ARTIST, SINGER, COMPOSER, POET, HUMANIST
Kaliopi, the biggest Macedonian pop music star and one of the biggest music stars on the Balkans. She is the best female vocale in Macedonia and one of the best vocales in the countries of ex-Yugoslavia. Macedonian and Balkan’s pop diva.
She started her career when she was just 9 with winning the first prize at the children’s music festival “Zlatno Slavejce” (Golden Nightingale). Kaliopi has her first big success and popularity in the countries of ex-Yugoslavia as a member of a band “Kaliopi”. In 1985, she participated with the band at the festival “Opatija” and she got the prize for the best interpretation for the song “Leo”, awarded by the journalists of Yugoslavia. The bend published its debut album in 1986 for RTV Ljubljana (radio and TV broadcast) named as "Kaliopi". That year the band participated in the Split Festival and it was awarded with the prize for the best debut performer for the song “Da More Zna” (If Sea Knows), which was also proclamed to be the most listened and played song on the radio stations. The second album of this band “Rogeni” (Born), issued two years later, recorded in Zagreb reached enormous sucess, especcialy with the hit-song “Bato” (Brother) that is being one of the biggest hits in the ex-Yugoslavia even today. Other hit-songs from the band “Kaliopi” are: “Kofer Ljubavi” (Love Case), “Da More Zna” (If Sea Knows), “Ostani u Meni” (Stay With Me), “Nebo Mi Sja” (The Sky Shines For Me), “Bolero Lora”,.
Many perormances, festivals, show-programs for TV Zagreb, TV Belgrad, TV Saraevo, TV Titovgrad followed after that, as well as a big concert tour throughouth all of Soviet Union. In the time of her biggest popularity, Kaliopi moved in Switzerland, what lead to band breaking up and 10 years of absence from the music stage, but still she remained present in the electronic media in Macedonia and ex-Yugoslavia with her recorded audio and video materials.
Kaliopi’s grand comeback, but this time as a solo interpreter, was announced with her participation in the Skopje Festival in 1996 when she won the Grandprix of the Festival. In 1999 she definitely came back in Macedonia presenting her new album “Oboi Me” (Color me) recorded in Bazel, Switzerland. This album initiated real euphoria in Macedonia and great feedback with Macedonian audience with record issues sold. In 2000 Kaliopi found her own production company – Kaliopi Music Production, that deals only with projects connected to Kaliopi’s work. At the beggining of 2001 the new solo album was printed out and Kaliopi was a complete author of the music and texts. From 1999 till nowadays Kaliopi has issued six albums, four of them as a complete author and each of them has been awarded as a best album in the past year in Macedonia.
Working on her own albums as well as on other interpreters albums (both domestic and foreign) Kaliopi became one of the leading composers and text writers. Beside the pop music, she enjoys working on several other art projects. During 2004 she composed music for two theatrical performances and played the leading female role in the first Macedonian musical “Cija si” (Whose Woman Are You), in 2005 she composed the music for the contemporary ballet “Jas, Isidora” (Me, Isadora), which was printed out as a CD compilation, and in 2007 she composed the music for the first macedonian feature-poetry movie "Elegija za tebe" (Elegy for you).
If one rates, according to the Kaliopi’s achievements – 8 pop albums, 1 ballet album, noumerous performances and show programs, over 100 concerts in Macedonia and around, 26 video editions for her biggest hits, 3 documentaries and 5 video records of her biggest concerts, DVD of her jubilee concert "30 years of presence on the music stage", music for movie, theatre and contemporary ballet, and many, many more. And all of this within Macedonian borders, than one can surely say that Kaliopi set high standards and imprinted an everlasting seal into the Macedonian and Balkan music and art in general and she become Macedonian and Balkan's pop-diva.
During her long-lasting and fruitful career, apart from her specific voice colour, the outstanding interpreting power as well as the completion of many hit songs, Kaliopi shows herself off with her unselfish cooperation with other music names and with her work as a humanitarian, but also with her efforts for making the musical authors rights better and at the same time their protection in Macedonia.
She was posted as a Honorary Ambassador of UNHCR, Honorary Ambassador of the Macedonian Economy throughout the World, and among her countless awards and recognitions is the statue of “Mother Tereza”.
Currently Kaliopi published the new album "Oblivion" with world famous guitar and lute player Edin Karamazov, intended for the World Music Market.
Together with world famous stars Sting, Renee Fleming and Andreas Scholl, Kaliopi is one of the specials guest at Edin Karamazov's latest album "The Lute is a song", published by DECCA discography.
