After months of intensive preparations, the female chamber choir “Banjalučanke” is gearing up for a new competitive challenge and participation in the prestigious 13th International Choir Competition “Musica Eterna Roma,” which will be held from July 17 to 21 in Rome, Italy.
Under the artistic direction of composer and conductor, Professor Mladen Matović, the female chamber choir “Banjalučanke” will perform as the sole representative of Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina at this significant and licensed international competition, which will gather 15 choirs from ten countries (Italy, Bulgaria, Belgium, China, Lithuania, Malaysia, Poland, and Indonesia).
The choir will present compositions by notable local authors, and all ensembles will be evaluated by an international three-member expert jury, composed of distinguished global composers, conductors, and choral music experts.
“Considering the number of participating countries and the quality of the registered ensembles, it is an exceptional honor and privilege to represent our city and republic at such a competition. As always, we will do our best to justify our past results and the high rating of our choir. Serious preparations for this significant choral competition have been ongoing since the beginning of this year, and in the coming days, we have the final rehearsals. I sincerely believe in another representative presentation of our culture and art on the international stage. Although public expectations are always high when it comes to international competitive performances, it is ungrateful to make any predictions because the beauty of music as a temporal art lies in the fact that no performance or rendition of a composition is ever entirely the same—many factors influence the performance and the final result at any given moment. We are primarily going to the competition to enjoy the music and give our best, and the result is not as important as maintaining our presence on the international scene and testing our capabilities before major world competitions next year,” said Mladen Matović.
In addition to participating in the competition in Rome, the choir “Banjalučanke” plans to record a new CD and publish an accompanying collection of compositions under the common title “Folklore Sketches.” They will also perform two full-length gala concerts in honor of World Choral Singing Day, which will be held in mid-December at the Banski Dvor.
These concerts will also mark a significant anniversary—20 years since composer and conductor Mladen Matović took over the artistic leadership of the ensemble.
In the past 15 years, the choir “Banjalučanke” has achieved significant results in its history, winning gold medals at competitions in Linz, Amsterdam, Venice, Barcelona, Malta, Budapest, Magdeburg, Kalamata, Riva del Garda, two Olympic silvers at choral Olympics in China and the United States, and the greatest success in the choir’s history—winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals at the World Choir Olympics in Riga, Sochi, and South Africa.
Thanks to these results, the female chamber choir has been included in the official ranking list of the top fifty chamber choirs in the world by the World Choir Association INTERKULTUR – Musica Mundi (TOP 50 CHAMBER CHOIRS & VOCAL ENSEMBLES).
The choir has also received significant social recognitions and awards, including the Golden Coat of Arms of the City of Banja Luka and the Njegoš II Order.
Source: Nezavisne novine
