By: Dr. Matt Warnock
Arina Burcéva is a young, up and coming, classical guitarist and composer with a seemingly bright future ahead of her. Already, she has given concerts in the United States, Europe and South America, appeared on public radio and television in the U.S. and performed for the Governor of California and former U.S. President George H.W. Bush. All while pursuing performance degrees at some of the top music programs in Europe and the U.S.
Born in the Ukraine, Arina began her musical journey with the piano and violin. The talented young musician soon switched her focus after being introduced to the classical guitar by Marina Azar at eight years of age. An accomplished performer, even at a young age, at fourteen she became a two-time laureate of the national Zhinovic Guitar Competition, and was the youngest student ever to be accepted into the Glinka College of Music. A multi-faceted student, she also majored in English and Art History.
After immigrating to the U.S. in 2002, Arina studied with famed classical guitarist and pedagogue Christopher Kachian. One year later she took first prize at the Schubert Club Scholarship Competition which led to a successful performance at Sundin Hall in Saint Paul, MN. The same year she was awarded a scholarship to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied with David Tanenbaum, Dušan Bogdanović and Grammy-award winning composer Sergio Assad.
Completing her masters degree in 2009, Ms. Burcéva currently calls San Francisco home. She continues to concertize across Europe and North America and is currently putting the finishing touches on her debut recording, which will feature all original compositions for solo guitar.
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Matt Warnock: You draw from a wide range of influences in your playing and writing. What are some of the main styles of musical, and non-musical, subjects that have inspired you as a writer and performer?
Arina Burcéva I’m inspired by different styles of music, as well as legends and mythology. I like to draw from the myths and legends of Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Brazil. When I’m reading these stories, and trying to translate them into my music, I’m also checking out that countries musical language, which I also bring into my compositions.
In the end I create pieces that bring out the cultural heritage of these countries through a study of their music, folklore and mythology. It’s a very different approach to composing for the classical guitar than most people take, but I find that it really works for me.
Matt: Now that you’ve been living in the U.S. for a number of years, after being born and raised in Europe, has the American musical heritage, such as Rock, Blues and Jazz, started to come out in your writing?
Arina: I think that subconsciously I’ve been influenced by blues and jazz, but I haven’t formerly studied it. I studied with Dušan Bogdanović at the San Francisco Conservatory for a couple of years, a classical guitarist who plays jazz and blues as well as classical music, and he worked with me a lot on improvisation.
I do use elements of jazz and blues in my writing, but the compositions that I write which have those elements in them tend to be through composed. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s where those pieces tend to lead me from a compositional standpoint.
Matt: Since you’ve spent time studying with Dusan, and have elements of jazz and blues in your writing, do you improvise when you’re on stage, or feature specific improv sections in your pieces when you compose them?
Arina: I do improvise sometimes when I’m on stage, but it’s never planned out a head of time. I don’t insert specific sections where I know I will improvise, it just happens on the spot. I don’t know why, it may be boredom, I don’t know. I just feel that the time’s right to experiment and so I branch off into an improvised section. I think it adds excitement to the performance without taking away from the original intent of the pieces or the program as a whole.
Matt: As someone who writes a lot of your own music, how important do you feel it is for young classical guitarists to write and perform original compositions?
Arina: Every guitarist has to find their own path and writing original music is the one I’ve chosen. I think for guitarists who are entering a lot of competitions, learning the standard repertoire is a necessary thing, since a lot of those pieces are required for major competitions.
In my career path I have studied with teachers who were composers and performers, and in my own teaching I emphasize composition with my students. I think playing the standard repertoire is fine and works for a lot of people, but it’s also fun to write music. It helps us find an original voice on the instrument and it brings a new level of excitement into the realm of learning and playing the guitar.
Matt: You are a teacher as well as a performer, which seems to be the norm these days with most classical guitarists. Do you feel it’s possible to survive as a classical guitarist in today’s society and economy without having a second income from teaching?
Arina: I like the second income, personally. Laughs I don’t think I’ve met a classical guitarist who doesn’t teach, though I’ve met plenty that say they hate teaching. I love to teach. It’s inspiring for me to work with younger students. I love improvising with my students and exploring new ideas with them. It’s invigorating and it can be a big source of inspiration for me as a performer and composer, as well as a teacher.
Take something as simple as vibrato. When I first started teaching I had a lot of students asking about different kinds of vibrato and how to use it in different situations. I had never really thought about it that much before, it just kind of came naturally to me. By working on it with my students I feel that it really helped my own vibrato.
Expressing something verbally can often make us think about things that we haven’t to think about before. Or think about things from a new or different angle. This is just one example, there are many instances where I’ve drawn inspiration and bettered my own playing through working with students.
Matt: It seems these days that most classical guitarists are pursuing at least one advanced degree before beginning their professional careers. Since you’ve recently finished your master’s degree, do you have plans to go on and purse a doctorate?
Arina: I think I’m finished with school. Laughs I want to explore music further, but I want to do it on my own. I’m going to continue taking lessons, but outside the school system. I’m not a big fan of institutions. I want to travel, to perform more, to develop my playing hand in hand with developing my career. A lot of people are pursuing doctorate degrees, but I feel that the time is right for me to take that step and begin my post-college career.
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