Children’s Choir “Bodra Pesen” at the Central Children’s Choir-Organic Society “Anastas Stoyanov” – Shumen triumphed with another prestigious international recognition for its participation in the XIV edition of the International Festival “Music and the Sea”, held in Paralia, Greece from September 15 to 20, 2026.
The festival brought together an impressive number of participants – a total of 24 choirs from 10 countries, including Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Slovakia, Estonia and the Netherlands. 17 ensembles competed in the competition program in various categories, and the participants in the festival program made Paralia famous in the out-of-competition festival concerts.
The Shumen choir with artistic director and conductor Dr. Denitsa Uzunova, pianist Evridika Valcheva and accompanist Yordanka Ilieva performed in the “Children’s Choirs” category and impressed the highly authoritative jury consisting of Sasho Tatarchevski (North Macedonia), Dr. Yana Deliradeva (Bulgaria) and Vladimir Opacic (Serbia). The Shumen children showed high vocal mastery and singing culture, as well as expressive stage presence.
After its convincing performance in its category, “Bodra pesen” was deservedly awarded the First Prize. This success opened the doors of the Shumen ensemble to the final Grand Prix competition, where they were selected to compete among the 8 best finalists of the festival – ensembles from Slovakia, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Georgia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
At the final, the Grand Prix was awarded to the mixed choir “Lumiere” from Tbilisi, Georgia. However, the jury also awarded its two special awards, one of which was unconditionally awarded to the Bulgarian children’s ensemble: “Commendation for Overall Advancement for Bodra Pesen from Bulgaria with the conductor Ms. Denitsa Uzunova” (Special Award for Overall Advancement during the Competition). 