Europa Cantat festival 2021 invites applications

The main feature of the eight-day festival is the programme of 42 singing ateliers, led by world-renowned conductors and running over four, six or eight days. Participating singers will be expected to attend all rehearsals on the ateliers they have registered for and for the final concert. One-day ateliers are also available for a more varied experience but without a final concert. These Discovery Ateliers are available to all participants once their main atelier is completed.

The PULSE Lecture Programme will provide the opportunity to discuss ideas for conductors, music educators, choir leaders, composers, music students and publishers. This also offers the opportunity to participate in a four-or-eight-day, mentored Study Tour to experience the different repertoires and methodology in the main ateliers.

Surrounding these more intense participatory choral events is the Music Expo and VocBazaar in which choirs, publishers, teachers and associated businesses will be setting out their stalls. Workshops will discuss important aspects of choral teaching, new thinking in the Covid-19 era, business, education and other subjects.

Europa Cantat was created in from a conjunction of Arbeitsgemeinschaft Europäischer Chorverbände (AGEC) and the European Federation of Young Choirs, which had formed around the philosophy of promoting international exchange and cooperation in the post-war years.

This spirit of co-operation continues today through a series of EU-funded projects to promote choral music participation and education for the 37 million choristers across the continent.

The 2021 Festival is organised by the Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Cultural Activities and is the largest event on the Europa Cantat calendar. Over 50 conductors and mentors, as well as thousands of amateur and professional singers and exhibitors, are expected to attend.

‘We know that our festival is fantastic for anyone who loves singing and is connected to music in any way. We believe that people will have a positive outlook on the next summer and spend a part of it with us. Which is why we expect the participants to be optimistic,’ says the Festival Manager, Urška Bittner Pipan, a choir singer herself.

‘Anyone who has ever sung in an ensemble or choir knows that there is no way to describe the feeling when music takes over the place to someone without that particular experience.

‘For me, this is a gift that allows me to explore new music worlds and amazing people, forge new friendships as well as visit new places and countries – and you can expect exactly that in July 2021 in Ljubljana.’

Registration for individuals and groups is open until 15 February 2021 and can be completed at https://europacantat.jskd.si/register/.