Support the education of young cellist, Filip.

As an older sister, I’m filled with joy and pride while sharing that my younger brother Filip (14) has successfully auditioned to one of the oldest music schools in the UK - The Purcell School in London. After his successful audition- which earned him an unconditional offer less than 24 hours later- he is set to join young and talented students from 23 different nationalities. Filip’s enrollment as a Bulgarian student would make the nationalities 24.

With this wonderful achievement, also comes a difficult task. Filip’s job so far is done, and he completed it spectacularly, but now it’s our turn, as his family, to support him in any way we can. Unfortunately, following Brexit, Filip is unable to take advantage of the UK’s scholarship support for young musicians. Despite that, The Purcell School were kind enough to extend financial support from their private fund, offering to cover 35% of the annual tuition fee. Which leaves us with the remaining 65%, equivalent to roughly £25,810 (or BGN: 60,000).

This huge sum is not something my family is able to afford, which is why we’re opening up this page, with a very heartfelt request for support. Filip is an extremely bright, talented and ambitious young man (you can read a little bit about his musical achievements down below), and we so deeply want to give him the opportunity to continue his studies in a musically and academically competitive environment, which can open his door to any stage, a wonderful cohort of teachers and academic advisors, and to take a huge leap when it comes to music composition and advancing his technical skills. These are some of the most wonderful opportunities which The Purcell School will be able to offer him, which, unfortunately, generally lack in the Bulgarian education system; and specifically in the only specialized music school in Sofia, which he has attended since first grade.

As an older sister who was lucky enough to take advantage of the English academic system before the financial wall which came with Brexit, and experienced first-hand how incredibly exciting, challenging, competitive, and supportive it was, I want nothing more than for my little brother to have the same opportunities I did. And I truly, from the bottom of my heart believe he deserves nothing less… after all, he is probably the most talented person I know (which is a hard feat, coming from a family of actors, musicians and writers).

With joy and hardship, also comes hope. And we’re extending a hopeful hand to anyone who may be able to support Filip’s academic journey, in any way, shape or form- big or small. We know the current climate is economically difficult for a lot of people, myself and my family included, so any support is immensely appreciated.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this (if you got this far) and sending lots of love and music your way x

Here are some of Filip’s musical accomplishments to date:

Filip was born on 16th November 2008 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He first began playing the cello at only 7 years old, after being accepted to study at the National Musical School “Lubomir Pipkov”. While he specializes in playing the cello, Filip has also mastered playing the piano, guitar, bass and drums.

Over his musical career, he has studied under the master classes of world-renowned cello professors, including:

Stefan Popov (United Kingdom & Bulgaria)

Denis Severin (Switzerland)

Anatoliy Krastev (Bulgaria)

Michel Strauss (France)

Atanas Krastev (Bulgaria)

He’s a laureate of many competitions, among which are: MEDICI International Music Competition, Luigi Cerriteli International Music Competition, XXVII National Competition for Musicians and Vocalists “Svetoslav Obretenov” (Provadia), National Competition for Young Musicians “The Music of Europe” (Burgas), International Competition for Musicians (Pernik).

Filip was only 10 years old when he made his debut as a solo cellist with the Sofia Symphony Orchestra. He has many Orchestra performances under his belt now, at only 14 years old.

In 2021, Filip was the opening ‘lecturer; for one of the most famous international events, TEDxSofia. His lecture was presented on the cello.

Despite not currently having his own instrument (we have been kindly lent a cello, due to the high cost of the instrument), he donated his very first cello (size ½) to the “Music Over Street” foundation in Sliven.