At the end of May the Land of the Rising Sun welcomed the Sofia Boys Choir and their conductor Professor Adriana Blagoeva. The choir had eight big and a few shorter concerts in the cities of Osaka, Fukushima, Tokyo and others.

Over the next minutes you will learn more details about this exciting journey.

Established in 1968 the Sofia Boys Choir brings together students of different ages from the capital city. Since 1997 the choir has had two vocal ensembles - a boy’s and a youth one. The choir has performed with great success in Russia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Belgium and many other countries. The singers received the opportunity to present Bulgarian culture in Japan after a competition. The idea of ​​the tour came from the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria Margarita Popova and the project itself was carried out with the help of Japan-Bulgaria Association.

"The Sofia Boys Choir went to Japan after a competition. We were selected among 11 choirs. The first phase included sending recordings, while the second was a live performance in front of a Japanese jury. In the beginning the idea was to present Old Church Slavonic music. During the process of preparation the Japanese organizers wanted us to present a much wider repertoire. Therefore, our concert program was divided into two parts. The first part included works by Bulgarian composers. In the second part we performed music from different historical periods, including Bulgarian Orthodox music. The concert tour lasted for a little more than two weeks. Most of our performances took place in large concert halls. We had shorter concerts in cathedrals and temples during services. The support of the Ambassador of Bulgaria in Japan - Georgi Vassilev, who visited three of our concerts, was of great importance to us. Furthermore, at the end of our tour, Mr. Vassilev organized a big celebration at the residence of Bulgaria in Tokyo for our choir and for all the organizers of the concerts in various cities. "

One of the most interesting experiences for the children was their concert in the Tōdai-ji Buddhist temple complex. The temple is a very important place for the Japanese, says Prof. Adriana Blagoeva. They call it the Eastern Great Temple. The Bulgarian choir was allowed to perform a short program there. Especially for the tour the boys learned four Japanese songs. The Japanese choirs that welcomed them in different towns all performed at least one Bulgarian song.

“I would like to mention our outdoor concert near the Tokyo Disneyland. As a sign of gratitude organizers gave our children tickets for this remarkable place. They all managed to see and enjoy the surprises in the amusement park."

The Sofia Boys Choir received great interest from the Japanese media. "Reports in media about the concerts were all positive and warm,” Prof. Blagoeva adds. In July, the boys are to have a few more concerts in Bulgaria. Before their summer vacation comes they are also to participate in a choir festival in Turkey.

English: Alexander Markov