Kirilov’s research explores the boundaries between two often compartmentalized fields, music theory and ethnomusicology, and his innovative analytical perspectives on Eastern European music have been well-received at national and international conferences. His recent articles appear in MUSICultures (Canada) and Analyse Musicale (France). Kirilov’s forthcoming book, “Bulgarian Harmony,” will appear in Ashgate's SOAS Musicology Series in the fall of 2014. “Bulgarian Harmony” is the first analytical study of 20th century Bulgarian harmonized repertoires tracing unique harmonic developments in Bulgarian village music, wedding music, and polyphonic choral arrangements performed by Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares.
In addition to being a teacher, scholar, and active performer, Kirilov is one of the main organizers of the international conferences Analytical Approaches to World Music.
His solo CD includes traditional music and songs from diverse regions of Bulgaria (and neighboring countries), as well as original compositions in “wedding style”, all performed by him on fifteen instruments.
<br>After coming to the U.S. in 2001, Kalin received a MA in Folklore and a Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University of Oregon. A master of multiple instruments, Kalin has performed extensively in Bulgaria and abroad, recorded with Bulgarian National Radio, and toured the U.S. with the legendary Ivo Papasov and Yuri Yunakov. Currently, Kalin is an Assistant Professor of Music at Towson University in Maryland<br>
Kalin Kirilov was born in 1975 in Vidin, Northwestern Bulgaria, and began singing and playing the accordion at the age of four, He received his first Gold Medal in 1981 at the Koprivstica Festival. From the age of six he studied at music schools in Vidin and Pleven, and he graduated from the Academy of Music and Dance in Plovdiv in 1998 with a specialization in tambura and music pedagogy. He has performed and toured with many ensembles, has recorded with Bulgarian National Radio, has done arrangements for folk orchestras and choirs, and was soloist with The Danube Ensemble in Vidin. Kalin has received numerous awards, including a Silver medal at the Sixth Republican Festival, two Gold Medals at the Seventh Republican Festival, and a Bronze Medal at the Koprivstica Festival in 1986.
Kalin Kirilov is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory. Before coming to Towson University, he taught at the University of Oregon and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Kirilov received his BA from the Academy of Music and Dance in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, an interdisciplinary MA in Folklore from the University of Oregon, and a PhD in Music Theory from the University of Oregon.