At the end of June the results became known in the competition for the conducting job at the Svetoslav Obretenov National Philharmonic Choir. The creative direction of the choir was entrusted to Slavil Dimitrov, a pianist, composer and conductor with a diverse creative biography. A few months later, on the eve of the 2015/2016 season, the musician and the ensemble have been working successfully together.

For a second year in a row the picturesque park of Vrana Palace hosted the festival Share Music (11-13 September). On its second night the National Philharmonic Choir and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra presented a classical pop and jazz program with soloists Kamelia Todorova and Mihail Yosifov. The audience listened to some of the hits of the jazz singer in new arrangements for a symphony orchestra and choir, and the famous jazz trumpeter played two pieces in new versions.

Now that the philharmonic choir has been actively working to prepare the season, conductor Slavil Dimitrov sees even more clearly the materialization of his creative ideas. One of them is the launch of a children's choir at the National Philharmonic Choir:

„We are keen on this idea but above all, we have to find a place for rehearsals because the Bulgaria Hall complex cannot accommodate eight formations. Besides, the rehearsal process with a children's choir takes more time than with adult, professional choirs. We are currently negotiating with different institutions. I hope we will soon launch the campaign for recruitment of children.”

Slavil Dimitrov argues that one major challenge to choral art in Bulgaria is that music lessons in regular schools do not include singing at all. „Children are taught theory. In the past the name of the subject was in fact singing, not music”, the maestro says. Slavil Dimitrov will strongly count on new choir-master Sophia Bardarska who took the job after a competition. She was trained as chorister and conductor at the internationally-acclaimed Madrigal Choir by its founder Prof. Stoyan Kralev. Apart from a friendship of many years Slavil Dimitrov and Sophia Bardarska share common professional views. „She is someone to lean on, because we look in the same direction”, the conductor says. One of his priorities is to enrich the repertoire of the National Philharmonic Choir. This season the choir will present the subscription cycle Renowned Orthodox Christian Music Composers. More from Slavil Dimitrov:

„I plan to work for a stronger presence of Orthodox Christian music on the playbill of the Philharmonic Society, and I have even thought of an integral approach. This year we have three concerts with some of the best known works of Orthodox Christian music. My wish is to show to audiences the path of this music and why it no longer develops. For 45 years now such works have not been composed in Bulgaria except for a few ones by Zdravko Manolov which are apocryphal and very hard to find. Still, I am doing my best to find their scores. And I am happy to confirm that a lot of church music will be written especially for the concerts of the Svetoslav Obretenov National Philharmonic Choir.”

English Daniela Konstantinova

The audio file contains the following pieces:

1. Song About Alexander Nevsky from the eponymous cantata by Sergei Prokofiev

2. Alexander Nevsky Enters Pskov from the Alexander Nevsky cantata by Sergei Prokofiev

3. Introduction from the opera Momtchil by Lubomir Pipkov, Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra