Chamber Ensemble, The Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra, Troisty Muzyky Folk Ensemble, The Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, The Duquesne University Tamburitzans and Cheres. He appeared in the Ukrainian musical movies, Pisne Kalynova and Namysto Dlia Berehyni. He received awards at the national competition on folk instruments in 1987 and 1991 in Ukraine, and in Nebraska in 1997.
Since he has been in the United States he has been featured as a soloist on a number of recordings: The Art of the Cimbalom (Traditional Crossroads), Harmonia (Traditional Crossroads), Cheres - From the Mountains to the Steppes (B Sharp Records), Unblocked (Ellipsis Records), The World in Our Backyard (Chubby Dragon) and Klezsqueese (Bon Air). He has recorded with Nigel Pulsford of Bush, legendary jazz flautist Herbie Mann and performed in Carnegie hall with John Cale of the Velvet Undeground.
www.alexanderfedoriouk.com www.folksoundsrecords.net

Beata Begeniova, Vocals
Born in Medzilaborce, in Eastern Slovakia, Beata Begeniova grew up surrounded by Slovak and Rusyn folk songs sung by her family. She attended the music high school in Prešov and received her music degree from J. P. Safarik University in Slovakia. While still a student, she was featured as a soloist on many recordings and radio broadca