Penka Petrosovitch about the road to the USA and Belgium and an unexpected meeting with … Julia Roberts

Penka Petrosovitch is a music teacher as professional career began at the Music School in her hometown of Burgas. She also achieved success as a choir conductor – initially with the school’s choir and orchestra, and then with the folklore ensemble “Strandzha” and the municipal choir “Rodna pesen”, where she gained experience from its creator – Prof. Stoyan Kralev.

In 1998, Penka Petrosovitch left her native Burgas and emigrated to the USA with her family. Overseas, she had to start everything from scratch. The path is long and difficult, but with perseverance and years of hard work, Petrosovitch manages to prove herself in the new place. She says that she changed several schools before finding the place where she felt good in – both professionally and emotionally. This was a music school in Santa Monica, where fate brought her together with Hollywood star Julia Roberts.

"Every Friday, this school organized music parties, attended by parents of children who studied at this school. Most of them were musicians. And in no time they formed something new to show their children how professional musicians make music and perform. They did it with a lot of love and with a lot of desire. From the heart, as we say. And something curious that I will never forget. Julia Roberts' children studied there. I had a free hour after this performance before starting my regular classes. It was beautiful around - parks, beautiful houses, cafes... And she stood in front of me. I had noticed that every Friday she invariably attended this party at eight o'clock. Whether it was a performance by her children or someone else from the class. She spoke to me known my name, and I was speechless, I felt very small, tiny. When she spoke to me, it turned out that she was such a kind person, so down to earth. She told me that she was very happy to meet us. The meeting was short, but I was so excited and for a long time afterwards I couldn't come to my senses. It was truly an experience for me. Our second meeting was in the classroom - apparently she had filming engagement coming up and was going to miss another Friday and came to see in the classroom how her children were getting ready for the upcoming Friday. She came and just thanked me."

In the USA, every Sunday for 8 years, Penka visited the local church to play the pipe organ.

"It was impressive that the people from the church accepted me as part of their family. We had a tradition after the service on Sunday to go somewhere together - for coffee or lunch. After that we had a second service in a nursing home. Adults who needed to confess. There I played the piano because there was no organ. Concerts were often organized in which I participated. This was a motivation for me to keep in shape."

11 years ago, life's paths took Penka Petrosovitch from the USA to Belgium, where everything started from scratch once again. In Brussels, Ms. Petrosovitch began teaching piano lessons to children. Gradually, her activities grew, and she decided to open a music school, which currently teaches 40 children.

"I can't say that it's easy for me either with children or in my relationships with parents. Children are of all nationalities and from all schools, which is very difficult for organizing concerts. Each school has a different schedule. I try to fit in as much as possible. I learn something new from the children every day. Lately, they come with their phones and say "Penka, we listened to this song and we want to sing it". And I learn it from them. Or they want to play the same song and I sit down and write the scores... I look forward to the time for lessons with the children. "

A few Bulgarian children also attend the music school.

"We have Bulgarian children. Some of the parents have shared that they quite consciously chose to come to me so that they could practice their Bulgarian language. Many of the children also go to the Bulgarian school, but these classes alone are not enough for them to master the language. Many of the parents do not speak Bulgarian at home. I have children who speak Bulgarian perfectly, but I also have those who speak with a very strong accent, like my granddaughter."

As a teacher, Mrs. Petrosovitch is proud of the fact that a graduate of her school is now part of the Children's Choir of the Brussels Opera.

"He performed Mozart's "Queen of the Night", which we studied together. He appeared for the entrance exam with this aria and succeeded. Now I have another child who has the same ambitions and I hope he will succeed. My children participated in a festival in Italy and in a competition in China for singers and composers. Three of my children were definitely successful with first, second and third prizes. But then I stopped my children from participating in competitions because I felt a decline on the part of the parents. They somehow withdrew. This was more than enough for them, because it requires preparation."

Penka Petrosovitch is one of those energetic women who do several things at the same time. In addition to working at the music school, she also runs the "Academy for Young Talents" foundation, with which she periodically organizes concerts in the Belgian capital. ‎

‎"The foundation is my brainchild and it is very dear to me. One of the goals of the foundation is educational. For children to acquire a broad knowledge of music because I invite both pianists and instrumentalists - violinists, flutists, singers."

For 27 years of living in emigration, Penka Petrosovitch has never broken her connection with Bulgaria. She says that her homeland remains an inspiration and connection, regardless of the distances.‎

‎"Now that I have Facebook, I very often see photos from Burgas. I am in touch with my colleagues. I found them after I returned from America. My former students, who are now my colleagues, we constantly maintain contact and talk. For the third year in a row, I have been organizing concerts in Burgas through the foundation. I am trying to harness all the strength I still have. I realize that I still have a lot to say and give to young people, and I wish I had more time, strength, and opportunities to do it. But no one is insured, no one knows when and to what extent their energy will last."

Photos: Daniela Goleminova, Reuters, Facebook /Penka Petrosovitch