Irina-Kalina Goudeva

The internationally renowned double bassist, singer, performance artist and interdisciplinary collaborator, Irina-Kalina Goudeva was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. She studied double bass with professor Todor Toshev at the Sofia State Conservatory (graduated in 1990) and with Franco Petracchi at the Geneva Conservatory of Music (receiving the First Virtuoso Prize in 1993).

While pursuing her activities as a principal player in different orchestras such as Sinfonietta de Lausanne, Orchestre de chambre de Neuchâtel and the Orchestra of the Royal Danish Theatre, Miss Goudeva also found great inspiration in performing chamber music. She has collaborated with many ensembles including Ensemble 415, Swiss Consort, Kordepan in Switzerland; Ensemble Midtwest, Esbjerg Ensemble and Danish Chamber Players, all in Denmark; Musica Vitae in Växjö, Sweden and others.

Eclectic by nature, Ms Goudeva experiments with crossovers between different genres of music. Her repertoire spans over music from the Renaissance and Baroque to modern tango, jazz and electroacoustic music. She often uses her contralto voice as an integral part of her performance, adding a new musical and theatrical dimension to her art. Her passion for contemporary music has resulted in collaboration with renowned composers/conductors including P. Boulez, G. Kurtag, H. Lachenmann, H. Holliger, E. Pomarico, P. A. Valade, as well as ensembles such as Contrechamps in Switzerland, Athelas Sinfonietta in Denmark, Ars Nova in Sweden and Ensemble Modern in Germany.
Since 1998, Ms Goudeva has been the solo double bassist for Contemporanea Interactive Art Ensemble in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition to “traditional” concerts, the ensemble stages experimental theatrical works integrating choreography, visual and spoken word.

Irina-Kalina Goudeva’s love for theatre and drama led her to the creation of a number of multimedia performances, such as:
• the one-woman shows “Lavarayaha” 2004 and “The Seventh Woman” 2005
• the trio performances ”Landscapes” 2009 and “Vodosvet” 2011 in collaboration with George Vassilev, guitar and Christophe Fellay, drums
• the solo music-theatre performance “Oración Del Fuego” 2012
• the solo music-theatre performance “Recomenzar El Infinito” 2015
• the duo performance “Synergia” 2015, with George Vassilev, guitar

At present, Ms Goudeva is creating three new multimedia theatre performances to be premiered in the upcoming season 2016/2017: “All Alone In Heaven“, music by Morten Olsen; “Inanna Devi“; as well as the Music-theater “The Lady, The Joker And The Sword“ music by Rachel Yatzkan.

Ms Goudeva has been collaborating with a large number of composers including J. Tsenova, C. Lippe, I. Frounberg, E. C. de Chizy, W. Siegel, E. Kanding, M. Olsen, L. Tjørnhøj, M. Christensen, P. Jodlowski, Fuzzy, M. S. Danielsen, B. Jæger, K. Helweg, L. Graugård, L. Hegård, M. Åm, J. Herswing, Y. Acher, R. Yatzkan, J. Holmen, G. Gordon, M. Dresser – the majority of who have written more than 35 pieces for her.

She has recorded CDs with numerous labels including DACAPO and Wilhelm and Hansen, both in Denmark, Kadima Collective in Israel, Gallo and Fidesson in Switzerland and others.

Ms Goudeva was awarded several prizes at international and national competitions including Special Prize of the Jury at “Giovanni Botessini”, Parma, Italy; First Prize at “Sv. Obretenov”, Provadia, Bulgaria; First Prize at “St. Gougarev”, Kjustendil, Bulgaria. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Scandinavia, South America, Cuba.