Denys Proteau
plays cumbus, kaval, and ud for Turku. We found Denys at the Pittsburgh International Folk Festival in 1994 where he was playing kaval in a Bulgarian Ensemble. During his junior year in high school, Denys became involved in international folk dancing and music. He programed his father's synthesizer to imitate exotic instruments with quarter tone pitches, string instruments with "buzzes", and drone instruments. He began learning kaval in 1988, then joined a Bulgarian ensemble in 1993. Later, he played with the Pittsburgh International Folk Theater. He began playing ud and cumbus (a Turkish banjo-like instrument) in 1996. In 2001, he moved south and joined Turku. He was born in Canada. Denys also enjoys swing dance.

photo by Diana H.


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