Photogallery

18th national choral competition Naša pesem 2003 - Maribor

The 18th Slovenian choral competition Naša Pesem took place in Maribor from 29th to 30th March 2003 and was organized by the JSKD (Republic of Slovenia Public Fund for Cultural Activities), the Union of Cultural Societies and the Township of Maribor. 24 choirs from Slovenia and 2 choirs from abroad were evaluated by a 5-member international jury led by Stojan Kuret from Trieste.

The Zbor sv. Nikolaja (Saint Nicholas Choir) from Litija, conducted by Helena Fojkar Zupančič, undoubtedly arranged a pleasant surprise fro the Slovenian public. The choir won the Golden Plaque for achieving 91.7 points and including several other awards:

  • SPECIAL AWARD FOR THE BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE 19th CENTURY COMPOSITION - Richte Mich Gott by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

  • SPECIAL AWARD FOR THE BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE SLOVENIAN FOLK SONG - Luba Vigred from Rož, arranged by Lojze Lebič.

  • SPECIAL AWARD FOR ACHOIR THAT ENTERED THE COMPETITION FOR THE FIRST TIME AND ACHIEVED A HIGHT RANKING.

  • SCHOLARSHIP FOR FURTHER EXPERT TRAINING WAS GIVEN TO CONDUCTOR HELENA FOJKAR ZUPANČIČ.


"It's a somewhat hard to summarize the emotional atmosphere after the competition. The standing ovations, endless applauses... We definitely didn't expect such public response since the competitors were all very experienced. It seemed we couldn't possibly compete with them. However we succeed in "overtaking" all of the other choirs when we sang at the Sunday concert. This finale was like a strawberry on the cream..."

"The Norwegian jury member mr. Carl Högset was deeply moved and cried when we were performing the Richte Mich Gott. The jury was checking the partitures for a while, but then they just leaned back and listened..."

The choir participated at the Sunday evening's final concert, where only the finest choirs performed. The distinguished jury members and the Maribor mayor awarded the prizes after the concert ended. The competition was organized by the Public Fund RS for Cultural Activities. The sponsor of the competition was Andreja Rihter, minister of culture.

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