School of Music Visiting Artist Series
Described as a pianist with “superhuman coordination,” Dr. Milen Kirov is an award-winning Bulgarian-American performer, composer, and educator with an inimitable artistic voice and celebrated creative output. His career redefines the role of the performer-composer in 21st century by transcending genres, labels, and artistic boundaries. Combining his Bulgarian music heritage and concert pianist background with contemporary composition, jazz, world music, and improvisation, Dr. Kirov has carved a thriving career as a well-known and respected artist. As an artist and producer, Dr. Kirov has released 4 albums and several singles on his own Ruino Vino Records label. The records include “broken” featuring his compositions for solo Fender Rhodes piano, a self titled album by his own Balkan-jazz trio Bulgarian Moonshine Co., and “Peasant Funk” (2011) and “Orkestar MÉZÉ” (2015) – two records by his 11-piece Balkan funk ensemble Orkestar MÉZÉ. Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in a family of musicians, Milen Kirov started playing the piano at age four. He holds degrees from California State University, Northridge and California Institute of the Arts. Currently Dr. Kirov resides in Los Angeles, California where he is an Assistant Professor of Piano, Composition, and Theory at Los Angeles City College.