Vasile Iovu

Pan, the God of shepherds, fell in love with a beatiful mortal girl named Syrinx. The girl, unwilling to share the feelings of Pan, threw herself into a river. In the very place of her death a reed has grown. Pan made a pipe out of this reed and wandered about all Hellas with it, singing his unhappy and unfulfilled love. So says the myth.
The God pas left in the tubes of the Pan-pipe his beautiful song. Touching this precious reminder with the kiss of the soul, an artist is every time reviving the force and emotion of an everlasting and for ever unfulfilled passion.
Vasile lovu was born with that holy song in his tool and he never lost it. Among the professionals of oral Romanian folk tradition Vasile Iovu is a name of higher class, continuing the long line of our Masters of art, from Barbu Lautaru, Grigoras Dinicu, Fanica Luca to the too early gone Valeriu Hanganu. Maestro Vasile lovu, as well as his colleagues Gheorghe Zamfir, Sofia Vicoveanca, Nicolac Botgros, Lucretia Ciobanu, is a prominent representative of Romanian musical thinking, feeling and ethos.
Vasile lovu is the descendant of a long line of farmers who settled long ago in Lapusna district and made deep roots there making space in the deep forest for their village they named Bardaru (after «barda» -axe, using which they snatched from the forest their place to live, work and stay). He was born here in 1950, in the family of Maria and Gavril lovu. Three of their six children -Veronica, Vasile and Gheorghe - were to become musicians. From the 6th form Vasile is studying flute at the Special music school (now "Ciprian Porumbescu" Lyceum) and later on, in 1667-1971, at the "Gavriil Musicescu" Conservatoire (Music Academy) from Chisinau, class of flute and orchestra direction. He began to sing at Panpipe as an amateur, urged by Dumitru Blajinu, director of «Folclor» Orchestra of the National Radio and TV Company. But the encounter with Gheorghe Zamfir at Vilnius, in 1971. has ben decisive. Zamfir taught him the correct position of the Pan-pipe, in the right band, and blessed him to go on up to the heights of Romanian folk music. The blessing of the First Master of Pan-pipe proved to be a magic -Vasile lovu is the first professional Pan-pipe player on the Prut left bank, first teacher in the class of Pan-pipe at the Music Academy at Chisinau, as well as the author of the first .Method of Pan-pipe" for secondary and high schools.

The area of his interests is very extended -folk music, symphony music, chamber music, even pop-music. Lyrical songs and folk dances, doinas and virtuosity pieces make his repertorie as a folk player, repertoire selected with great care and much taste. His preferencies are obviously lyric, he selects pieces of rare beauty ("Song of love", "Urge on your oxes, Gheorghe" and so on) which are played with an overwhelming sweetness, but he is never abusing that tempting and dainty scheme. Bearer of a basically lyrical sensibility, his love songs are a pure musical anthology of sung
love caresses.

Vasile lovu is a real virtuoso of the Pan-pipe. Always thoroughly worked and polished to the last detail, his pieces are never overcrowded by superfluous variations ("Hora (dance) in taps", "The Belt"). His Pan-pipe is remarkably present in the tone-poem "This beautiful land" by T. Chiriac. He performed with a number of symphonic orchestras: Philharmonic Orchestra of Chisiniu (director Timofei Gurtovoi), Orchestra of the National Radio and TV (director Gheorghe Mustea), Philharmonic Orchestra of Tashkent (director Vladimir Fedosecv) and State Symphonic Orchestra of Moscow (director Giansug Kahidze).
Possessing the technique of the academic flute, he encountered no difficulty to apply it in playing other instruments, especially folk ones - fluier, caval, ocarina -ancestors of the flute. The player senses with great precision the character of each instrument, using their finest and subtlest possibilities.

A professional connoisseur of the oral musical tradition, Vasile lovu plays not only real ground-rooted folk music, but his own folkstyle music too. In his own compositions (doinas "Thc tears of Prut river", "ln the memory of Mother") he tends to an art which could personalize him. Musical discourse is organized by the theme development principle, employing melodic fragments, motivated fractions, other methods of composition. His doinas are significant from this point of view by their extremely melodic plasticity, an elaborate tuning and a well-balanced construction. The accompanying formula is most often a chamber orchestra a string quartet, an orgue. In his harmonic syntai he tends to pass over the traditional tonal homophony, using chords of different structures ("ln the memory of Mother", Coda). And this is not a point in itself, but a choice justified by the message of the composition.

Vasile lovu has won the consideration of melomans all over the world. He made tours on all the continents, with various orchestras and groups, and have been applauded in the USA, England, Japan, Australia, Thilippinet, Germany, India, Austria, France and many other countries. Vasile lovu is a vigurous tree grown on the left bank of the Prut, but his roots are spreading all over the Romanian land. The fruits of this tree are the soul and spirit of all Romanians reflected in music.

Tudor CHIRIAC

Jordan (Dan) HERFORDwas born in Bucharest, ROMANIA, the country of the modern Panflute where many generations of artists like Fanica LUCA (legendary Rumanian performer), Damian LUCA, Simion STANCIU, Radu SIMION, Damian CARLANARU and Gheorghe ZAMFIR have refined and ennobled this ancient instrument by their virtuosity. Even from his earliest childhood Dan HERFORD was in contact with music and theatre. His father, Mircea HERFORD, was a multi talented Dramatic Actor, Theater Director and Poet & Lyrics writer. In his youth, Dan HERFORD began to study the piano, mandoline and guitar. He finished his musical study at the Bucharest Music High School " George ENESCU" at the Cello class from the very famous Rumanian cellist, Iuliu BONIS. From his passion for guitar Dan HERFORD began his career as a professional guitarist and famous Band Leader in Romania. He worked also as a recording session guitarist for the Romanian T.V. Broadcasting and the Electrecord Recording Company and guitarist at the Musical Theatre "Ion VASILESCU " and Musical Theatre "Constantin TANASE". In 1972 Damian CARLANARU, one of the famous students from Fanica LUCA, gave DAN his first Panflute lessons and from this time his love for the Panflute was born. In 1978 Dan HERFORD left Romania because of the terrible regime of dictator Ceausescu. From 1978 untill 1980 D.HERFORD worked as a guitarist and panflutist with Top 40 bands in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Since 1980 the Netherlands has been his new home country. In The Netherlands D. HERFORD worked as a music teacher, professional guitarist, and since 1999 when he finished in Amsterdam the study of S.A.E. International Technology College for Recording Engineer, he works also as a Music Producer. Since coming to the Netherlands D.Herford has become recognized as a Panflute virtuoso and a musician of outstanding ability and talent. Since 1985 D.HERFORD teaches Panflute and is a music coach for assorted music ensembles at the Hoofdorp Music School. He has been dealing with a wide range of music, but his special skill and bright interpretation has become evident in the area of pop and Rumanian folk music. D.Herford is best known in Europe, where he tours and serves as a consultant at schools that teach this seemingly simple but difficult ancient wind instrument.. He teached master classes in Switzerland, Germany and The Netherlands. Dan HERFORD has dedicated his life to music.

Michael DINNER is born in ZURICH (1974). As he 10 old was and he for the first time blow in an Panpipe ,he would never belieave that this Instrument determines his Life once ! It was Gheorghe ZAMFIR's recordings that determines the great love for the Panflute. Because the urban music-school has not offered Panflute courses he registered at the Migros Club-School for the Panflute beginner-course. After one year lerned to knoe Mr.Peter SCHINZ that taught Panflute in ZURICH. After 2 years of private-lessons he began to play Panflute in Panflue-Ensembles and to give little Concerts.

Start of the year 1990 ,Mr Dan HERFORD brought Mr.Cornel PANA ( The Rumanian Master of Panflute) to SWITZERLAND to give Masterclass for the Panflute. At this Panflute courses of Mr.Cornel PANA, learned M.DINNER the way to play the NAI ,the rumanian Panflute.Because Mr. Cornel PANA was not often in ZWITZERLAND began Michael DINNER to learn the Rumanian Folclor from the G.ZAMFIR recordings.
In the year of 1993 Dinner met the Panflutemaker Thierry TUTELLIER; so Dinner could learn a lote of the secrets of the Panflute-making. (For the People who don't know who Thierry TUTELLIER was : He was the best Panflute-maker of SWITZERLAND) As Thierry TUTELLIER died in 1997 , Dinner takeover the Productions of his Panflute-business. Since than Dinner is an fine Panflute-maker who make good Panflutes ,hand maded by himself. Actually Michael Dinner is an Professional Panflute-player and the Managing-Director of the DINNER-Panflute-school and DINNER-Panflute-Publishing.

As Michael DINNER learned to know Mr.Dan HERFORD ,he want not to belieaved hardly that Dan HERFORD will be his guest two years later at The
DINNER-Panflute-weekend in ZURICH. Mr. Dan HERFORD brought Dinner the Rumanian Folklore very near.So was also the support from Mr.Dan HERFORD for the Recording of Michael Dinner CD, with the beautiful Romanian music.
In the year of 2002 the DINNER-Panflute Publishing proudly annonce the publishing of the Panflute Songs & Music Notes of the King & Master of the Panflute Damian LUCA