Naum Petreski

Naum Petreski is a Macedonian folk singer, born on 7 December 1966 in Ohrid. He spent his childhood and part of his adult years in the village of Labunište, where his family comes from. Music was part of his life from the start: at seven he made his first public appearance, representing Macedonia at an international folklore festival in Zagreb.

He turned professional in 1990, starting at the festival Folk hit na godinata with "Naum bekrija". A year later, as a young newcomer, he sang "Ima li pesna" at the Valandovo festival and won four awards there, first place from the audience, best debutant, second place from the jury and an award for interpretation, the festival's biggest success until then. The song was chosen folk hit of the year and Naum Petreski was named vocalist of the year.

He has released two cassettes, Ima li pesna and Žal za Despina, and the CDs Pesno moja, Pat za Makedonija and Odi zvezdo, the last of which marked his 25th anniversary on stage in 2010, plus a joint CD with the ethno group Synthesis. In the large project Makedonska čalgija he sang 45 of its 120 songs, spread over six CDs. Besides his own hits "Žal za Despina" and "Lazaropole", he has recorded many classic Macedonian songs, among them "Filizo, mome Filizo" and "Ajde sonce zajde".

His duets include "Ljubov golema" with Violeta Tomovska, a song with Esma Redžepova, "Pej bistro pej" with Suzana Spasovska, "Senkite pod maslinite" with Rosana Todorovska, and "Tikveška elegija" with his wife, the folk singer Zuica Lazova; they live in Skopje. He has also sung with their daughter Anastasija Petreska, with the ensemble Tanec and with several folklore societies, and in 2024 he joined DNK and the Džambo Aguševi Orchestra on "Živote brate".

Naum Petreski has performed at almost every festival in Macedonia and at many abroad, including the opening of a Macedonian cultural centre in Istanbul, a concert in Sofia and a presentation of Macedonian music at the Sydney Opera House. He has held five solo concerts, in 1992, 2001, 2011 (with Synthesis), 2017 and 2022, and has often sung at charity concerts.