Dora Draganova is a daughter of the composer Iliya Draganov. Graduate and teacher of music at the American College in the town of Samokov, artistic secretary of the N.C.V.S. orchestra with conductor Sasha Popov, a long-time artist-orchestrator at the Sofia National Opera, holder of the “Cyril and Methodius” order and Danya Ribarova – music pedagogue, piano teacher at the State Music Academy (NMA “prof. Pancho Vladigerov”) and the State Choreography School.

Dora Draganova studied composition under Veselin Stoyanov and Parashkev Hadjiev at the Bulgarian State Conservatory, graduating in 1972 with honors and a diploma thesis – the one-act comic opera “Tsar Koshnichar” based on the libretto by Nikolay Haitov and Ivan Genov.

After graduation, Dora Draganova worked in the Directorate for Copyright Protection, teacher of harmony at the State Music School “Lyubomir Pipkov” and piano at the State Choreography School, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Rodna pesen” at the Ministry of Culture, founder and music director at the Children’s Musical Theater “Pippi” at the “Dr. Petar Beron” community center, piano teacher at the “G. S. Rakovski 1925” community center.

She is the author of the children’s musicals “Pippi Longstocking” – awarded the Grand Prize at the “Autumn Breeze” festival in 1999 in the city of Dobrich, “Ian Bibiyan” – with productions on the stage of the Burgas Opera, Music and Drama Theater, Lovech, Smolensk Drama Theater, Lom Children’s Musical Theater, Targovishtka Drama Theater, etc., of the TV musical “Solar Circles”, “String Quartet”, “Sonata” and “Sonatina” for piano, “Book of Dust” for violin, viola, piano and a reader based on Ivan Metodiev’s “Nava” texts, cycles for voice and piano “Drops from stars” based on poems by the Japanese poetess Sumako Fukao, “Reverse River” based on poems by Spaska Gatseva and Vanya Petkova, “Autumn Woman” based on poems by Stanka Pencheva, “Dream” for low male voice and piano , awarded First Prize at the First Competition for Composition “Boris Hristov”, Suite for violin and piano “Memories of the 20th Century”, repeatedly performed at home and abroad by the duo Yosif and Zornitsa Radionovi, in the USA and China by the piano duo Evan Hirsch and Sally Pinkas (in an arrangement for 2 pianos), in the USA and Canada by the violist Ralitsa Cholakova, Triptych “Prelude, Aria and Rondo” for cello and piano, performed in the USA by the duo Nina Gordon and R. Kenneth, Elizabeth Mollison, Suite “Souvenir of Morocco” – awarded a prize for composition in the Fifth International Competition for Composition in the city of Le Groño, Spain, for a collection of pieces for piano “Children’s Corner” with a prize from the Ministry of Music, SBC and DLYU, for violin and piano “Children’s World”, etc.

Dora Draganova has published and recorded more than 300 choral, children’s and pop songs, folklore arrangements and instrumental pieces, 3 CDs with children’s songs: “Chelo kote knizhki”, “Hitroto mishlentse” and “Ranobudno petlentse”.

Her choral songs have become part of the repertoire of children’s ensembles with conductors such as Zahari Mednikarov, Petya Pavlovich, Liliana Bocheva, Hristo Nedyalkov, Veneta Vicheva, etc., and children’s songs such as “Chelo kote knizhki”, “Sharko and Marko”, “The Two themes”, “Umbrellas” and many others, beloved and familiar to the children’s audience, are included in the music textbooks.

Dora Draganova is the winner of 29 national and international awards for composition and a Plaque of the Center for Culture and the Committee for Culture for contribution to the development of amateur artistic creativity, as well as of the People’s Community Center “Dr. Petar Beron” (on the occasion of his 80th anniversary) for outstanding contribution to his artistic and creative growth and affirmation.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Bulgarian Composers.

Stage music:

“Tsar Koshnichar” (1972) – a one-act comic opera based on the libretto by Nikolay Haitov and Ivan Genov;
“Forest incident” (1978) – a musical fairy tale based on the libretto of Atanas Tsankov;
“Ian Bibiyan” (1990) – SMT Lom, SMT Troyan, Smolyan Drama Theater – rock musical based on the novel by Elin Pelin, libretto by Dora Draganova and Dimitar Dimitrov;
“Solar Circles” (1992) – TV musical based on the libretto by Dimitar Dimitrov;
Pippi Longstocking (1995) – Loveshki Music and Drama Theater, Burgas Opera – musical for children based on the book by Astrid Lindgren and the libretto by Teodora Gancheva, awarded with the Grand Prize for author’s music at the “Autumn Breeze” festival, Dobrich (1999).

Chamber Music:

Piano Sonata and Sonatina (1971);
Theme with Variations for Piano (1971);
String Quartet (1976);
Suite on 3 folk songs for mezzo-soprano and piano;
Children’s suite for brass band “Merry Stories”;
“Walls” – for bass-baritone and piano on verses by V. Hanchev;
“Mirage” – for soprano and piano based on verses by Eustati Burnaski;
“Stardrops” – vocal cycle 7 songs for soprano and piano based on poems by Sumako Fukao: “Green Evening”, “Prespring”, “Answer”, “Lips”, “Anxiety”, “Stardrops” and “Dedication” ;
“Reverse River” – vocal cycle 3 songs for soprano and piano based on poems by Spaska Gatseva and Vanya Petkova: “Reverse River”, “Before I die”, “Woman”;
“Autumn Woman” – vocal cycle of 3 songs for mezzo-soprano and piano based on poems by Stanka Pencheva: “Autumn Woman”, “Forgetfulness”, “Without Sky”;
“Dream” – for low male voice and piano based on verses by Kliment Tsachev – First prize at the composition competition “Boris Hristov” 2010;
Three children’s songs for bass-baritone and chamber orchestra based on poems by Dora Gabe: “Soldier”, “Sunla” and “Sunsets walks through the forest”;
A cycle of 5 songs for the youngest for voice and piano based on verses by V. Stoyanov, At. Dushkov, V. Paspaleeva, Iv. Stoyanov and El. Bagryana;
Suite for Violin and Piano “Memories of the Twentieth Century”: “Under the Lilac”, “Baby Katy Rag”, “Samba”, “Tango” and “Bossa Nova”;
Three pieces for harp and cello: “Prelude”, “Aria” and “Rondo”;
Collection “Children’s corner” – 10 pieces for piano;
Cycle “Children’s World” – 11 pieces for violin and piano;
Three pieces for 2 mandolins, mandola and guitar: Horovodna, Gurbetchiyska and Belevrensko horo.

Choir:

“Hymn for the Motherland” – for mixed choir and piano;
“Youth Lyrical” – for soloist and uniform choir;
“There is one rose”, “Lightened sky”, “Olympic flame” (BSFS award 1978);
“Don’t forget the soldier, girls” (1978 MNO Award);
“The Secret Traveler” (1987 Award of the OS for Spiritual Development, Plovdiv);
“Sofia, the white capital” (Award of the Sofia Municipality for participation in the “Songs for Sofia” contest) – for single choir and piano;
“Song for Tsar Ivan Shishman”, “Maybe the song”, “Twilight” – for women’s choir a cappella; “Rose Valley” – for mixed choir a cappella;
“One hundred and one”, “The best day”, “Good night”, “Joyful years”, “Everyone has their own deck” (Award of SO “Water Transport”, Varna) – for children’s choir and piano;
“Joking and laughing” – two a cappella songs for a children’s choir: “Mushroom incident” and “Who knows”.

Prize-winning songs for a male choir from the MNO “Structural Song” competition:

“The muzzles are silent” (1980. Second prize);
“Heart of the Grandfathers” (1982 First Prize);
“Matroski Flag” (1984 Second prize);
“Higher than eagles” (1986 First Prize);
“Soldier’s March” (1988 Second prize).

Children’s songs:

“Wonderful Class” (1974 BNR Award);
“Early Rooster” (1975 Award of the jury and the audience in the radio contest “Let’s sing together”);
“All Children” (1982 Award of OSIK Blagoevgrad);
“Chelo kote knizhki” (1983. Award of the audience and of the jury from the contest “Sweet Lark” Burgas);
“Sharko and Marco” (1986, Prize of the Ministry of Education and Committee for Culture);
“Hello, First of June” (1985 Award from the “Sweet-drinking Lark” contest); “Letter with a stamp” (1986 Award of the CS of the Bulgarian Philatelists);
“Umbrellas”, “Children’s Planet” (Prize in the National radio contest “Let’s sing together” V. Tarnovo);
“Affairs with Dolphins” (1989 Grand Prize of the “Sweet-drinking Lark” contest); “Conversation with the Sea” (1998 First Prize of the Jury and Audience Award in the International Eco Song Contest in Bilje, Republic of Croatia) ;
“Three pacifiers for the little ones”; “Whistle Blows”; “I have two hands”; “Bell rings”; “All children”; “Mouse Story”; “Donkey”; “Three colors”; “Pancho’s Pain”; “Everyone has their own deck”; “The cunning mouse”; “Chocolate milk”; “Prohibitions”; “Antoinette”; “Revenge”; “Cat newspaper”; “Sneeze”; “Loser”; “Indian Lullaby”; “The two themes”; “Mom”; “Computer Mouse”; “Camila” and others.

Audio Cassettes:

Pippi Longstocking (1993) and Jan Bibian (1994) ed. Dilemma studio

Other albums:
Pussy Cat Has Read Little Books (released on CD in 1988 and on audiocassette in 1992);
The Sly Little Mouse (released on audiocassette in 1999).
Early-Rising Cock – songs for the youngest (released on audiocassette in 1998);