The event is organized by the Sofia Bishopric, with the blessing of Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Neophyte. The concert is on 16 December at 6 PM, in the ancient church St. Sofia, a cross basilica with three altars with an important role in Bulgaria’s history and culture.

“We have wanted to give a concert like this for a long time, the girls and I,” says Vanya Moneva, conductor of the choir. “I think we are the only female choir in the world to make so bold as to perform a repertoire made up entirely of church chants. Every year the Sofia Bishopric organizes a pre-Christmas concert inside this magnificent ancient church. This time we are the lucky ones. We got the invitation thanks to manciple Kiril Popov who is a connoisseur of choral art in this country, and of all choirs with Christian Orthodox music in their repertoire.”

The schedule of the celebrated conductor and her choir is very busy in the run-up to Christmas – just one week ago Mrs. Moneva and three of the singers returned from a brief tour of Japan, where they took part in a prestigious jazz festival, and had several concerts.

“That was the fifth time we have visited Japan and the second time we have sung at the Blue Note. Apart with the concerts in this elite jazz club in Tokyo, we took part in the Montreux Jazz Festival, Japan, again for the second time,” Vanya Moneva says. “This festival is something of an analogue of the prestigious jazz forum in Switzerland, only it is tailored for the Eastern hemisphere. We received the invitation thanks to our work together with composer Jun Miyake on a project of his which we have presented several times in Europe and in Asia. The concerts were really interesting, very high standard. We had four shows at the Blue Note, in the middle of each part of the programme we had a very vivid appearance. We are very proud to have done that because after the concerts come the musicians, people from the art circles, impressed by the Bulgarian voices and the way they blend into Jun Miyake’s project. Our brief tour started with a concert in Yokohama not far from Tokyo, in a really beautiful theatre building designed for different forms of art. In Japan we have really excellent conditions backstage, the way the people responsible for the various aspects of our performances treat us is impeccable. I hope to see the same thing happen in Bulgaria soon.

Of course,the emotions I myself and my cosmic girls are experiencing now that the pre-Christmas concert is drawing near are very different. Even the fact that Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte himself will be there, and I will be asking for his blessing to start the concert, is in itself thrilling. I feel sure that the atmosphere inside the church, the marvelous acoustics, the beautiful Christmas tree the organizers will have ready, will make it an unforgettable concert - for us, and for the audience.”

English: Milena Daynova