Macedonian and Balkan Folk Music

Sandra Dean

Sandra Dean image

Seattle violinist Sandra Dean began violin lessons in fourth grade and always remembers her first teacher, Victor Sands, as a shining and inspirational beacon of light in her small home town of Kennewick, Washington. Her musical interests now span the spectrum from Bach to the Balkans. She has a deep respect for, and knowledge of, the traditional music of many cultures, and has traveled to Ireland, Bulgaria and Greece to seek out and learn from traditional music performers. She was the company violinist for Seattle's Radost Folk Ensemble from the mid nineteen eighties until the early nineties, and followed up with several years playing with Seattle Bulgarian and Greek music groups. She enjoys the mystery and soulfulness of some of the slower Macedonian traditional pieces she now plays, which she describes as sounding like "Chocolate Mousse" rather than "meat and potatoes."

She also loves a good Greek coffee.