Petar Dundakov
Petar Dundakov, PhD
Academic position:
- Chief Assistant
Academic degree:
- PhD in Music and Dance Arts (Field 8.3), 2024
Courses taught:
- Composition
Education:
- Master’s Degree in Composition, Codarts University of the Arts, Rotterdam, 2009
- Bachelor’s Degree in Composition, Codarts University of the Arts, Rotterdam (class of Paul van Brugge), 2005
- Master’s Degree in Philosophy, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 1997
Awards:
- 2006 – The Night (performed by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Plamen Dzhurov) selected for the International Rostrum of Composers in Paris.
- 2009, 2014 – IKAR Awards for Theatre Music
- 2018 – ASKEER Award for Theatre Music
- Maestro Dimitar Valchev Award
- 2020 – The Song of the Winds multimedia concert receives the Sofia Municipality Award for Outstanding Achievement in Culture (Music category).
- 2022 and 2024 – “Vasil Gendov” Award of the Union of Bulgarian Filmmakers for Best Composer of a Feature Film and Best Composer of a Documentary Film.
Creative Activity:
Petar Dundakov composes music for various ensembles in the field of contemporary classical music and jazz, and is actively involved in numerous international collaborations.
His works have been performed in the Netherlands, Lithuania, Spain, and Austria, and recorded or premiered by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, BNR Big Band, Plovdiv State Opera Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Soloists Chamber Ensemble, The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices, Ensemble “Philip Kutev,” Ensemble Studio Dan (Vienna), the MuzikAnts String Quartet, and soloists including Anatoli Krastev, Tatiana Koleva, Rosen Idealov, Gergita Boyadzhieva, Margarita Ilieva, Vasilena Serafimova, Rosen Zahariev and others.
He has composed music for over 31 feature, animated and documentary films, many of which have been selected and awarded at international festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, and Rotterdam.
He is also the author of music for 44 theatre productions.
As Musical Director of the concert project BooCheeMish (2018–2020) with The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices and Lisa Gerrard, he performed in over 60 concerts in France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, and Portugal, including prestigious halls such as the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), and Casa da Música (Porto).
Selected Works:
Ballet and dance performances: Carmen Collection for Ballet “Arabesque,” with music recorded by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Grigor Palikarov; Birdsecho and Mind the Road by Israeli choreographer Liat Magnezzi; The Galatea Effect by Boriana Sechanova and Ballet “Arabesque,” among others.
In 2015 he co-authored, together with Paul van Brugge, the music for the chamber opera with choreographic scenes Pandora.
2018 – Composer and music producer of BooCheeMish – the latest album of The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices featuring Australian singer Lisa Gerrard.
2019 – Author of the multimedia concert The Song of the Winds for string orchestra, trumpet, soprano, and soundtrack. Premiered as part of the New Year’s Music Festival at the National Palace of Culture (NDK). Performed by the Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra under Plamen Dzhurov, with Rosen Zahariev (flugelhorn), Gergana Dimitrova (soprano), and Plamena Girginova (soprano). The work had several performances in 2021, and in December of the same year was presented in Rome within the Europa in Musica festival.
2022 – Portraits of the Unknown, a chamber opera for soprano, piano, and classical percussion.
2024 – The Poet and the Revolution for symphony orchestra. The premiere was part of the international project Lost Music, involving Italy, Spain, and Bulgaria. The work had three premiere performances – in Forlì (Spain), Alicante (Italy), and Dimitrovgrad (Bulgaria) – and was performed by a symphony orchestra conducted by Stefano Nanni.
Memberships
- Member of the Board of Musicautor (2009–2024)
- Member of the European Film Academy