Kyiv Children's Choi
Shchedryk
'' founded in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

in Ukraine by Iryna Sablina (wife of

Roman Kofman Roman Kofman ( uk, Кофман Роман Ісаакович; born 15 June 1936) is a Ukrainian composer, conductor, music educator and People's Artist of Ukraine (2003). Kofman was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in ...

). Since 2004, the artistic director and chief conductor of the collective is the Honored Artist of Ukraine Marianna Sablina. The repertoire of the Shchedryk choir includes

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

music, baroque, classical and spiritual music, arrangements of Ukrainian songs and songs of the peoples of the world, works of modern domestic and foreign composers. Shchedryk performs all works in the original language. Today, the choir has more than 150 children of various ages who are engaged in the respective age groups. About 55 best performers are part of the concert lineup. Over the 50 years of the choir's existence, Shchedryk has trained more than 2,000 choristers. Among the graduates of the choir are the Ukrainian composer Viktoria Poleva and the soloist of the Kyiv House of Organ Music Maria Lipinska.

Concert activities

Shchedryk gave more than 500 concerts in Germany, USA, Canada, Italy, Australia, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine, in particular in concert halls: Carnegie Hall (New York), Musikverein Golden Hall and Konzerthaus Great Hall (Vienna), the Chamber Hall of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, Mozarteum (Salzburg),

Beethovenhalle The Beethovenhalle () is a concert hall in Bonn. It is the third hall in that city to bear the name of Bonn-born composer Ludwig van Beethoven. History The first Beethovenhalle was a temporary structure built in 1845 during the inauguration of ...

(Bonn),

Roy Thomson Hall Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Toronto Defiant. Opened in 1982, its ...

(Toronto),

Gasteig Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most of the events of the ...

(Munich)
Forum
(Leverkusen), Musikaliska an
Eric Ericsonhallen
(Stockholm), the Great Hall of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, and others. In joint projects, Shchedryk cooperated with Volodymyr Krainev,

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holo ...

Giya Kancheli Gia Kancheli ( ka, გია ყანჩელი; 10 August 1935 – 2 October 2019) was a Georgian composer. He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia but resided in Belgium. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kancheli lived first i ...

Ivan Monighetti Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgar ...

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

, Marta Argerich and others. The first three recordings of the Shchedryk choir were made by the

Melodiya Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...

company on vinyl records. Part of the Shchedryk repertoire is presented on 5 CDs recorded in Ukraine. The German company Deutsche Welle broadcast the 2011 Shchedryk Christmas concert in Bonn. An honorable place in the choir's discography is occupied by the composition "Three small liturgies" by

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonical ...

, performed by Shchedryk together with the

Kremerata Baltica Kremerata Baltica is a chamber orchestra consisting of musicians from Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). It was founded by Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer in 1997. Gidon Kremer is an artistic director of Kremerata Baltica. Description ...

orchestra under the direction of Roman Kofman, which was included in the collection of the best concerts in the history of th
Gidon Kremer Chamber Music Festival

Festivals and competitions

The choir participated in prestigious Ukrainian and international music festivals and competitions: * America Fest in Des Moines (USA), 1992 *

Kyiv Music Fest Kyiv Music Fest ( uk, Київ Музик Фест), is an annual international music festival in Kyiv, Ukraine that profiles modern Ukrainian classical music aiming to promote Ukrainian musicians in the context of world art. The co-founders of ...

in Kyiv (Ukraine), 2000
Gidon Kremer chamber music festivals
in Lockenhaus (Austria), 2002, 2008, 2011 * III International Choir Festival in Riga (Latvia), 2003 * Tonika in Kyiv (Ukraine), 2004 * 1st International Autumn Choir Festival in Moscow (Russia) to the 140th anniversary of the Moscow Conservatory, 2005
Virtuosos
in Lviv (Ukraine), 2006
Cantus MM
in Salzburg (Austria), 2007
Cracovia Music Festival
in Krakow (Poland), 2009 *

Beethovenfest The Beethovenfest (Beethoven Festival) is a festival of classical music in Bonn, Germany, dedicated mostly to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven who was born there. It dates back to 1845, when the composer's 75th anniversary of birth was celebrate ...

in Bonn (Germany), 2010 * Appointment with Slava - an event in Kronberg (Germany) to honor the memory of M. Rostropovich, 2011 * XX Chamber Music Festival in Kronberg (Germany), 2013
To Russia With Love

concert
in Berlin (Germany) in support of political prisoners, 2013
Leigo Lake
in Leigo (Estonia), 2015
Rethinking Europe — Stop One: Ukraine
- Ukrainian music festival in Stockholm (Sweden), 2017
VII International Festival of Orchestral and Choral Groups in Florence
(Italy), 2018 * XIII Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in Vienna (Austria), 2019

Awards and Reviews

In all international competitions in which Shchedryk participated, they won the highest awards: * Grand Prix of the International Choir Competition "Kathaumixw" in Powell River (Canada), 1990 * Grand Prix of the International Choir Competition in Des Moines (USA), 1992 * Grand Prix and Gold Diploma of the XXXVI International Choir Competition in Mendziszdroje (Poland), 2001 * Gold diploma of the highest degree and Grand Prix I of the International Competitio
Musica sacra a Roma
in Rome (Italy), 2005 * "Golden David" - Grand Prix of th
VII International Festival-Competition of Orchestral and Choir Groups in Florence
(Italy), 2018 * First place with distinction "Outstanding success" in the category Treble Choirs / Women's choirs / XIII Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in Vienna (Austria), 2019

Press reviews

* ''"Soviet Sensation"'' — "Times", 1990 * "World-class professional ensemble" — "Ukrainian Weekly", 1991 * ''"The musical level reached by such young choristers seems impossible" -'' "The Hawk Age", 1993 * ''"Already after the first sounds it became clear why this choir is considered one of the best in the world"'' —"Bad Godesberger Nachrichter", 1996 * ''"It's too good to be true"'' —"

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. Histo ...

", 1998 * ''"At first, these children cause respect and only after that - tender emotions"'' — Week, 2007 * ''"These children's voices are the epitome of crystal singing, tenderness and fearlessness, gentleness and freedom. When you hear Shchedryk sing, you see the world with new eyes."'' — «Day», 2014

Famous quotes about Shchedryk

* Giya Kancheli, composer:

''«Children's choirs exist in many countries, but Shchedryk is a special phenomenon because it is based on the unique choral traditions established by Iryna Sablina and successfully continued by her daughter Marianna Sablina. Thanks to them, Shchedryk became a unique phenomenon»''''.''

* Gidon Kremer, violinist, conductor:

''«I would like to testify that "Shchedryk" is an outstanding ensemble that always enjoys incredible success with the public and connoisseurs. This is a choral ensemble capable of "speaking" on a global scale with angelic children's voices about their country and testifying to the historical musical traditions of their people».''

* Boris Tevlin, choirmaster, professor of the Moscow Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky:

''«The victory of the Kyiv children's choir "Shchedryk" in Rome was an absolute victory of Ukrainian choral art in the world».''

* Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, soloist of "Ocean Elzy":

''«We must bow to these young children who carry our music, our culture abroad. They do it qualitatively, beautifully and sincerely. Shchedryk is the pride of Ukraine»''''.''

* Pope Benedict XVI:

''«Thank you, Shchedryk, for being flawless in your singing!»''

References

Links

* {{Official website, http://shchedryk.com.ua/ Ukrainian choirs 1971 establishments in Ukraine