Accordionist and conductor Mihai Amihalachioaie will be buried on February 14. The funeral ceremony will take place at “Nicolae Sulac” National Palace, starting at 10 a.m. At noon time, the body will be taken to the Central Cemetery in Chisinau for burial, IPN reports.

Those wishing to say goodbye and pay tribute to the conductor of the “Chisinau Camerata” Municipal Chamber Orchestra, Mihai Amihalachioaie, can go today, February 13, to Saint Demetrius Church in Botanica district of the capital city, the Chisinau City Hall has said.

The Master of Arts succumbed to disease. He would have turned 63 on February 23.

“A special man and a consummate professional. He was one of the few folklorists who know well what they do,” wrote the director of the National Center for Conservation and Promotion of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Silvia Zagoreanu, who announced that the master passed away.

Mihai Amihalachioaie was born on February 23, 1961 in the village of Molnitsa, Chernivtsi region, Ukraine. After 1998, he served as the conductor of the National Philharmonic, the National Chamber Orchestra, the Chisinau Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra and of “Maria Bieșu” National Opera and Ballet House. In 1985, he began his musical career as accordionist and folk music conductor of “Busuioc Moldovenesc” Ensemble. In 2001, he was awarded the honorary title Master of Arts for his entire work.