In October, Bulgaria will welcome one of the established youth choirs of Switzerland – Knabenkantorei Basel from Basel. As part of its international concert tour “ORIGINS: What We Inherit. What We Become.” The choir will perform three concerts in Plovdiv, Sliven and Shumen.
Knabenkantorei Basel is a choral institution with almost a century of history, which began in 1927. Today, the organization covers various levels of musical education, and its concert choir unites about 80 boys and young men. Its repertoire ranges from Renaissance a cappella music and great works from the Romantic era to folklore and contemporary music.
Over the years, the choir has also established itself on the international stage with concert tours in Europe, North and South America and participation in prestigious musical projects. In 2023, the young male voices of the Knabenkantorei Basel became European Champions in the category “Sacred Music with Accompaniment” at the European Choir Games in Norrköping, Sweden, and won the Grand Prix of Nations title in the same category. The choir has also worked with orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the Sinfonieorchester Basel.
Since 2017, the artistic director of the Knabenkantorei Basel has been the Swiss conductor Oliver Rudin, who himself went through the school of the ensemble and sang in the concert choir for more than a decade. Rudin is the winner of numerous international choral awards and often participates as a jury member in international choral competitions.
The program is structured in four thematic parts: Longing, Spirit, Home and Awakening. The audience will hear music by Felix Mendelssohn, Erik Eschenwald, Hans Zimmer, A. R. Rachman, Christopher Tin and other composers, as well as works related to various musical traditions from Europe and the world.
The Bulgarian part of the tour begins on October 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis in Plovdiv, where the Knabenkantorei Basel will perform a joint concert with the “Detska Kitka” choir at the Central Bulgarian Youth Center – UDK – Plovdiv. On October 21 at 3:00 p.m. the Swiss choir will perform at the Stefan Kirov Drama Theater in Sliven. The tour in Bulgaria will end on October 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the “Prof. Veneta Vicheva” hall in Shumen with a joint concert with the “Bodra Pesen” Children’s Choir at the Central Bulgarian Youth Center – UDK “Anastas Stoyanov” – Shumen.
The concerts are part of the international tour of the Knabenkantorei Basel through Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, presenting the ORIGINS project to audiences in all three countries. The artistic concept and overall artistic direction are by Oliver Rudin, the stage design and choreography are by Daniel Raaflaub, and the pianist is Rolf Herter.
