Iuventus Cantat

Mixed Youth Choir “Iuventus Cantat “, of the Choral Society of Sombor, was founded in 1985. as a part of the Choral Society of Sombor (in existence from 1870.), together with "Vojislav Voja Ilic" Children’s Choir. Under the direction of its founder, artistic director and conductor Silvester Hajnal, the Choir managed to attain great reputation in the country and abroad in a short period of time. The Choir’s repertoire includes the works of both Yugoslav and foreign composers, from early renaissance to contemporary authors. Apart from performing "a capella" pieces, the Choir has performed vocal and instrumental works ("Magnificat" and "Gloria" by A.Vivaldi, "Requiem" by Mozart, the "Lobgesang" symphony cantata by Mendelssohn, "Choral Fantasy" by Beethoven, Lutheran Masses in g-major and g-minor, "Magnificat" by J.S. Bach… in collaboration with orchestras such as "St. George", ’Dusan Skovran" and Leicestershire Symphony Orchestra as well as conductors such as Vojislav Ilic, Darinka Matic-Marovic, Aleksandar Vujic, Fritz ter Wey and Volker Hempfling (Germany), Katalin L. Nagy (Hungary) and others. “Iuventus Cantat” participated at all major festivals in the country and abroad. They are the winners of numerous first and special prizes, charters and diplomas at domestic and foreign choral festivals and competitions. Their showcase contains numerous official honors and rewards, including three St. Sava Decorations, a Brotherhood and Unity Decoration with Silver Wreath, the Charter of the Cultural and Educational Community of Vojvodina, the Charter of Mokranjac Days, the Golden Medallion of the Cultural and Educational Community of Serbia, the October Award of the Municipality of Sombor... The choir is a member of EFYC and the INTERKULTUR foundation. Here are some of the achievements: - In 1997 “Iuventus Cantat” won the first prize and a gold medal on the 6th International Choral Competition in Budapest , where Silvester Hajnal was awarded “The Best Conductor of the Festival” prize (among 70 conductors). He received the same award in Karditza, Greece in September 1997, where Iuventus Cantat won the second prize (first prizes were not awarded in any of the categories) - In November 1998. the Choir won the First Prize and Gold Medal at the 6th International Festival of Scared Music "Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina" held in Rome. - In 2000, “Iuventus Cantat” won a silver medal at the first Choir Olympics in Linz, becoming a port of the world’s history as the most successful choir from Yugoslavia. - In April 2001, at the 8th International Choral Festival in Budapest, they won three gold medals, for the best male, best female and best mixed choir. The male and female choirs were category winners as well. - At the 55th Llangollen International Music Festival in Wales (2001.), “Iuventus Cantat” wins the first prize in the category of mixed choirs and their conductor, Silvester Hajnal gains a title of “The Conductor of the World”. The choir also performed in the Swiss church and in “Nikolajevski dom” in London ant at the festival “Summer in Amiens” in France - In 2002 “Iuventus Cantat” won a gold medal in the Second Choir Olympics in Korea. The choir was conducted by maestro Aleksandar S.Vujic, because of the sudden death of maestro Silvester Hajnal. - Conductor Fedor Prodanov has been successfully leading the choir for almost four years. - From February 2007. the choir was successfully led for almost a year by m.a. Nada Vukovic. They won a silver medal in Ruma, at the competition of the best choirs of Serbia. - In 2008. , the choir was led by conducter and a composer Minta Aleksinacki. “Iuventus Cantat” participated at the festival “Choirs Under Frescoes” in Belgrade, at the “Days of Mokranjac” in Negotin and won special prize at the festival in Nis. Today, “Iuventus Cantat” is conducted by Marina Dragojlovic.