Voices of Roma: Herdeljezi Balkan Romani Music Workshops 2026

Voice of Roma presents a series of participatory workshops to learn Romani music with celebrated musicians from Balkan communities

Herdeljezi Balkan Romani Music Workshops 

Daytime Schedule:

1:00 - 2:15 PM: Chris Bajmakovic (accordion and vocals) offers a workshop on Balkan Romani melody and harmony for any instruments. 

1:00 - 2:15 PM: Rumen Sali Shopov (drums, strings and vocals) offers a workshop on Balkan percussion styles. 1:00 - 2:15 PM

2:30 - 3:45 PM: Hristina Ilioska (vocals) offers a workshop in both Macedonian and Romani singing styles with attention to pronunciation, phrasing, ornamentation, and repertoire.

4:00 - 5:15 PM: Clarinet superstar Ismail Lumanovski offers a Balkan/Romani/Turkish music workshop for intermediate/advanced melody players; he will focus on repertoire, ornamentation, styling, phrasing, and improvisation.

Evening Schedule:

5:30 - 7:00 PM: Free panel discussion on Romani music and human rights with artists
and scholars

7:00 - 8:00 PM: Free Romani Dance Workshop

8:00 PM: Ticketed Concert and Dance Party:
8:00- 9:00 PM: Balkan Ensemble Meraklii

9:30 - 12:00 PM: Herdeljezi Festival Band 

Bios:

Ismail Lumanovski (clarinet) is an international star, known for his mastery of both Western Classical and Balkan/Romani/Turkish music plus his dazzling improvisational skills. He regularly tours nationally with the Gypsy All-Stars and The Secret Trio and has recorded several albums with them.  Born in Bitola North Macedonia in a Turkish-speaking Romani musical family, he began studying clarinet at the age of eight, attended Interlochen Art Academy and received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Julliard School of Music. He plays regularly for Macedonian, Turkish, and Romani celebrations in the NYC region, where he lives. His successful classical career includes performing with top international symphony orchestras and winning numerous clarinet competitions around the world. Ismail has also performed and taught for the EEFC Balkan Music Camps, VOR International Roma Day 2009, and Inspector Gadje. Chris Bajmakovic (accordion, keyboard, and vocals) was born in 1973 in Gary, Indiana, and grew up surrounded by Balkan music. His mother, of Romani heritage, is from Bitola and his father is from Ohrid, North Macedonia, both from families of professional musicians. He was classically trained from the age of 5, but taught himself folk music, and played his first wedding at the age of 14. He regularly plays for Macedonian and Serbian events in Gary, Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, West Palm Beach, Tampa, etc. Chris has performed and taught for the EEFC Balkan Music Camps and for 2009 VOR International Roma Day.

Rumen “Sali” Shopov (drums, tambura, vocals), director of the Berkeley based Balkan Ensemble Merkalii, was raised in the Turkish-speaking Romani neighborhood of Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria. He was immersed in many genres of Balkan music during his childhood, played professionally from the age of twelve, and also served as concertmaster of the folk ensemble Nevrokop. Since emigrating to the US in 2001, he has performed and taught in numerous Bay Area venues as well as in many international music camps and VOR events and has mentored many local musicians.  His work has been supported by the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission and ACTA. In 2006 VOR released Shopov’s album Soul of the Mahala.

Hristina Ilioska (vocals) was born in 1996 in Prilep and raised in Bitola, North Macedonia, in a family with several professional folk musicians. She studied flute for many years in school and started singing Balkan pop-folk after she moved to Chicago in 2019. She has performed at Romani weddings in St. Petersburg, St. Louis, Des Moines, Fargo, and Atlanta, and at Macedonian events in Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, and Iowa, and in Australia.  In 2025 she toured across the US with renowned Bosnian singers and performed with Chris Bajmakovic at Balkan Night Northwest. Voice of Roma is a California based NGO that promotes the rich cultural heritage of Roma dating back a thousand years, through festivals, workshops, performances and educational presentations. VOR works to heighten awareness of human rights issues faced by Roma in today's world, and to support efforts by Roma to build and maintain their communities, and to improve their lives. In its 27-year history, VOR has supported
many educational programs about Roma as well as several national tours of esteemed artists, such as the final American tour of superstar vocalist Esma Redžepova.