Region remembers beloved singer Toshe Proeski on his death anniversary
Skopje, 16 October 2022 (MIA) — Twelve marathon runners are running in the 15th ultramarathon in honor of Toshe Proeski to lay flowers in Krushevo and Nova Gradishka, respectively, marking 15 years since the Balkan music star died in a car crash on his way to Zagreb, Croatia.
The 15th anniversary of Proeski’s death will be commemorated during the day at the memorial at his resting place in Gumenje near his birthplace Krushevo.
Musicians, too, have been paying tribute to the singer. On Oct. 5, under the motto “For Toshe from the Heart,” 12 musicians together with the Bitola chamber orchestra and Toshe’s band performed Proeski’s songs with a concert at the memorial in Gumenje.
The concert “For Toshe from the Heart” is supported by the Ministry of Culture and several businesses from Krushevo. People who paid tribute visited the Toshe Proeski Memorial House in Krushevo which has around 700 items displayed as part of its permanent collection, which is updated yearly on his birthday, Jan. 25.
Since its opening in 2011, the museum has had more than 650,000 visitors. According to museum management, one third of them were foreign visitors, mostly from the Balkan countries.
The late singer held his last concert, with proceeds going to Macedonian schools, at the City Stadium, on Oct. 5, 2007.
Toshe Proeski (1981-2007) gave his first performance when he was 11, at the Golden Nightingale [Златно славејче] children’s song festival, where he sang in the Vlach language. He began his music career after winning first place at Prilep’s Melfest festival in 1997. He later performed at many regional festivals, and was the Republic of Macedonia’s Eurosong entry in 2004. That year he also became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
Over his 10-year career, Proeski released seven albums. Besides Macedonian, he recorded songs in Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Italian.
His last album was released in the Balkans two weeks before his death. An English-language album he had been working on, “The Hardest Thing,” was released posthumously.
