The first kaval player to be accepted into the Bulgarian State Conservatory, Aleksandr Iliev Eppler's education and experience is part of the lineage of the Thracian School of kaval playing. This school was transmitted to Eppler through his teachers, the legendary Dragan Karapchanski and Nikola Ganchev. He has passed on this inheritance through teaching hundreds of people around the world to play the Bulgarian kaval.

Eppler is one of the very few, if not the only, kaval players to have given entire solo concerts, frequently unaccompanied, both in Bulgaria and abroad. He developed a solo repertoire and unique style that could stand up to the demands of the solo kaval concert.