The events marking the 100th anniversary of the Bulgarian Choral Union were successfully launched by the workshop with maestro Peter Broadbent. The two-day course for choral conductors was held in Plovdiv with the kind assistance of the Bulgarian Choral Union “Prof. Assen Diamandiev”.
The world-famous conductor from Great Britain arrived in our country at the invitation of the Board of the Bulgarian Choral Union. Peter Broadbent is one of the leading choral conductors in Great Britain, known for his performances of contemporary music. In 1988, he formed the chamber choir “Joyful Company of Singers”, which quickly established itself as one of the leading chamber choirs in all of Europe, winning numerous national and international competitions. They participate in the most famous festivals in Great Britain (such as the BBC Proms) and in many concerts throughout Europe and the USA. The repertoire of the chamber orchestra includes over 35 performances and over 25 recorded CDs, the number of which continues to grow. Peter Broadbent has also worked as a guest conductor throughout Europe, including for concerts and recordings with the BBC Singers, the National Chamber Orchestra in Dublin and the Kodály Philharmonic and Choir in Debrecen. He gives master classes and is a jury member at international competitions. He was awarded the Hungarian Order of Merit for his services to the promotion and strengthening of British-Hungarian cultural relations. He also received the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to music.
Four working sessions of the workshop brought together the participants on the topics of “Rehearsal Technique” and “Contemporary Trends in the Selection of Choral Repertoire”. Maestro Broadbent shared with them his knowledge and skills in structuring rehearsals, in various techniques and stagings in conducting and introduced the attendees to examples from the work of contemporary composers Ola Jeilo, Eric Whitaker, Laundriesen and others.
The workshop involved choir conductors and choristers from Burgas, Sofia, Plovdiv, Haskovo, Svilengrad, Silistra, Varna and Asenovgrad.
After completing the work process, Peter Broadbent was a special guest on the “Club Nedelya” program on Radio Plovdiv.
