Manca Izmajlova

Early years and music beginnings

Manca Izmajlova was born as Manca Urbanc in Slovenia and spent her childhood and teenage years in Lesce, a village near the known alpine lake resort Bled. People sometimes think that she is Russian but the surname Izmajlova comes from her husband Benjamin Izmajlov of Russian aristocratic ancestors, who fled Russian Empire in 1917. Manca's mother is an economist who owns a small organic food shop, Manca's father is an architect. She has two brothers.

Manca started going to music school at the age of 6 and played the flute for six years. At the age of fourteen she started to have first singing lessons. At sixteen she started to perform with a pianist in cafes and Bled hotels. She also had an affection for learning languages - by the age of eighteen she was fluent in English, German, Italian and Dutch. After finishing the Gymnasium in Kranj she passed the exams to enter the University of Law in Ljubljana, a decision she has made after not being accepted into any of the music programmes in Slovenia. After a year she had quit law and started to study in London at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Start of the professional career

After graduating from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Manca appeared in a Slovenian commercial for Mobitel (Slovenia) with a song called Vesna's song (Vesnina pesem) in 2001 and became known in her country. She then co-created and started to host a popular Saturday evening national TV Show Care for a Dance? (Povabilo na ples) which featured Slovene National Radio Big Band Orchestra. Manca sang with it in every show. She also appeared in a few theatre shows, directed two musicals and had a growing career as a singer in Slovenia. In 2002 her first CD, "My World", with a group NORDunk was released. The CD featured new songs in jazz-chanson style, written by group members.

Manca has been studying opera singing with various singing teachers in England, Austria and Slovenia in the course of many years. After meeting her future husband Benjamin Izmajlov, who was at the time studying violin in Moscow, she decided to pause her career in Slovenia. She moved to Moscow, where she studied opera singing at Academic College by the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Академический музыкальный колледж при Московской консерватории) with professor Valentina Sharonova. At the end of their stay in Moscow Manca and Benjamin recorded the CD Slavic Soul (Slovanska duša - 2007) and a year later Slovene Heart (Slovensko srce - 2008) with Russian State Symphony Cinema Orchestra which became huge success in Slovenia (platinum sale) and also in other countries. "Slavic Soul" was released under the title "Far Away" in South Korea for Asian market. "Slovene Heart" became an official Slovene government present during the coutry's presidency to the EU in 2008.

Career

In her career Manca Izmajlova has performed all around the world in more than 1000 musical appearances and concerts. Manca's specialty is also that she can sing in about twenty-five languages. She says that she is able to learn and perform a song in any language, which she has proven many times, for example - by singing Icelandic and Finnish national anthems. She also sang in Arabic, Yiddish, Japanese, Swahili... All of the songs of her music project Slavic Soul are in their original (nine) languages.

Today she mostly performs with symphonic orchestras, sometimes featuring a choir, and with pianists Gokhan Aybulus (Turkey) and Daria Tschaikowskaja (Germany). She often performs with her husband Benjamin Izmajlov who is a concert violinist, conductor and her music producer. She also cooperates with "Madrigal Soloists of the Moscow Philharmonic Society".

One of the first climaxes of her creative career was the opening concert for the fourth Slavic Culture Festival in Moscow (2008), where she and her husband performed as the leading soloists together with the Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra of Pavel Kogan. The concert was a success and they were awarded with a special medal for inter-cultural relations from the Russian Orthodox Church. In the same year Manca received first award at a singing competition in Moscow (dedicated to 100th anniversary of birth of composer V. Solovev-Sedoy, the author of the famous song Moscow Nights). The competition featured about 2000 singers.

In March 2010 she had her first very own big concert titled "The Slavic Soul" at the Cankar Centre, the central cultural centre in Ljubljana, alongside the Russian State Symphony Cinema Orchestra conducted by Sergey Skripka. The concert was sold-out twice and ended with standing ovations. It was broadcast by the Slovene National TV on New Year's Day 2011.

Similar concert with the same orchestra and conductor was repeated in March 2011 at ex-Yugoslavia's largest concert hall - Sava Centre in Belgrade. Manca Izmajlova upgraded her performance with a 70-members Choir Lola (Hor AKUD Lola - the legendary Serbian choir). At the end of this concert there was 160 people on stage and standing ovations from nearly 4000 people in the audience. The concert was recorded HD and has been broadcast on Serbian National TV prime time several times.

In spring 2012 "The Slavic Soul" was received with standing ovations at the Moscow Philharmonic - Tchaikovsky Hall. Manca and Benjamin Izmajlov were accompanied by Russian State Symphony Cinema Orchestra and choir Capella Yurlova.

"The Slavic Soul" tour continues, last concert was at Cairo Opera House, with Cairo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Izmajlov in december 2016.

The Slavic Soul

Manca Izmajlova spent several years studying opera with famous Russian teachers and discovered the immense richness in music of Slavic nations. Years of forming ideas have resulted in "Slavic Soul", followed by "Slovene heart" and most recently "Songs of My Home". These unique music projects of the "crossover" genre unite Slavic music and bring it to a new level. Manca and Benjamin Izmajlov recorded them with Russian State Symphony Cinema Orchestra and the legendary conductor Sergey Skripka. All albums have achieved major success in Slovenia and sold in platinum album sales.

The Slavic Soul includes the most beautiful music themes from 9 countries. Songs are traditional, classical and popular, all in new arrangements.

Private life

Manca Izmajlova is married to a classical violinist, composer, conductor and producer Benjamin Izmajlov (since 2002). They have two daughters - Izabela (2007) and Karolina (2013). Manca often states that family is the most important thing in life for her.