Photogallery
Finally results

7th international choral competition Maribor 2004

The 7th international choral competition took place in the Union Hall in Maribor (Slovenia) from 23rd to 25th April. The competition was organized by the JSKD (Republic of Slovenia Public Fund for Cultural Activities), the Township of Maribor and the Union of Slovenian Cultural Societies. 10 male, female and mixed choirs from 7 different European countries, including Germany, Italy, Latvia, Hungary, Estonia, Denmark and Slovenia engaged in a competition to win the Grand Prix.

The competition itself consisted of one non-competitional appearance, where folk songs were sung, and three competitional appearances - the compulsory program, free program and the "Grand Prix" - in which only the top five choirs could participate. All performances were evaluated by the jury - the jury-president Volker Hempfling from Germany and members Peter Broadbent from Great Britain, Marjukka Rjihimäki from Finnland, Stojan Kuret, Karmina Šilec from Slovenia.

The Zbor sv. Nikolaja (Saint Nicholas Choir), conducted by Helena Fojkar Zupančič, took part in this competition for the first time and exceeded all expectations. By achieving 90.3 points (0.9 points less than the winner choir Kammerchor der Musikhochshule Mannheim, Germany) the Zbor sv. Nikolaja ranged second and received all special awards:

  • SPECIAL AWARD TO THE CONDUCTOR FOR THE BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPULSORY CONTEMPORARY SLOVENIAN COMPOSITION - GIVEN BY THE JURY.

  • THE BEST CHOIR CHOSEN BY THE PUBLIC AT THE 7th INTERNATIONAL CHORAL COMPETITION MARIBOR 2004.

  • AWARD FOR THE BEST SLOVENIAN CHOIR - GIVEN BY JSKD.

  • THE BEST CHOIR CHOSEN BY THE PUBLIC AT THE FOLK SONG CONCERT.




"This year's international choral competition Maribor is one of the most challenging and demanding competitions the world. We didn't have any particular expectations regarding this competition but there was a subtle wish that we came in the Grand Prix. The results were given to us late on the Saturday evening. We were incredibly happy. Our Sunday performance was also great. The German choir Kammerchor der Musikhochshule was definitely the winner, but other choirs were also extremely good and the odds were very even. After we realized that we ranged second we cried of joy, shouted and jumped in the air... one has to be there to experience that feeling..."

Our choir received numerous congratulations and thanks, including from the president of the jury Volker Hempfling and Peter Broadbent, who especially lauded choir's intonation, musicality and the glowing spirit of the choir. Other members of the jury were also very enthusiastic. The Maribor mayor mr. Boris Sovič expressed his enthusiasm and congratulated the conductor and the choir for a marvelous performance.

The choir has received many invitations for appearances and festivals from abroad.


Abstract of the jury

Volker Hempflingt from Germany (president)
They have very good style and excellent sound. Večer was beautifully performed - very good in intonation, sound, balance and in musical feeling. Gigante Complimento! Very, very good!




Peter Broadbent from Great Britain
Beautiful singing - both communicative and sincere with generally excellent balance. They have wonderfully focused sound and always excellent diction. Their wonderful commitment can be easily seen in this choir, with excellent ensemble and real communication between the conductor and the singers. Beautifully trained and conducted.


Marjukka Riihimaki from Finnland
A very good choir! Musical, intensive, good phrasing and wonderful to see a choir singing without music. They touched with their performance. The program was well chosen and the choir followed with a good connection the conductor. You could hear all the time that they knew what they were singing about. Good luck in the future!


Stojan Kuret from Slovenia
The choir is very sound-balanced. Its piece-program was well chosen and its performance highly convincing.




Karmina Šilec from Slovenia
The choir is filled with singing energy, the sound is homogeneous and choir's music performance is convincing. Choir's diction is excellent as it is its sound volume. The performance of compositions was exemplary - including the elements of good plastic phrasing, intensive dramatic architecture of pieces, wonderful recital and phrasing of the text. The choir's potentials and perspective are undoubtedly very high. The emotionally intense and charmingly performed compositions are the defining characteristic of their singing.


Nova kultura Litija, Valvazorjev trg 1, SI-1270 Litija, Slovenija | e-mail: info@litija.org