Finally we are in Finland! Our hosts are members of Luritus Choir and they kindly accepted us in their homes.

On Monday 25th September 2017 we had a concert at Nurmo High School where we first had a voice opening and rehearsal. Our programme consisted of three parts – firstly we sang some Slovene folk songs like Planinska, Vipavska, Dajte, dajte, Škrjanček poje, the second part was consecrated to sacral music for example Gloria tibi Domine, Down in the river to pray… And in the last one we sang popular English songs such as the Beatles’  Michelle. Although the acoustics wasn’t the best we did a great job. Later on we sang at Seinäjoki Lyseo with the same repertoire. We were also awarded with some free time in the city centre where we went and grabbed something to eat and headed our way to Squash & Bowling Center. We spent an hour bowling with our Finnish friends who took us back to their homes where we tried sauna and jacuzzi. We found it quite fascinating that every family has its own sauna. Some of them even two!

We had an early start on Tuesday, 26^th September and met up with other choir singers. Finnish students prepared a quiz, which checked our knowledge of Finnish music. Did you know that the famous song Hollywood Hills was written by a Finnish group Sunrise Avenue? We also listened to many other catchy songs. We were kindly offered some Finnish sweets – Fazer’s milk chocolate, samijakki etc. The majority of us did not like the taste of sweets, but the chocolate was delicious!
At school we also had a concert for highschool students and later on we performed in a modern called Lakeuden Risti, designed by a famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Because of the acoustics it was the best performance so far, having sung mostly spiritual music. The concert was meant for older people, whose reaction really moved us, we even got standing ovations. We were very content because we brightened up their day. The organiser of the exchange Hanne Orrenmaa is a conductor, who travels around the world and teaches children to sing and love music. Her goal is a peaceful world and this is why she loves so much Imagine by John Lennon. The song speaks about equality, harmony, unity of all nations. She wanted to record us singing this song which she will use in her YouTube video. In the video there will be also records of children of other nations. Having successfully recorded the song, we headed to the forest with our hosts, where we ate traditional sausages and had a fun competition in pronouncing sentences in Finnish and Slovene. A day packed with activities passed quickly and eventually we felt exhausted, so after a short walk to the parking lot we went straight to our Finnish homes. We fell asleep immediately. /Barbara Kobal, Klara Pogačar, Marta Novak/

 

We arrived to Tallinn, on Saturday afternoon on 23^rd September and went to the city centre straight away. We saw the main square with the town hall and an Eastern Ortodox church. After having lunch, we decided to sing in the streets of Tallinn. Many people stopped and ask  where we come from and who our conductor is. Been given a lot of motivation, we felt very proud. We were pleasantly surprised by people’s reaction to our singing. In the evening we arrived to our hotel and had a typical Estonian meal. They gave us fish soup and rice with chicken. A short practice in the hotel hall followed for the next day singing at mass in the city centre.

Sunday, 24^th September, started with a 10 o’clock mass in St. Peter and Paul Cathedral. While standing on the choir loft we saw that the mass was attended mostly by old people. That confirmed the fact we read on the internet that the percentage of young people in Estonia is decreasing. The ceremony was followed by a short concert where we presented most of our songs. Polish community invited us for a cup of coffee and biscuits. At the time we were already thinking about Finland which we reached 3 hours later when we disembarked in Helsinki. The ferry was very big and had a lot of shops, restaurants and even a sundeck with 360° view. Although the journey was quite long (two hours by ferry and five hours by bus), we had a great time by singing while mixed with the crowd of ferry’s passengers. We FINnISHed our journey in Seinäjoki and accommodated in our host families’ houses. The long anticipated adventure in Finland is here! /Barbara Kobal, Klara Pogačar, Marta Novak/

 

It all started on Wednesday, 20^th October 2017 when we had our last rehearsal before the departure. After going through the programme, we left for a small town Zgierz in Poland. The ride was very long, but the musical chosen by Mr Močnik was so great we did not even want to go to sleep. Some of us read books, listened to music or practiced songs for our first concert next day.
The concert took place at Zgierz Secondary School, but first we took a stroll down the streets which still give an impression of socialist regime.
At 11 o’clock we started with our performance and amazed the whole school. Even the singers themselves were pleasantly surprised by performing skills after a tiring ride of 1002 km! After the concert, we took the tram to Lodz and went sightseeing. In the evening we arrived to Warsaw where we had a short practice and got a really late delicious dinner.
The next day we started discovering the highlights of Warsaw and saw the palace on the water and a huge Polish “Tivoli Park”. We had some time off and spent it mostly wandering around the shops and eating traditional food.
Free time was followed by the concert in the Warsaw Cathedral. The concert was opened by a local men’s choir from Warsaw. Right after the concert we continued our trip to the next destination – Tallinn, Estonia. /Marta Novak, Klara Pogačar, Barbara Kobal, year 4/

26th September 2017 marks the 16th anniversary of the European Day of Languages. The aims of the event as declared by the Council of Europe are to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding, to encourage lifelong language learning and to promote Europe’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity. Thanks to cultural institutes such as the Goethe Institut, the Institut Français and the British Council, the European Day of languages is nowadays widely celebrated especially in schools.

St. Stanislav’s Institution is no exception. The event took place already for the tenth year in a row. Back then, it had all started with Diocesan Classical Gymnasium students presenting basic language skills to pupils of the Alojzij Šuštar Primary School in seven different languages taught at the DCG. This meant using English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Latin and classical Greek. In the following years, teachers of foreign languages at the DCG devised riddles and other challenging tasks in the above mentioned languages through which students displayed their knowledge of the language as well as culture, history and geography of the respected country.

This year students had to define the origin of photographs presenting highlights from different European countries. Thus, we were trying to promote the practical aspect of this year’s motto at St. Stanislav’s Institution, which is Where are you going? Students with most correct answers received a practical award. We are still also looking forward to a short video clip by students presenting goings-on on the European Day of Languages at the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

It’s not just about sharing our true selves … but also some new posts from Barcelona.

After outstanding performances of St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir at the 11th World Symposium on Choral Singing in Barcelona, you are kindly invited to listen to some new posts from their main concert in Pau Casals Hall. More than 2.000 conductors from all over the world listened to the concert and gave the girls a resounding standing ovation. The choir won together with the conductor Helena Fojkar Zupančič high praise for a fantastic choral event.

We congratulate Stanislav Girls’ Choir for the outstanding success and wish to thank them for an incredible promotion of Slovenia, The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium and Slovene choral singing.

 

The day before returning home the girls took a day off. This long-anticipated day culminated in delightful, carefree sightseeing, enjoying local cuisine, admiring Catalan history and art, exploring the Spanish way of life, swimming in the sea, writing postcards and (souvenir) shopping. A very special event was the VIP tour of Camp Nou Stadium, which definitely resulted in the increase of female FC Barça fans. Another moment set aside from the rest of the day was the sightseeing tour of the Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell, where the girls admired with awe Gaudi’s mastery in forms of shapes, colours and most incredible ideas he came up with. In the forest of Gaudi’s columns, as director Globokar poetically put it, the choir performed one last mini concert. The very last step of this incredible singing adventure in Barcelona was attending Mass and then boarding the bus and hitting the road towards Ljubljana. For the first ten hours there was silence in the air – the girls were sleeping. Afterwards, one could hear relaxed chatting. As the first Slovene choir to perform at any world choral symposium so far St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir felt grateful and at peace. The efforts have definitely paid off! /Kristina & Ana & Nuša, year 4/

St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir performed on 29th July 2017 at the last two enjoyable and successful concerts of 11th World Symposium of Coral Music in Barcelona.

The first concert took place in the most visited Catalan pilgrimage site in Montserrat. Prior to the concert the girls paid visit to Our Lady of Montserrat and thanked Her for all the blessings of the last week, especially for the performances given on the occasion of the world symposium. It was a joy to sing in front of such a large audience – the cathedral was packed with pilgrims from all over the world. Some were so enthusiastic that they even turned up at the final evening concert of St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir, which was given in The Caixa Forum, Barcelona. The choir was quite relaxed on stage, showing their pride over what they had achieved. The incredible vigour was presented throughout the concert: thirty-nine singers, the conductor Helena Fojkar Zupančič and the pianist Primož Bratina were as one. Needless to say, they reached the appreciative audience who enthusiastically gave standing ovations. As after any other concert in Barcelona the girls talked with visitors from all over the world: Chile, Australia, Germany, Singapore, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark, USA and Slovenia. Again, the girls did an excellent job! Well done ladies!

The highly anticipated concert took place on 28th July, 2017 in Auditori, Barcelona. Considering the audience response the event was an unforgettable experience and the girls did a fantastic job! Under the capable direction of Helena Fojkar Zupančič the choir presented the selection of songs, which exceled in versatile style, contemporary features and emphasis on the Slovene choral compositions.

The entire time prior to the concert was dedicated to preparations and final rehearsal details of the highlight of the tour. There was great excitement in the air – nevertheless this was the very first performance of a Slovene choir to sing at any world choral symposium. It was the conductor, Helena Fojkar Zupančič, who broke the ice by singing a verse from a Slovene folk song: God, give us a pleasant evening!, after which the entire choir joined in. Three compositions premiered at the 11th World Choral Symposium, namely Jerusalem by Damijan Močnik (Slovenia), God of the Open Air by Bob Chilcott’s (Great Britain) and My First Angel by Ambrož Čopi (Slovenia). All of them are in one way or other connected with peace, namely peace of mind, God’s peace and peace among religions. Peace is expressed through various musical images and symbols. In this perspective, the choice of programme matched wonderfully the motto of the symposium Colours of Peace.

The audience was thrilled. Each song was accepted with incredible eagerness, especially the world premiere of Jerusalem, composed by Damijan Močnik, composer, conductor and teacher of Music at the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium. He, himself, also present and active at the 11th WSCM, commented on the piece: «What was been created is a picturesque and powerful fresco, which united enormous sound contrasts into a fervent prayer for peace«. It seems the audience was more than touched by the idea of unifying in pledge for world peace, as they all sang along the meaningful words taken form the song: May they prosper who love you. The director of St. Stanislav’s Institution Roman Globokar described the concert enthusiastically as »an explosive mixture of topmost choral know-how, coordinated moves, youth thrill and vigour. The listeners were hit in their hearts.« Standing ovations proved he was right. The girls left the stage moved and teary-eyed, winning together with the conductor high praise for a fantastic choral event.

It is strongly believed that St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir certainly lived up to the reputation of outstanding Slovene choral singing. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

Breaking the ice is never an easy task. The first concert took place in Lloret de Mar. In terms of organisation it was an interesting event and quite an experience; nevertheless, it turned out to be a good practice for concerts to come. Despite not carrying out vocal exercises prior to the concert, it proved to be a success. The audience, among which there were many tourists, was moved by the performance. Some music making took place also after the concert in front of the church and the locals were immediately recognised by several hugs and kisses they bestowed on the girls.

The day ended with some excellent ice cream, bathing in the Mediterranean and a good night’s sleep.

 

After having sung inspiringly at three successful concerts in Litija, Ljubljana and Koper, St. Stanislav Girl’s Choir set off to the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona. This was the moment they had long awaited for. Needless to mention all the happy anticipation after having worked and practiced hard, scrupulously and intensively especially during last weeks. The girls are in good hands of the following accompanying adults: Roman Globokar, director of St. Stanislav’s Institution; Helena Fojkar Zupančič, conductor; Primož Bratina, pianist and Marjetka Kozmus, music assistant.
They hit the road in Koper and continued the bus trip through Italy, French Province and finally safely ended up in Barcelona. Especially the stop in Les Baux-de-Provence took their mind off singing and the girls enjoyed to the full the charms of the French Riviera: the stone village perched on a craggy hill, lavender, perfumes and hot sun. Impeccable combination!