Interview with Devorina Gamalova taken in October 2025 by the Bulgarian journalist Nadya Koleva

Devorina Gamalova is a violinist, teacher and researcher, whose book “Music and Spiritual Life” bridges the gap between art, philosophy and spirituality. Her work and scientific research intertwine the themes of inspiration, the role of music in human growth and the mission of the modern awakener. In this interview, we will consider reflections on how music can be a path to the spiritual and who are the people capable of awakening today’s society. 

Nadya Koleva: – What does “divine inspiration” mean to you and how does it manifest itself in music?

Devorina Gamalova: – For me, this is the impulse that sets the wheel of creativity and goodness in motion. It urges us to do things that are superhuman. Which we could not do on our own. We know that both goodness and creative potential are inherent in us, but without help from above, we are unable to stand in the grace of these great gifts. What is the sign that an action is prompted by such inspiration? “By their fruits you will know them” – if the fruit of this action is creative, consistent with the higher laws of God and elevates the human spirit, then it obviously has a divine source.

How does this manifest itself in music? In principle, musical art is quite abstract, and it is amazing how it is created by the composer and transformed into the creative perception of the performer and listener. It has exceptional emotional resources, but instrumental music in particular is devoid of any concreteness. Therefore, here we have perhaps the greatest need for inspiration, which is felt as a gracious energy and illumination, which spontaneously or gradually evokes the mind’s “sound images” that turn into a musical composition.

– You combine performing arts, pedagogy and spiritual research - where do these paths meet?

– Music is one of the most intangible arts, and our connection with it takes us to more ethereal dimensions. This prompts us to explore how this art relates to our Creator and to eternal values. I have said that creating, performing and listening to music can be a prelude to prayer. Music can elevate the soul to this innermost state. And teaching is an inherent task for anyone who realises the good and benefits the child receives from studying it.

However, I must emphasise that the concept of “music” is very general. I will speak here mainly of high music, which is mostly associated with classical music. I do not exclude popular or folk music, which, although it does not always require such a degree of artistry, can also be masterful and gracious. 

– How would you define the “modern awakener” and do you see musicians as bearers of this mission?

– For me, the greatest Awakener is Christ, and I measure everything else by him. In this sense, an awakener is anyone who follows the example of Christ and embodies it with their thoughts and deeds. There is no more perfect message in the history of humanity than the command to love our enemies. This highest form of love, which is called “agape”, is the greatest art and requires enormous effort in overcoming our carnal nature. That is why only a few achieve it, and they are the true awakeners, even when their feat is quiet. Derivatives of this love are faith, hope, kindness, compassion, peacefulness, goodness, joyfulness, the thirst for knowledge of God and any other knowledge related to it, and many other bright impulses and states of the spirit. The awakener can evoke any of them. In this sense, enlightenment does not depend on the profession. And the musician is an awakener to the extent that he elevates the soul to these higher values ​​with his art, sets in motion the most harmonious string of man's inner peace and inspires him to love and goodness. 

You might ask me, can an awakener be a non-believer or a person of another religion? Yes. Because it is possible for him to intuitively feel and follow the voice of Christ without being able to associate with Him or accept Him as God, but his works to be Christ's.

– How can music help modern man find spiritual balance in a material world?

– I will say again that music has a huge power to influence people's thoughts and feelings, but it can be both for good and for evil, because it touches the most unstable part of the soul – the emotional one. High, beneficial music is able to melt evil and negativity in a person, to create harmony in him and in his relationships with others, to elevate him above the trivial and tawdry and transform him. Thus, it can stimulate positive change in us. And by changing ourselves, we change the world.

– In your book “Music and Spiritual Life” you emphasise the connection between art, psychology and spirituality – what is the most important message you want the reader to take away?

– Perhaps that music is extremely important and necessary for the well-being of secular people – the great, the high music! And that it has the power to elevate the spirit to the immortal, to prepare it for it, to give meaning to one’s life and to liberate it from the corruptible. 

– How can educating children through music build values ​​and spiritual resilience?

– This is a long topic. I would like to dedicate a special study to it, if time and energy allow. I will mention only some of the most basic qualities that learning a musical instrument develops: concentration, coordination, dexterity, memory, resilience, persistence & perseverance, tenacity, willpower, determination, endurance, discipline, precision, flexibility, analytical skills, etc. These are practical skills that are useful later in any other profession. And music, as a high art, which thanks to training has become understandable and accessible, has a great constructive power, which, in addition to everything I have already said, can enlighten and heal people, appease, comfort, encourage, refresh, delight, ennoble, revive them, and so much more.

The development of a sense of beauty and a need for it creates eternal values ​​that make a person bright, well-intentioned and resilient. Note that in the book of Genesis the word for beautiful and good is the same, that is, beautiful and good are equivalent for the Old Testament man. This is also the case with the ancient Greeks, and later many, like Blessed Augustine, defined as beautiful or wonderful that which is good, and as good, that which is beautiful. Therefore, they believed that what is truly aesthetic must also be truly ethical.

Perseverance in virtues, similar to building a musician, requires constant practice. And when a person practices something for a long time, it becomes a habit. And if that thing is good, then both he and those around him receive great benefit.

– What challenges do today’s enlighteners face in the age of technology and rapid consumption of culture?

– The fact that technology has enslaved and zombified modern man is a serious problem. In my opinion, the enlighteners themselves are entangled in their networks, and we must all be very careful to stay awake. Because “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Technology helps with many things, but it can also dull creativity, liveliness and empathy in a person. We have the same problem with pseudo-culture. Many “cultural products”, as they are commonly called today, have no real value, but are imposed on us for one reason or another as a value and society is gradually losing its criterion. And here music also comes to the rescue. An addiction can develop to it, but it is creative, while addiction to phones, computer games, television and other electronic media can be quite degrading.

- You often emphasise the need for music education in Bulgaria – what is its spiritual significance for a society?

– I  emphasise this not only for Bulgaria, but globally. Music education is needed everywhere in the world. Even ancient civilisations recognised its importance, and for the ancient Greeks, musical education became a state affair. Plato claims that “he who has been well trained in music” “will praise beautiful things and enjoy them and accept them into his soul in order to stimulate their growth and become beautiful and good himself”, and “he will rightly reject the ugly”. Whilе Thomas Aquinas, who lived in the 13th century, placed music first among the “seven liberal arts” and defined it as the noblest of all modern sciences.

Musical education creates so many useful habits that develop and strengthen the mind and soul that if this were sufficiently realised, no one would deprive their child of the opportunity to be musically educated, at least for general culture. In addition, it is therapeutic - it engages the attention with something both fascinating and creative and protects against idleness, which can lead to a variety of self-destructive temptations.

– What is your personal message to young musicians and artists who want to be not only artists but also awakeners?

– To strive to master, above all, the art of heavenly music, which sounds in the perfect love that is not seeking its own. Then living water will flow from their creativity, and it will inspire people and help them to be happy.

Nadya Koleva: hristianstvo.bg