Ask Wednesday: Geoffrey Dean on the Ardenza Foundation

Geoffrey Dean is an American musician who relocated to Bulgaria twenty years ago to help found the American University in Bulgaria, where he is currently an Associate Professor of Music. He performs internationally as cellist of the Sofia Quartet, the resident chamber ensemble of the Sofia Philharmonic. A more recent classical chamber music affiliation is with the Ardenza Trio, which he founded with violinist Galina Koycheva and pianist Daniela Dikova in 2005. This interview focuses on the activities of another Ardenza organization, the Ardenza Foundation. [Our questions are in italics.]

7.5 Hours for Steve Reich at 75

AmBul Festival, organized by
American cellist Geoffrey Dean

I have been invited to Marathon Concert: "7.5 Hours for Steve Reich at 75," on Sunday, October 2 at 4:00 p.m., in Studio 5 at the National Palace of Culture, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
    What a treat! Geoff showed his mother and me some recordings of past AmBul festivals when we visited him in Sofia in May. Only, how am I going to swing getting there? And get back by October 6 for another important event on our current itinerary? I told Geoff that "maybe" I'd be there.

Steve Reich (born on October 3, 1936) is a "pioneering composer of minimalist music." I think Geoff talked about him in May, but I had to visit Wikipedia to remind myself of Reich's specialty.
    I'm proud to be able to extol my son's skills as an impresario, and to congratulate him for having Steve Reich's birthday party on a weekend day the closest possible to his very birthday. I suspect that the gathering in Studio 5 might last at least 31 minutes beyond the marathon concert's official ending at 11:30 p.m....