Evan Stuart

Brass Band

A second-generation Balkan enthusiast, Evan was introduced to Balkan folk music as a teenager while attending EEFC’s Mendocino Balkan Music & Dance Workshop. He became infatuated immediately by the robust and inspiring sound of the brass band ensemble. A multi-instrumentalist, Evan took his knowledge of the bass guitar and endeavored to teach himself the tuba/sousaphone with the sole purpose of performing Balkan brass music. He soon joined the popular SF Bay Area group Brass Menažeri, while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music at San Francisco State University. While with Brass Menažeri, Evan made several tours up and down the West Coast of the United States as well as to Vancouver, BC. He is a regular performer in the SF Bay Area folk dance community, and has been featured with various groups at the SF Kolo Festival, Ashkenaz Balkan New Year’s Eve, annual Herdeljezi celebration, Kafana Balkan, Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal, St. Kiril and Metodi Festival, as well as Zlatne Uste’s Golden Festival, and Balkanalia!. For many years was the house bassist at Stockton Folk Dance Camp. Evan has performed at folk festivals in China, Brazil, Canada, and most recently Germany.

Evan has studied under the tutelage of accomplished Romani musicians and ensembles, such as Demiran Ćerimović, Kočani Orkestar, Nizo Alimov, Džambo Agušev Orkestar, Rumen Sali Shopov, as well as with other masterful Balkan musicians such as Ivan Milev and Florina Brass Band. Currently, Evan plays in the brass ensemble Fanfare Zambaleta, and the Turkish/Macedonian-and-beyond ensemble Ezgija. He is thrilled to bring his experience full circle to help instruct the Brass Band Ensemble at Mendocino, the very one that first sparked his love of Balkan folk music!

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