Academic Choir Tone Tomšič, University of Ljubljana

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Akademski pevski zbor Tone Tomšič (APZ Tone Tomšič)
Kongresni trg 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana
Phone386 (0) 1 251 4287
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The Academic Choir Tone Tomšič choir is made up of students from the University of Ljubljana, with more than 1,600 singers having performed in the choir since its foundation. Since 2009 their conductor has been Sebastjan Vrhovnik.


History

In 1926 Slovene ethnomusicologist France Marolt established a male choir consisted of students from the University of Ljubljana, called Academic Choir France Marolt. Between 1938 and 1939 Marolt also led an equivalent female line-up. The male choir was banned in 1941, due to its symbolic resistance during the Italian fascist occupation of the Province of Ljubljana. Despite the cultural black-out, promoted by the Liberation Front, the choir held its last concert during WW2 on Friday, 12 December 1941, in the Union Hall of Ljubljana. The choir's touchy interpretation of Miroslav Vilhar's well-known song Lipa zelenela je was secretly recorded by Rudi Omota and the recording has been kept until nowadays. The microphones were hidden in the venue's huge main light.

The choir resumed its operations in 1946 as a mixed choir under the new name Akademski pevski zbor Tone Tomšič (Academic Choir Tone Tomšič). The choir was named after Tone Tomšič-Gašper, the WW2 Secretary Organiser of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovenia, condemned to death penalty and shot in Ljubljana by the Italian fascists in May 1942, later proclaimed a Yugoslav National Hero.

The list of its conductors consists of many acclaimed names of Slovene music; after Marolt followed Radovan Gobec, Janez Bole, Lojze Lebič, Marko Munih, Igor Lavrič, Jože Fürst, Jernej Habjanič, Stojan Kuret, and Urša Lah.

Programme

The repertoire of the choir includes compositions of all historical periods, but focuses on contemporary music and adaptations of folk music. Many of the compositions were acquired via international open calls for new choral compositions. The choir performs all over Slovenia, participates in vocal-instrumental projects (for example, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem, Johannes Brahms's German Requiem), records pieces for Radio Slovenia, and collaborates with foreign conductors on seminars, concerts and festivals. The choir frequently commissions new works written by Slovene composers. It has made several recordings and boasts quite a prolific discography.

Projects

Each year the choir prepares its annual concert in one of the main concert halls in Ljubljana. In May 2006 the Academic Choir Tone Tomšič staged a concert in Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre to mark its 80th anniversary. An exhibition about the choir's history and nowadays was on display at the National and University Library (NUK) and later at Cankarjev dom.

Venues and awards

The choir has performed in almost all European countries, in North and South America, and in Africa. The Academic Choir Tone Tomšič has been awarded a Golden Honorary Sign of the Republic of Slovenia and a Grand Prix de la Ville de Tours three times; in 2002 it was also awarded a prize at the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Tolosa and Debrecen (2009). In recent years the choir has achieved the following successes: First Prize at the International Choral Festival in Tampere, Finland in 2003; two First Prizes in the category of Mixed and Female Choirs in Cantonigros, Spain in July 2004; First Place in Polifonia/Programma Monografico category at the International Choral Competition C A Seghizzi in Italy in 2005; Grand Prix Varna 2007; and two gold medals at the competition in Olomouc in 2009.

See also

External links

Akademski pevski zbor Tone Tomšič (APZ Tone Tomšič) +
Akademski pevski zbor Tone Tomšič (APZ Tone Tomšič) +
SI-1000 Ljubljana +
Kongresni trg 12 +
The Academic Choir Tone Tomšič choir is made up of students from the University of Ljubljana, with more than 1,600 singers having performed in the choir since its foundation. +
The Academic Choir Tone Tomšič choir is made up of students from the University of Ljubljana, with more than 1,600 singers having performed in the choir since its foundation. +
+386 / 1 251 4287 +
Ljubljana +
SI-1000 +
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