Michael Lawson grew up in a family where International folk dancing was a large part of their family life. At the age of 6, Michael began classical piano lessons and trumpet at age 11. In college, Michael picked up his mother’s accordion and learned to play it for his folk dance club. He fell in love with the rhythms and harmonies of Balkan music, a genre he has played extensively over the last 40 years.

Michael directed the folk dance bands Nisava, Balkan Cabaret and Kafana Republik as an accordionist and vocalist, recording several CDs. In 2013, he performed in the movie Tazi Baba, featuring the native Bulgarian singer, Penka Encheve.  As well, in the summer of 2016, Michael accompanied the Bulgarian Voices of Seattle Women’s Choir on a Bulgarian tour which included a spot on Bulgarian national TV.

The highlight of many Lyrids Festival Saturday night dance parties has been with bands Michael has put together based on his band, Osem i Devet and we are delighted to have Michael’s band again for our upcoming 2021 festival.

David Bilides’ initial encounters with Balkan folk music were at the weddings and dances of the Greek community in which he grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. After hearing other Balkan music while attending international folk dancing in high school, he took the first of several trips to the Balkans in 1974 where he learned dances, made field recordings and collected instruments. Upon returning to the United States, he taught himself music and instruments, organized festivals, and taught others music and dance from the Balkans. David has been lucky to study with many wonderful teachers of traditional music and dance from this area and continues to play, teach, and perform music from the Balkans on a variety of traditional instruments in the US and abroad. He plays tapan in the group, Osem i Devet with Michael Lawson and is a frequent guest musician with several other groups.

Miamon began his musical career as a classical violinist but became entranced with the world of traditional music, joining the AMAN folk Ensemble in the 1970s and later becoming its artistic director. Subsequently, Miamon has played with many other folk dance bands and has led bands at several folk dance festivals, including Kolo Festival, Stockton Folk Dance Camp and Balkanalia.

Miamon studied ethnomusicology at UCLA, earning an MA and ABD degree.  As well, he studied Transylvanian folk music for a year in Romania on a Fulbright grant.  Miamon is widely experienced in mainstream music and has recorded with many well-known artists. He’s also composed and arranged music for film, television and stage productions. Whether Miamon is playing with mariachi or klezmer bands, Middle Eastern music or jazz, he approaches all styles with equal enthusiasm and joyfulness. Miamon Miller Music website.

Teodora Dimitrova is from Bulgaria, and she discovered the magic of Bulgarian folklore music when she was little listening to her mother sing at home. Her interest in the music brought her to the “Philip Kutev” School of Music in Kotel, where she studied singing and tambura. Later she specialized in K-12 music education at the University of Shumen. After graduation she became a piano instructor and assistant director of a choir at Elhovo.

Tedy moved to Lynnwood, WA in 2007. In 2009 she met Dina Trageser, founder of Dunava Balkan Women’s choir and shortly after became a member of the choir. She also performs with Balkan dance band Orkestar RTW, where she plays tambura and sings lead.

Tedy performed for the Lyrids Folk Dance Festivals from 2015 to 2017 as the lead singer for Orkestar RTW.

Dina Trageser is a singer and multi-instrumentalist in Seattle, Washington. She has been studying and singing classical music since childhood, and Balkan folk music since 1997. Dina has sung in various classical and folk choirs, including the Radost Women’s Choirs, Kosava and Dodole and the Russian vocal ensemble, Pava. She performed with the folk dance band, Balladina in Eugene, Oregon and for five years sang and played Tambura with the Balkan folk dance band Orkestar RTW. Dina is the founder and director of the Seattle-based women’s choir, Dunava, specializing in a cappella folk music of the Balkans. She also performs with Dragi Spasovski and the Macedonian All-Stars as well as with the Balkan folk dance band, Osem i Devet with Michael Lawson and David Bilides.

Janie is an upright bassist with a strong technical foundation and a unique ability to adapt to any musical situation. She began piano lessons at age four and bass at age 11 when she joined her school orchestra. Janie continued her education at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music after being awarded a talent scholarship. After graduation, she moved to New York City where she performed with jazz, world, rock, soul and chamber singers and musicians. Now, a studio musician based in Los Angeles, she also teaches music at festivals and camps and tours internationally with an impressive array of musicians from different backgrounds. Janie has immersed herself in and pursues the studies of music from Ethiopia, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, the Middle East, the Balkans and Sephardim. Janie Cowan’s website.

Dragi Spasovski was born in a small village near Skopje, Macedonia and moved to Skopje when he was 4. Influenced by his mother’s singing, mostly in their home, he found himself swept away by the folk spirit. Encouraged by his mother in the mid-1960s Dragi had a recording session with Radio Skopje and through a series of events Pece Atanosovski took him to a rehearsal with the Orce Nikolov group who Dragi danced and sang with for many years. Singing became a very important part of his life as he did radio recordings for the National Radio of Macedonia and in 2007 he completed a 3-CD and book project. Dragi has performed with many orchestras including Dragi Mitev, Goran Alachki, Stefče Stojkovski, Osem i Devet with Michael Lawson and David Bilides, Balkan Cabaret, and various musicians from the Eastern European Folklife Center (EEFC).  In addition, Dragi was a regular Macedonian singing teacher at EEFC, east and west camps from 2002 until 2016. See more about Dragi Spasovski here.