Christmas is the feast that opens our hearts and reminds us of the blessing of childhood that we keep for life. Hope, beauty and warmth are everywhere. For the Radio Children vocal group at the Bulgarian National Radio the Christmas mood arrives at the beginning of December. The little singers not only write their letters to Santa Claus but also sing Christmas songs. By tradition the choir has a very tight schedule during the last month of the year.

We learn more about it from Ilina Todorova, founder and conductor of the group:
“Twenty years ago the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden invited us for a Christmas celebration which is very special for Swedes. This is the feast of Santa Lucia marked on 13 December. This day is said to be the shortest day followed by the longest night of the year. So, two decades ago all this looked like a game but has turned into a tradition. Every year at the celebration we sing a traditional song in Swedish called Santa Lucia and present some popular Christmas songs. There is no longer an embassy but there is a consular office and the organizers are different. Regardless of the changes they go on inviting us and we feel very happy, every time, because this is part of the festive spirit. In the meantime we have a lot of work to do because our main annual concert is given in the spring. We plan a U-turn in the repertoire and we are busy rehearsing. The program has 20 songs and this is our main current task that we successfully combine with concerts during the festive season.”

Apart from concert activity, this year the Radio Children recorded a double album with wonderful children’s songs by Bulgarian authors. The young musicians will remember 2017 with their great success in France.

“For the third time we joined the program of The Festival of Arts and Sciences of Saint-Denis, France”, Ilina Todorova goes on to say. “This year’s edition was the forum’s tenth. We had never been so successful. Our concert was an exciting event – the audience stood up and started singing Bulgarian songs together with the children. This memory is a constant source of inspiration. The other event that I have to mention is the release of the album. This is something new – for the first time we have released a double CD. The first one features the songs and the second one – their instrumental versions so that teachers in kindergartens and schools can use the album. The program is excellent. The songs have been selected from the very best samples recorded at the Bulgarian National Radio over the last 30 years. In this way children will be able to learn really good Bulgarian songs. I should like on behalf of the Radio Children and on my behalf to wish happy holidays to all people in the world. Let the New Year bring us sound health, a lot of joy and success, and many cheerful smiles to children!”

English Daniela Konstantinova