Music: Celebration of Balkan's musical heritage

(caption for the above: Members of Musica Balkanica choir with the conductor, Budimir Miljkovic)

- at a concert by Chch's Musica Balkanica choir

Musica Balkanica choir - formed in Christchurch in 2004 by a group of enthusiasts to celebrate and share the rich musical heritage of the Balkan region of Eastern Europe - had a concert in the Great Hall of the Arts Centre on the October 22. The choir was led by its conductor of many years, Budimir Miljkovic and co-conductor Mihaela Hnat.

Its members are an international mix of enthusiastic amateurs. "We love to sing. Our repertoire consists of sacral and folk music sung in the languages of the Balkan region - Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Romanian, Gypsy. During the last few years, we had an annual Easter concert, singing sacral music, a folk concert and a carol concert at Christmastime," informed Gyöngyi, a member of the choir. The concert featured Farandol Folkdancers, with Cornelia Didenco on violin, and Veronica VanDer Knaap on piano. In all, there were 24 singers and six dancers performing as part of the concert.