Julia Hristova, founder of the New Symphony Orchestra, has passed away. The sad news was announced by her colleagues.

Hristova graduated from the Music Academy in Sofia with a degree in "Musicology and Music Criticism." For 15 years, prior to the democratic changes, she worked as a music critic.

In 1990, Julia Hristova established a concert house, and a year later – in 1991 – she founded the first private symphony orchestra in Bulgaria. The New Symphony Orchestra emerged as an alternative to the established musical institutions in the country, which at that time were funded and controlled by the state.

Julia Hristova built her own system for working with young musicians, as well as a model for the organization and financing of the orchestra. "We worked to create, not to survive," she said.

The New Symphony Orchestra is both a school and an institution that gathers young and talented Bulgarian musicians under its roof. Some of them have no experience on the concert stage, but possess a desire to work, to develop, and to refine their professional skills.

To date, more than 800 musicians have played in the orchestra, with an average age of between 25 and 27. Graduates of the "New Symphony Orchestra" school work today in the largest Bulgarian orchestras and opera houses, as well as in ensembles in the USA, Latin America, South Africa, and Western and Central Europe.

"The ultimate goal of our work is not the concert, but the love for the process of 'making music'," Julia Hristova used to say.