Milen Kirov

Milen Kirov - pianist, composer, arranger, teacher - represents a new generation of world musicians. Combining his Bulgarian background with rigorous European and American education and conservatory training, and a vast experience in the music worlds of two continents, Milen is a dynamic performer, composer and educator working with equal success in a variety of genres. ..
Milen Kirov was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in a family of musicians. His father Todor Kirov is a well known and respected Bulgarian musicologist, music teacher and scholar, his mother Vili Kirov is a teacher and performer of Bulgarian Folk music, and his brother Plamen Kirov is a drummer in Los Angeles, CA. Milen started playing the piano at the age of four, and a few years later he was admitted in High School of Music “D. Petkov” – Plovdiv. Milen graduated from the school as a valedictorian of his class in 1996. The same year he was admitted in the Plovdiv Academy of Music and Dance where he studied piano with Professor George Petrov, student of Olivier Messiaen, and with Professor George Kanev, graduate of the Moscow Conservatory. In 1998 Milen Kirov continued his studies on a full scholarship at University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he studied piano performance with Carol Stivers, jazz performance with Stefan Karlsson and composition with Virko Baley. In 2000 he transferred to California Institute of the Arts where also on a music scholarship he studied piano with Vicki Ray and composition with David Rosenboom. Milen graduated from CalArts in 2002 receiving the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in multi-focused keyboard and in May 2008 he graduated from Cal State Northridge with a Masters degree in Composition. In the fall of 2009 Milen begins work on his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Performer/Composer at the California Institute of the Arts. ..
Milen Kirov is an award-winner from the Bulgarian National Competition “Sv. Obretenov” – Provadia, Bulgaria; MTNA Competition – Nevada; Reno Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Liberace Scholarship Competition, and J. Huntzinger Concerto Competition. He has been awarded the Devos Fine Arts Scholarship, and the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Scholarship. He has performed in Bulgaria, Greece, France and all over the United States. Milen Kirov co-wrote and performed the music for “Below the Belt” (now entitled “Human Error”) – a Robert M. Young film, official selection of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Milen also wrote and performed the music for “Art & Art Therapy with Helen B. Landgarten” – a film by Lili Young, “A Cigar At the Beach” – an award winning film by Triskalion Entertainment, and wrote and performed music for “Racket”, a film by Michael Baez. ..
Milen Kirov has released 2 albums on his own Ruino Vino Records label – “broken” on which he performs his compositions for solo Fender Rhodes piano, and also the self-titled album by his own Balkan-jazz band “Bulgarian Moonshine Co.” CalArts 2001 CD features works for piano written and performed by Milen Kirov. He has appeared as a guest soloist with UNLV Symphony Orchestra, and has led composition seminars as a guest lecturer at University of California, Santa Cruz and world music seminars at California Institute of the Arts, and University of California, Santa Barbara. Milen has also worked with Long Beach Opera, School of Music at CalArts, Department of Music and Department of Dance at UNLV. Milen has performed and/or recorded with Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), Miroslav Tadic, Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Eric Clapton, AWB), Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa), Doug Lunn, John Bergamo, Eric Barber, Vicki Ray, Stefan Karlsson, Arthur Jarvinen, Money Mark (Beastie Boys), Bill Churchville (Tower of Power), “A.i.”, Sugarcane Records recording artists “Kaliband”, and many others. He appears on many other recordings as well. He and the band A.i. released the album Sex & Robots in 2007, which has received great reviews from press and radio. The video for the single “Hey Now!” peaked at 6 on Yahoo! Music Indie Rock Chart. It has been played on radio and TV stations all over the US, Great Britain, Germany, and Bulgaria. .. Currently, Milen Kirov is working on several music projects, as well as continuing to compose, perform, and teach extensively. ..
You can find out more about Milen at these sites - www.milenkirov.com , myspace.com/milenkirov , and Bulgarian Moonshine Co. . "Sex & Robots", the new album by "A.i." is available for download here: .. ..