Tzvety Weiner (vocals)

Tzvety Weiner was born and raised in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in a family steeped in Bulgarian folk music. At the age of 5, Tzvety started taking classes in theory of music, solfege, and piano — all mandatory subjects for those who sought to become professional musicians. Later, Tzvety enrolled in folk singing classes in preparation for the famous Shiroka Luka folk music High school in Bulgaria. Around that time, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and Tzvety faced choices that she never considered before.
Instead of pursuing her predestined profession, she decided to take a break from music and became interested in computer science. In 1998, Tzvety moved to the US to complete a college degree in Computer Science. The love for Bulgarian music and performing in general was never left too far behind though. Luckily, a traditional Bulgarian band, Lyuti Chushki, was actively performing in the DC area and she joined the band as the lead vocalist. Since then, Tzvety has also performed with a Macedonian music band called Luk Na Glavata. Later, in 2005, Tzvety became the lead vocalist for the Balkanics — a local group focusing on Balkan wedding style music.

Valeri Georgiev (kaval)

Valeri Georgiev was born in the village of Nikopol in northern Bulgaria and has been playing kaval since his youth. He attended the prestigious Folk High School of Music Philip Kutev in Kotel Bulgaria, studying kaval and Bulgarian folklore. After completing his studies in Kotel he attended, and graduated from, the Academy of Music and Dance Art in Plovdiv where he was also a member of Zvezdi na Trakia (Stars of Thrace), one of the most well-known folk orchestras in Plovdiv. For most of the past 10 years, Valeri has organized and worked with various ensembles in Russe, North Bulgaria, including orchestra Horo. Since he joined, Valeri has been Lyuti Chushki's musical director.

Varol Saatcioglu (gaida)

Varol Saatcioglu was born in Edirne, Turkey, in 1982. Music has always been a part of Varol’s life as his mother is a piano, music, and folkdance teacher. At the tender age of five, he was accepted into the prestigious Municipal Conservatory of Istanbul, where he studied music theory and piano. After emigrating to the United States, Varol began studying the gaida (Bulgarian bagpipe) under the guidance of Georgi Doichev, former principal soloist with the Filip Kutev National Ensemble. He has also studied Thracian and Rhodopi styles with Vassil Bebelekov. Varol currently resides in Bethesda, MD, and also plays with local bands Grup Nazar and the Balkanics.

Len Newman (tambura)

Len Newman, from Silver Spring, Maryland, has been involved in traditional music and dance since his student days at Princeton University. He has developed a special interest in the Balkans and its music and plays many of the stringed instruments found in Bulgaria (tambura), Greece (lauoto and bouzouki), Macedonia (tambura) and Serbia and Croatia (tamburica). Len currently plays in three different Washington, DC area folk bands specializing in music from Greece, Bulgaria, and Macedonia.

Larry Weiner (tupan)

Larry Weiner has been involved with Balkan traditional music and dance since the early 1960s. Principally a dance researcher, he has made numerous trips to Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Hungary to study traditional dance in its native setting. Larry has taught Balkan dance workshops throughout North America and has directed various Balkan music and dance camps for over 30 years. In addition to his strong background in traditional dance, Larry plays tupan (big drum) and tarabuka (small hand drum) and currently serves as Lyuti Chushki’s manager.