At the 11th "Slovakia Cantat" International Choral Festival in Bratislava, the Choir of the Maritime University of Szczecin took the 1st place in two categories, won the Grand Prix and the chorus conductor – Sylwia Fabiańczyk-Makuch – received the prize for the best conductor.
“Slovakia Cantat” is one of the largest international choral festivals of this type in Europe. The choristers took the first place in two categories - the sacral category and the category of mixed adult choirs. In addition, they received the Grand Prix - the title of the best choir among all festival choirs as well as the prize for the best conductor.
The festival was held from 21 to 24 April 2016. During the event 19 choirs from the whole Europe, e.g. Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Poland, had an opportunity to present themselves. The performers were evaluated by an eight-person jury chaired by Professor Romans Vangas from Latvia. The committee emphasised a very high performance level of this year’s festival participants.
During the Saturday performance, our choir received the highest scores from all jurors. They appreciated, among other things, high culture of sound, emotionality, unique contact of the conductor with the choristers as well as sophisticated interpretation of the pieces performed.
The performance of the choir was received with huge enthusiasm by the audience as well as other ensembles. During additional concerts, the ensemble sang several encores followed by standing ovations. The highlight of the great atmosphere was the award ceremony in the Bratislava market square - the only place that would accommodate such numerous audience.
