The director of the National Palace “Nicolae Sulac” Valentin Goga passed away at the age of 66 on February 13. According to the Ministry of Culture, Valentin Goga died shortly after performing within the traditional concert given on St Valentine’s Day, IPN reports.
Artists and ordinary people offered their condolences to the artist’s family. Minister of Culture Monica Babuc wrote a message on her Facebook page shortly after finding out about the tragedy. “He played the panpipe, the accordion and the drum this evening. The public applauded him frenetically. He was happy, very happy. We joked and had pictures taken. He then smiled a little tired and... passed away. A real people’s artist died and it’s a pity that he didn’t manage to obtain this title during his lifetime,” wrote Monica Babuc.
Valentin Goga was born in Plopi village of Donduseni district on October 8, 1949. He is a Master of Arts and a holder of the Labor Glory Order and the Order of Honor. He was drummer in the band “Noroc”, led by Mihai Dolgan, and also performed for the band “Drujba” whose soloist was Edita Pieha.
In 1991, Valentin Goga was named vice director of the State Philharmonic and then vice director of the National Center of Culture and Arts. When the concerts organization “Moldova-Concert” was founded in 1995, he became its director general.
The funeral will take place at the National Palace “Nicolae Sulac” on February 16, starting at 10am. At 2pm, the artist’s body will be taken to the Central Cemetery located on Armeneasca St in Chisinau.
