Wonderful choral music, professional performances and plenty of emotion were there for the audience to enjoy at the hall of the National Academy of Music in Sofia. The concert commemorated the 75th birth anniversary of famous choral conductor Petya Pavlovich. Three choirs sang at the concert dedicated to the conductor who passed away in 2007. At the beginning the audience listened to St. Paraskeva Academic Choir, a direct successor of the school created and led by Petya Pavlovich. Her associate Galina Loukanova is leading the choir today. The daughter of Petya Pavlovich, conductor Teodora Pavlovich, handed over the Petya Pavlovich Award to a member of the St. Paraskeva Choir, saying: "I am happy to confer the prize to a young person who has helped for the survival of the choir. Lubomira Slavkova was a little girl when she started singing with my mother. I thank her for her dedication. She is a wonderful designer and will soon present her debut exhibition. We intend to help her on the way and this is part of the prize.”

Here is what Lubomira herself told Radio Bulgaria:

 "Petya Pavlovich was a very dedicated person who lived with music and succeeded in inspiring the choir for the art of music. She was also very strict, with a sharp sense for detail; and she worked with both diligence and passion. We appreciated that very much. My feeling is very intense holding the prize now. It was really sad when she died and the choir was disbanded. Later on, however, a small group, including me, revived the choir and new members came to join us. I am very much honoured to receive the award named after renowned Bulgarian conductor Petya Pavlovich.”

The concert at the National Academy of Music was part of the Petko Staynov Music Festival, an event founded by Petya Pavlovich in 1994 in her home town of Kazanlak. Today the festival is held in both Kazanlak and Sofia. The conductor was also behind the launch of the Petko Staynov Foundation. Staynov is a classical Bulgarian composer who was born in Kazanlak. For many years Petya Pavlovich was leading the choir in Kazanlak named after Petko Staynov. That choir too, joined the concert for her 75th birth anniversary.

The representative choir of the Eparchy of Vratsa led by the disciple of Ms. Pavlovich, the Bishop of Trianople Cyprian, was the third choir to perform at the concert. Cyprian is the only Orthodox Christian bishop to appear as conductor of a church choir and a philharmonic orchestra. Apart from the official program, he came up with a nice surprise for the audience. With the male staff of the choir he conducted the famous Meet It Is Orthodox chant by Petar Dinev.

The concert at the National Academy of Music in Sofia had a very emotional finale. The three choirs came on stage together for joint performances. They closed the event with the Many Years Orthodox chant and with the hymn of Bulgarian choirs, Native Song.

English Daniela Konstantoniva

Photos: courtesy to the organizers of the event

The audio file contains the following recordings from the concert:

1. Haide bre Yano (Come on, Yana) by Petko Staynov, live recording

2. Meet It Is Orthodox chant by Petar Dinev

3. What I Girl I Saw, Mother by Emanuil Manolov