BANJALUČANKE WIN GOLD IN BUDAPEST

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 17 /SRNA/ - The female chamber choir Banjalučanke from Banja Luka won a gold medal in the category of traditional music at the renowned 19th International Choir Competition in Budapest.

This year's prestigious five-day competition brought together over 30 choirs from 11 countries across three continents, competing in various categories. The choir's conductor Mladen Matović said he was proud that Banjalučanke once again maintained a consistent level of quality performances on the international choral stage. “I congratulate all the members on their great effort, dedication, love, and commitment woven into this 20th international recognition for our choir. Performing in the famous Palace of Arts in Budapest was a truly special experience for all of us - we genuinely enjoyed the incredible acoustics and the interpretation of every tone and phrase of our competition pieces,” Matović told SRNA. He emphasized that they were especially honored during the award ceremony, where the prize was personally presented to him by the artistic director of the competition, Maestro Gábor Hollerung. The choir performed selected compositions by prominent domestic composers, with soloists Neđica Mijajlović and Jelena Vulin, featuring instrumentalists Mladen Janković /piano/ and Andrej Petković /percussion/ in two of the pieces. All ensembles were evaluated by an international expert jury of renowned global choral music specialists from Israel, Hungary, Germany, and Sweden. The Banjalučanke choir performed as the only representative of Republika Srpska and BiH, and also delivered a highly acclaimed performance at the final concert of the competition's best choirs, where the ensemble presented a demanding a cappella program. The participation of the Banjalučanke choir in the competition in Budapest was made possible thanks to the support of the Office of the President of Republika Srpska and the City of Banja Luka.