[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css_animation=”bottom-t-top” animation_delay=”200″]The Baruch Brothers Choir from Belgrade was established in as the Serbian-Jewish Singers Society in 1879, with the goal of cherishing the cultural and artistic heritage and tradition of the Jewish people which live in these parts. Conductor and Musical Director is Stefan Zekić.
The Society changed its name in 1952 to the current name in commemoration of the three brothers from the progressive revolutionary Jewish family of Baruch, members of the resistance movement who were killed during the pogroms of the Nazi regime during the Second World War.
Joshua Jacobson (Boston, USA), conductor and a renowned researcher in the field of Jewish music, has concluded that this choir is oldest active Jewish choir in the world. The program policy of this ensemble has always been clearly defined and conceived in concurrence with its broader cultural-societal goal, which includes the mutual communication of traditions and closeness between the Jewish and Serbian people.
The repertory of the choir consists of representative works of musical literature from both Jewish and Serbian composers, as well as all the most important works of the classical choir repertory of all styles and epochs and the works of modern composers.
From the year of its foundation until today, the choir has held numerous concerts and participated in many competitions and festivals in the former Yugoslavia – Yugoslav Choral Festivities in Niš, “Mokranjac’s Days” in Negotin, BEMUS, BELEF, Choirs among the Frescoes in Belgrade and others, as well as in Israel, USA, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, UK and others.
Zu den wichtigsten Auftritten des Chores zählen das Konzert in der Carnegie Hall im Jahr 1978 sowie die mehrfache Teilnahme beim wichtigsten jüdischen Chorfestival „Zimriya“ in Jerusalem. Das Ensemble hat sein Repertoire nach und nach unter der Leitung der bedeutendsten Dirigenten und Komponisten des Landes wie S. S. Mokranjac, J. Marinkovic, S. Hristic, B. Babic, B. Pascan, AS Vujic perfektioniert. Unter ihrer Ägide hat der Chor ein hohes Maß an künstlerischer Interpretation und hervorragende Disziplin in der Bühnenpräsenz erreicht.
Among the most important performances of the choir, there ist to mention the concert in Carnegie Hall in 1978, as well as the attendance of the choir on numerous occasions at the most important Jewish choir festival “Zimriya” in Jerusalem. The ensemble has gradually perfected its performance under the conductorship of the most eminent conductors and composers of the country (S. S. Mokranjac, J. Marinković, S. Hristić, B. Babić, B. Pašćan, A. S. Vujić, et al.), having gained under their guidance a high level of artistic interpretation and superb discipline in stage performance.
The choir has appeared in a series of television and radio programs, having done recordings in the country and abroad. The Baruch Brothers Choir has recorded two LP discs with Jewish synagogal and traditional music. After a very successful concert “Jerusalem of Gold” held in the Great Hall of Ilija M. Kolarac’s Foundation, a CD recording of the same name was done in 2007. The ensemble has twice received medals from the President of Serbia, for its contribution to the cultural affirmation of the country.
Stefan Zekić, Conductor and Musical Director, was born in 1983, in Belgrade. He began conducting at the age of 17 and graduated from the Faculty of Music at the University of Arts in his hoemtown in two departments: conducting and solo singing. Additional education includes trainings and workshops with the most prominent european conductors, such as: Uros Lajovic (AU), Michael Sheck (BE), Andrew Parrott (UK), and Max Frey (GE). Currently, he’s pursuing Phd at the University of Arts in Belgrade in the field of opera conducting.
He conducted both in Serbia and abroad, in more than one hundred concerts. He’s currently engaged in the National Theatre of Belgrade and participate in the preparation of the following Opera repertoire: Gaetano Donizetti: Italiana in Algeri , Don Pasquale; Gioachino Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, Atila, Nabuco, Aida; Giacomo Puccini: Suor Angelika, Il Tabarro, La Boheme, Tosca; Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana; Georges Bizet: Carmen; Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer.
Parallel with opera conducting, he’s the founder and artistic manager of the ensemble for early music Canticum novum. In 2006 he became the chief conductor of the The Baruch Brothers Choir. He is also the director of the annual Rossi Music Festival.
Stefan Zekić won numerous national and international awards at the prestige festivals and competitions.
Webseite: http://baruh.rs/en/
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