New CD!

Born to Drone is proud to present "A Star is Shining". To purchase CDs please click on CD/sound clips.

Auditions

Born to Drone is looking for singers - preferably with Balkan singing experience. We meet Thursday evenings in Menlo Park, California. We perform locally several times a year.

Who We Are

Born to Drone is a women's vocal ensemble specializing in folk music from the Balkan region and beyond. Our main focus is Bulgaria, but we also sing music from former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Slovenia), Albania, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Georgia, Israel, Latvia, Roumania, Russia, and even Norway! map

Imagine being transported to another world by song - ranging from traditional village folk music, which is often intense and dissonant, to complex, breath-taking beautiful choral pieces arranged by modern composers.

Our repertoire comes from ethnographic field recordings, professional recordings made by Eastern European folk artists and ensembles, as well as material presented at workshops and Balkan music camps in the United States. Most of our music is sung a capella, while some pieces are accompanied by musicians playing traditional instruments.

The drone in our name refers to a traditional Eastern European method of diaphonic singing, in which a lead singer sings the melody while the others sustain a single tone, or drone note, creating an effect much like that of a bagpipe. We all share a fascination with the penetrating harmonies, asymmetric rhythms and challenging vocal techniques of this region, and we love to share our joy in this music with others.

For more information please: Contact Us