Folk Arts - Master Artist - Lache Cercel

Lache Cercel is a  master violinist of Romanian descent. He plays traditional and, jazz-infused music influenced by the three areas of Moldavia, Transylvania, and Romania. Cercel was born into a family of recognized Romanian musicians and was introduced to this tradition through his grandfather and father.  Before he moved to Canada in 1987, Cercel trained at the Academy of Arts in Bucharest. He also became a soloist with Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra and was awarded the “Artist of the People” Citation by the Romanian Government. Once Cercel moved to Canada, he continued to study music at the Vancouver Community College and diversified his music by collaborating with a variety of different musicians.  The result was a unique fusion that he calls Roma Jazz or Roma Swing.

Cercel  has since performed in a number of festivals in both Canada and the United States. Some of these events were the Buffalo Gap International Music Camp in Washington D.C., the Mendocino Balkan Camp In Mendocino, California, and the Victoria Jazz Festival.  Cercel’s music also makes appearances in the National Film Board documentary of “Opre Roma” and the international independent film, “Noroc”. In 2003, he won a Hugo Gold Plaque in “Special Achievement: Music  Score” from the Chicago International Television Awards for his piece “A Cry for Roma”.

As a recipient of a 2009 Apprenticeship grant. Cercel will teach his apprentice, Constantine Parvulescu, ornaments, patterns, basslines,  chord progressions, modes and melodies of traditional Romanian music as influenced by Moldavia, Transylvania, and Romania. Cercel believes it is his duty to train Parvulescu and believes that by doing so, he is preserving traditional customs and a memory of belonging, as well as inspiring new generations to take an interest in the beauty and possibilities brought forth by music.

Constantine Parvulescu has already participated greatly in the musical arena. He played second lead violin to the Tisza Ensemble and has made four different rips to Romania since 1990 to learn more from a variety of great musicians. Parvulescu believes that studying this music can tie the parts of his family, the Jewish and Romanian, back together. After the apprenticeship, Parvulescu plans on continuing to work with this traditional art by sharing it with the people of Seattle, and other areas, through his band, Ensemble sub Masa, as performance opportunities arise.

Cercel and Parvulescu plan on creating a summer concert in the Seattle area that would include performances from both of their bands: The Roma Swing Ensemble and Ensemble sub Masa.