With concerts in Sofia and a complementary festival programme in Dolna Banya and Botevgrad, the Third International Choral Festival “The Boys Are Singing” will take place from 6 to 8 October 2023.
Admission is free for all five concerts, including the Gala Concert on 8 October.
Last year, in October, Bulgaria hosted this unique European festival, welcoming boys’ choirs from Iceland, the Czech Republic, and Mexico. The second edition followed in Iceland, where the Sofia Boys’ Choir, conducted by Prof. Adriana Blagoeva, represented Bulgaria — their visit coinciding with the 55th anniversary of the choir’s founding.
This year, from 6 to 8 October, the festival’s third edition will feature choirs from Bulgaria, Belgium, and Switzerland.
The concerts offer a diverse and engaging programme of music from around the world. The free access to all performances gives audiences in Sofia and in the two smaller towns the opportunity to experience the beauty of choral singing in its many timbres and traditions. The participating boys’ choirs will also take part in a joint workshop and a flash mob performance, allowing them to interact and collaborate in preparing a shared concert programme, to be presented at the festival’s Gala Concert.
Two joint works will be performed in the Concert Hall of the National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov”: the festival’s anthem “Viva la Musica”, composed by Prof. Adriana Blagoeva, and the beautiful song “The Boys Are Singing” by Stefan Valdobrev, written especially for the festival.
Festival Programme
6 October (Friday), 18:30
Concert Hall, National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov”, Sofia
Opening of the Third International Choral Festival “The Boys Are Singing” and presentation of all participating choirs.
First Festival Concert: Sofia Boys’ Choir, conductor Prof. Adriana Blagoeva, and the Boys’ Choir of Flanders (Belgium), conductor Dieter Van Handenhoven.
7 October (Saturday), 11:00
Concert Hall, National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov”, Sofia
Second Festival Concert: Plovdiv Boys’ Choir “Stefka Blagoeva”, conductor Milka Toledova, and the Boys’ Choir of Solothurn (Switzerland), conductor Tobias Stückelberger.
7 October (Saturday), 16:00
Grand Concert Hall, Chitalishte “Hristo Botev 1884”, Botevgrad
Third Festival Concert: Sofia Boys’ Choir, conductor Prof. Adriana Blagoeva, and the Boys’ Choir of Solothurn (Switzerland), conductor Tobias Stückelberger.
7 October (Saturday), 16:00
Concert Hall, Chitalishte “Rila – 1898”, Dolna Banya
Fourth Festival Concert: Plovdiv Boys’ Choir, conductor Milka Toledova, and the Boys’ Choir of Flanders (Belgium), conductor Dieter Van Handenhoven.
8 October (Sunday), 11:30
Concert Hall, National Academy of Music “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov”, Sofia
Closing and Gala Concert of the Third International Choral Festival “The Boys Are Singing”, featuring all participating choirs.
The Third International Choral Festival “The Boys Are Singing” is organised by the Sofia Boys’ Choir Association, with the financial support of Programme PA14 “Cultural Entrepreneurship, Heritage and Cooperation”, funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014–2021.
More about the Festival:
🌐 theboysaresinging.com
