It was such a pleasure to catch up with Petia Bagovska in Prague for BASS2016!  I've known her for years.  We used to play in some orchestras together when we were both living in Chicago.   When we both realized that we would be in Prague together for the European Bass Congress, we agreed to find a few minutes to catch up and record an interview. Let's set the scene... We're sitting in the courtyard of the HAMU in Prague on a beautiful October afternoon. It's the most perfect weather imaginable. Everyone is outside having a coffee or a beer and a snack, chatting, laughing, trying out basses, and enjoying the experience of being united together as bassists in one of the world’s great cities! Not a bad way to spend an afternoon! We talk about: life as a professional bassist in Bulgaria Petia's experiences studying in Sofia orchestra life in Bulgaria Petia's book Double bass: Traditions and future Links to check out: D’Addario strings giveaway! Petia’s Facebook page Petia performing Czardas (YouTube)   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to your inbox!  Learn how you can support the show at contrabassconversations.com/support  Listener feedback and news links: book launch landed Winning the Audition at #1 on Amazon! new ways to support the show - contrabassconversations.com/support find the podcast on all social media networks: itunes, facebook, twitter, snapchat, instagram, pinterest, linkedin, youtube feedback from Matt Gold about My Car Caught Fire and Exploded feedback from Jerry Ramos about Gary Karr and Rabbath interviews Thanks to our sponsor! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!