Bibs Ekkel (born 11 January 1946 in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

) is one of few exponents of the

balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

outside Russia. Ekkel is of a mixed Polish-English background. His career as a professional balalaika player has included concerts,

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

, recordings, films, and radio and television appearances in Europe and North America. In Russia he has performed on radio and TV as well as at Moscow's "Hall of Columns" and "Tchaikovsky Hall". He has lectured on

Russian folk music Russian folk music specifically deals with the folk music traditions of the ethnic Russian people. Ethnic styles in the modern era The performance and promulgation of ethnic music in Russia has a long tradition. Initially it was intertwined with ...

at American universities, co-authored a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

educational series on the subject, and worked as Russian music adviser for several BBC TV productions. He has also had Russian or Polish speaking roles in a variety of movies. In addition to his activities as a soloist, Ekkel runs a Russian music and dance ensemble, "Tziganka", which has toured internationally since 1975, an instrumental quartet "Balalaika Potpourri" (started by him in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1989, soon after his move there from London) and the duo "Russian Tornado", specifically aimed at school concerts. Some of his many recordings have been issued by "Russkiy Disk" Moscow, CBS Israel, and

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in London. When Ekkel was performing in the Borshtch & Tears in London, the members of the Tchaika Cossacks often performed with him on their UK tours. In 1983, Ekkel had a small role in

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and tw ...

's television film ''

An Englishman Abroad ''An Englishman Abroad'' is a 1983 BBC television drama film based on the true story of a chance meeting of actress Coral Browne with Guy Burgess, a member of the Cambridge spy ring who spied for the Soviet Union while an officer at MI6. The pro ...

''. In 2006, he was one of the soloists accompanying the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

on the

Last Night of the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert H ...

References

External links

Bibs Ekkel's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekkel, Bibs Balalaika players 1946 births Living people English people of Polish descent Musicians from Brighton