Vocalist Elena Mîndru returns to Romania for a series of concerts with pianist Sorin Zlat's trio. To learn more about these events, we called Elena Mîndru in Finland, where she has been active for many years. Welcome back, Elena, to Radio România Muzical.

Thank you, Viorel Grecu, and greetings to all the listeners. Next week, I'll be back in Romania for a few concerts together with pianist Sorin Zlat. You can find us on Wednesday, March 26, at 7:00 PM at the Bucharest Operetta. This concert is part of the Operetta Lounge series, which features various musical genres, and this time, it will be jazz. Together with Sorin Zlat Trio, we will be joined by Adrian Flautistu on double bass and Iulian Nicolau on drums. Then, on Thursday evening, March 27th, we continue in Brașov, where you can find us at Via Enescu in the same lineup. There, we will perform two sets, either at 6:00 PM or at 8:30 PM. We look forward to seeing you! On the third day, Friday, March 28th, we will be at the Ploiești Philharmonic, this time with Ploiești Jazz Trio, which consists of Sorin Zlat on piano, Răzvan Cojanu on double bass, Laurențiu Ștefan on drums, and, of course, me on vocals.

What will you be performing on these evenings? What should we expect?

We'll be playing some of my own songs from my last two albums, as well as a recently written, unpublished piece dedicated to my daughter, Luna, who was born in 2023-my second child. We'll also perform some jazz standards, rearranged in our own way, blending beautifully with my original compositions.

Have you collaborated with Sorin Zlat and the other musicians from the two ensembles before?

I worked with Sorin many years ago. In fact, we realized that this will actually be our first official collaboration with his trio, and I'm very happy that it's finally happening. As for the others, we haven't played together before. I have met Iulian Nicolau at some summer courses where I was teaching, and he was attending as a student. From this perspective, it will be a very creative experience for me as well-to collaborate with new musicians.

What other musical projects are you preparing for the near future?

With the Moldova Youth Orchestra, we are preparing a new surprise project for the fall. Right now, I am focusing on what I'd call my maternity leave, and I've also been working a little on my doctoral studies at the Sibelius Academy. Regarding these studies, I will probably release a CD at the beginning of next year.