20th Jubilee International Choral Festival in Vranov nad Toplou
The jubilee 20th edition in Vranov nad Toplou combined seven festival concerts with international seminars, workshops, and a rich accompanying program.
The International Choral Festival in Vranov nad Toplou celebrated its jubilee 20th edition in June 2007. The festival took place from June 14 to June 17, 2007 under the patronage of the Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic, Marek Maďarič, and the Mayor of Vranov nad Toplou, Tomáš Lešo.
Seminars and workshops
Compared with previous years, the edition was expanded with a stronger seminar and workshop program led by Slovak and international experts (Š. Sedlický, M. Pazúrik, T. Kanišáková, A. Steczkowska, V. Krauspeová).
International seminars focused on:
- improvisation in choirs,
- choral singing and choreography,
- Slovak choral music and choral festivals in Slovakia,
- culture of vocal expression in a choir.
Workshops included rehearsals of shared repertoire. Children and youth choirs of OZVENA rehearsed common songs with the Polish boys’ choir and Italian men’s choirs, and all participating choirs prepared Eugen Suchoň’s Slovak choral piece “Aká si mi krásna.”
The seminar and workshop part was supported by the VISEGRAD CANTAT project (“Let’s present our countries’ choral life”), organized in Slovakia by Choral Society OZVENA Vranov and the Federation of Slovak Choirs, with support from Europa Cantat Central Eastern European Centre in Budapest.
Concert program and participating choirs
From June 15 to June 17, 2007, foreign and domestic choirs performed in Vranov nad Toplou, Hanušovce, and Humenné in seven festival concerts, as well as during Sunday masses in churches across the Vranov district and at the folklore festival in Nižný Hrušov.
Foreign choirs included:
- BOYS (Poland),
- SAUE Boys’ Choir (Estonia),
- SMILTENE Children’s Choir (Latvia),
- Children’s Choir of Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria),
- SINE NOMINE and CORO DELL’INNOMINATO men’s choirs (Italy),
- ŠMARTNO men’s choir (Slovenia),
- PETKO STAINOV mixed choir (Bulgaria).
Domestic participants included four choirs from Choral Society OZVENA, mixed choir SOCIETAS CANTICA (Vranov), Greek Catholic choir CHRYSOSTOMOS (Vranov), and Evangelical choir EFATA (Hanušovce).
For the first time, the festival expanded into the neighboring Humenné region, where the June 15 concert featured Italian men’s choirs and the mixed choir of Humenné.
Accompanying events and outcomes
Alongside concerts, organizers prepared an exhibition of student visual art on music themes, discussion clubs, choir meetings, trips to nearby towns, and a stay at Domaša lake. Conductors and guests were officially received by the Mayor of Vranov nad Toplou, and participants also visited local museums.
The program also hosted distinguished guests and conductors, including Slovak composer Zdenko Mikula, Federation of Slovak Choirs president M. Kostelný, and ECCEEC president Gábor Móczár from Budapest.
According to participants and guests, the festival created a strong artistic atmosphere, enabled valuable exchange of repertoire and contacts, and left lasting positive memories.
Related festival page: 20th International Choral Festival .