Bio : Artists

Marta Simidtchieva : Cello

Cellist Marta Simidtchieva enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She is currently the assistant professor of cello at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, where she is also a member of the LeClaire Piano Trio and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. A native of Bourgas, Bulgaria, and graduate of the Bulgarian State Academy of Music in Sofia, she earned her doctorate of music from Florida State University where she was a student of Lubomir Georgiev. Dr. Simidtchieva  has also been a member of the Eppes String Quartet with whom she worked closely with composer Ellen Taafe-Zwilich and performed and premiered contemporary works for string quartet. Her interest in contemporary music has intersected with her desire to perform music by fellow Bulgarians. This research has led to a series of lectures and recitals presented at various universities throughout the United States titled ?Lifting the Veil: Presenting Unknown Compositions for Cello and Piano by Bulgarian Composers to American Audiences.? In 2004, Dr. Simidtchieva performed the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Celli with vocalist Bobby McFerrin as part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Seven Days of Opening Nights festival. The recipient of numerous awards and prizes, she has been a member of, or performed with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, New Symphony Orchestra (Sofia, Bulgaria), Orlando Philharmonic, Columbus (Georgia) Symphony, Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, Wildwood Opera Festival, and at the New Bulgarian Music Festival. She has been at EMF since 2004. (on leave in 2012)