The Children’s Radio Choir of the Bulgarian National Radio is celebrating its 65^th birthday with a concert on the day it was founded – 21 March. For 65 years the children from the choir have been ambassadors of Bulgarian culture around the world.

“The Children’s Radio Choir inherits a system that is really stable and successful,” says the choir’s chief conductor Venetsia Karamabova. “It was founded on 21 March in 1960, when Maestro Hristo Nedyalkov first brought together 120 wonderful children from Sofia to set out along a road together, not knowing where it would lead them. Thanks to their hard work and their talent, the results have been astounding, bringing recognition for the choir in Bulgaria and abroad. Now, as we mark this 65^th anniversary, we continue along the endless road of art,” says Maestra Venetsia Karamanova. Maintaining this high artistic standard takes a lot of hard work, she says, as well as a huge amount of enthusiasm, a constant flow of talented young children from Sofia with the idea to continue to build upon what generations of singers have left them.

The Children’s Radio Choir is a unique singing school:

“In opera, in music as a whole, in all spheres of human activity there are former choir singers demonstrating the qualities they acquired in their childhood – perseverance, tenacity, precision, tolerance and so much more… That is how they were brought up, they have known how to achieve success since childhood.”

Venetsia Karamanova says it is easy to work with children, but that it is difficult too – traditions have been created over 65 years which makes it easy when there is a foundation you can build on. 

Another major responsibility is compiling the repertoire – the repertoire of the Children’s Radio Choir features over 800 songs of all genres, with around 150 of them used per season. The repertoire is crucial to the success of any music formation – the selection, but also the order, with the prime factor being the state the choir is in and whether it is able to perform a given work, Venetsia Karamanova says, and adds that on 21 March the choir will perform Lale Li Si, Zyumbyul Li Si by Philip Koutev for the first time. The piece had been in her files for two whole years until the time she decided to do it now that the choir is capable of performing the piece. And though they love contemporary music, the children from the choir are also very fond of Bulgarian folklore, and relate to this kind of music. That is why the whole first part of the concert celebrating their anniversary features, exclusively, folklore pieces and Bulgarian composers. The second part of the concert will feature different European styles – from the 19^th and 20^th century, and down to our day. 

Guest performer at the concert will be pianist Georgiii Cherkin – as soloist but also as author of the arrangements.

The audience will also be able to hear a song that has become emblematic for the choir - Prituri se Planinata. Two years ago it was presented as a video, recorded by the Children’s Radio Choir with soloist Boris Stoynev, with the Symphony Orchestra and the Folk Music Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos: BNR Children’s Radio Choir