Consortium Musicum Ljubljana

Contact

Consortium Musicum Ljubljana

Ilirska 16, SI-1000 Ljubljana

http://www.consortium-musicum.si/

consortium.musicum@googlemail.com

Phone386 (0) 1 231 5307

Consortium Musicum Ljubljana portrait of members

Consortium Musicum Ljubljana is the largest non-professional mixed choir in Slovenia specialising in the performances of vocal-instrumental music. The choir is able to study new programmes very quickly and prepares more than 10 different programmes in a year. It performs regularly with both symphonic orchestras – Slovene Philharmonic and RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra.

Background

The choir was established in 1968 when Mirko Cuderman founded a musical society and gathered a group of classical and choral music lovers. Cuderman, who had gained his professional musical education in Vienna, realised the need for a larger choral body which would be able to perform big vocal-instrumental compositions. Cuderman stayed as the choir's permanent conductor also after 1991 when the professional Slovene Chamber Choir (SKZ) was established. Since then the choir Consortium Musicum performs together with the SKZ.

Programme

Specialised in performances of standard vocal-instrumental repertoire (for example, Verdi's Requiem, Brahms's German requiem, Mahler's symphonies, Bach's cantatas and passions, masses by Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn), the Consortium Musicum choir also prepares a capella concerts.

The choir performs its programmes independently or in collaboration with other artists (it has collaborated with around 40 conductors and 140 soloists), orchestras and choirs Its repertoire includes more than 150 oratories, cantatas and sacred music as well as around 350 a cappella compositions from various historical periods. Among these are 16 first interpretations of new compositions and 147 composition performances premièred in Ljubljana.

The collaboration with the Slovene Chamber Choir is regular and fruitful: during the last 15 years there were more than 90 common concerts within the three subscription series of the Slovene Philharmonics.

Concerts

Among important concerts of the last decade were: the concert with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra led by Gilbert Kaplan in Salzburg (2003) (together with Slovene Chamber Choir); the concert conducted by maestro Riccardo Mutti at the Ravenna festival (2005); the concert with Slovene Philharmonics conducted by George Pehlivanian in Brussels (Slovenian EU presidency in 2008); the concert with Italian RAI conducted by Christian Arming in Torino (2009). Consortium Musicum Ljubljana participated also in the Gustav Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand open-air concert with Slovene and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and more than 1000 singers under maestro Valery Gergijev in Ljubljana and Zagreb (2011).

Gustav Mahler - simfonija tisočev, št. 8 (Ljubljana, 3.7.2011) by Klemen Žumer on YouTube

Venues, awards and recordings

The choir has participated in many festivals and competitions and has received several prizes, including a national award from the Gallus Foundation and the Župančič Award of the City of Ljubljana. It was four times proclaimed the best choir of the Naša pesem Choir Competition where it got six gold plaques.

Consortium Musicum has collaborated on the acclaimed Musica Sacra Slovenica CD series and recorded more then 30 CDs. The choir's discography includes majority of Slovene sacred compositions.

See also

• Slovene Chamber Choir

External links

• Consortium Musicum Ljubljana website

Gallery

Consortium Musicum Ljubljana, 20th anniversary performance, Gallus Hall of Cankarjev dom, 1988

Consortium Musicum Ljubljana portrait of members

Dr. Mirko Cuderman, Consortium Musicum Ljubljana choir's founder and conductor, 2008