Sanja Shuplevska Boiral is a celebrated violinist, who throughout her musical career performed with dedicated musical artists from many places of the world who differ not only in their cultural and educational backgrounds but also in their musical interpretational philosophy. Likewise, her professional career exhibits an apparent choice to explore classical music on all levels by taking positions in most of its formal settings (solo, chamber, symphonic, opera, film, ballet, educational, experimental and other classical-violinist employments of today).
Born in Skopje, Macedonia, Ms. Shuplevska is part of a three-generation musical family, whose members take active roles at the founding stages of significant institutions, such as the first Macedonian National orchestras, the Macedonian Radio and Television and Ohrid Summer Festival. Her first professional venture was with the Macedonian Philharmonic as its youngest member. Later she has held notable positions such as: Assistant Concertmaster in the Macedonian National Opera and Ballet; Concertmaster and Manager at the founding stages of FAME’S Orchestra based in Skopje (a film music orchestra that records for Los Angeles, Mexico City, Paris and other big production companies); violinist at Leopold Mozart chamber orchestra in Salzburg, Austria dedicated to Mozart’s music; decades-long member of the first-violin sections of several internationally acclaimed orchestras in Canada such as the Calgary Philharmonic and Okanagan Symphony Orchestras; violin professor at the prestigious Canadian Conservatory for talented students by the Mount Royal University; professor for violin and chamber music at Ambrose University in Calgary; and creator of private violin school in her beloved town Canmore at Banff National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
During her studies at the Faculty of Music in Skopje, she was the winner of numerous competitions in the Former Yugoslavia, and frequently performed throughout Eastern Europe. In 1994, she started her specialization at the Faculty of Music for Performing Arts at Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria where she studied with prominent violinists, including the legendary Ruggiero Ricci and performed with various Austrian ensembles throughout Western Europe. In the year 2000 she completed her Master of Music in violin performance at the University of Calgary, Canada.
Taking roles as concertmaster and artistic director, Ms. Shuplevska was also among the founders of several chamber music ensembles and festivals such as Sinfonia Alberta, Tres Belles Piano Trio, Skopje Ladies Orchestra, Krushevo Summer Festival, IN MEDIAS RES ensemble, Children’s World Association, Canadian Music Centre in Skopje, and Art Centre POLIFONIA. As a soloist and as part of her ensembles in collaboration with manager and adviser – bassoonist Orce Ickovski, Ms. Shuplevska seeks to program original compositions that are both unique and innovative, and takes an active role in the realization of creative projects (experimental, baroque, educational) supported by the Ministry of Culture of North Macedonia. Her concerts and projects exemplify musical versatility and passion, while effective in intensifying and broadening the connection to various styles and genres through genuine and in the same time very personal musical interpretation. She believes that knowledge of styles and authentic articulation of the performance, permit audience relate – even for a moment – to composers that lived long time ago and the places, times and circumstances the musical pieces appeared from.
Due to this versatile professional approach she acquired refined knowledge in creating successful multimedia and multicultural projects that produce programs in accordance to modern marketing strategies and attract several types of audiences. In addition, Ms. Shuplevska speaks and apprehends several world languages including English, German and French as well as several Balkan ones. She has been a frequent guest to Canadian and Macedonian competition juries and television programs, for both classical music and programs pertaining to cultural life and education. She is also an author of children musical plays and performance programs designed to deepen the link between students and classical music ultimately resulting, among else, into their familiarization with Western history and cultural heritage.
This album Airs, Dances, and the Lost Tango, is dedicated to Sanja Shuplevska’s children Veda and Adrien Boiral and inspired by Sanja’s parents, Gavrilo and Svetlana Shuplevski, their legacy, their love of life and humanity, their affection with classical music, their love for each other, often demonstrated by listening to songs and dances at home in the evenings, after concerts.