Milen was born
in the town of Silistra, Bulgaria. At age the of 9, he started playing
the gaida (bagpipe).After
earning a diploma from the Kotel Musical school where he specialized in
piano and keyboard, he continued his education at the Academy of Music
and Dance Arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and graduated in 2004 with Bachelor’s
degree in Music Instrumental Arts. During the years as a student in Plovdiv,
he had the opportunity to expand his musical knowledge and expertise by
playing with various bands, performing a variety of styles from the Balkans--Greek,
Macedonian and Serbian.Milen played in a number of tours and concerts
throughout Europe with the Ensemble “Trakia”, prior to coming
to the United States in 2005.Milen is a founding member of the Helios
band since 2007.
Lefteri Tsakle
Lefteri was born in San Francisco where he began studying classical violin at the age of 8. After graduating from college Lefteri began to play Greek folk music with the Helenic Folk ensemble and then joined the Merakledes band in 1967 where he played violin and bouzouki until 1975. A twenty year hiatus followed during which Lefteri pursued graduate school and a career in teaching. In 1996, Lefteri re-entered the music scene by joining the HelenNicks band. Since then Lefteri has played with several bay area bands, including the Kymata band. He is also a founding member of the Helios band since 2007.
Ivan Kabaivanov
Ivan was born in Bulgaria. He started to play the Kaval (flute) at the age of 12. He graduated from music school specializing in folk art musical performance. Ivanis well versed in Greek music having played with the Kymata band from 1999 until 2006. Along with playing Kaval, Ivanalso plays keyboards. He too is a founding member of the Helios band since 2007.
Rumyana Chimeva.
was born in the town of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, where at the age of 9,
she started taking singing classes. At the age of 14, she was admitted
at Musical High School for Folk Instruments and Singing in the village
of Shiroka Luka. After graduating she continued her education at the Academy
of Music and Dance Arts in the city of Plovdiv where she graduated in
2004 with Bachelor’s Degree in “Instrumental Art” and
“Pedagogy of Musical Education”. During her school years she
performed with the ensemble “Trakia”. Singing with various
groups after graduating , she enriched her repertoire and became familiar
with other Balkan styles, including Greek and Serbian. In 2005, she relocated
to the United States and has been the lead vocalist for Helios since 2007.
