Niš, Serbia
Children’s and Youth Choir of the Choral Society “Branko”
- Conductor Jovana Mikić
- First evening Sunday, 8 June 2025, 8 pm
- Festival Music Edict 2025
The Children’s and Youth Choir was founded in 1995 as the youth section of the Niš Church Choral Society “Branko” at the Cathedral in Niš. The choir sings regularly at services and takes an active part in the cultural life of the city, and has performed at many festivals, including “Choirs among Frescoes” in Belgrade, the “International Choir Festival” in Niš and the “Music Edict” festival in Niš. It has also performed many times abroad: several times in Greece (Patras, Athens); in Bulgaria at the Balchik palace complex at the invitation of the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture as a representative of young Serbian artists (2008); in Poland at the “Days of Church Music” festival in Hajnówka (1st place, 2009); in Graz, Austria, organised by the Serbian-Austrian friendship society “Most”, presenting Serbian sacred and secular music (2010); in Italy with concerts in Rimini and Barletta at the invitation of the Dante Alighieri Society (2011); in Pomorie (Bulgaria) at the sacred music festival “Dostojno jest” (2012); at the “Kolozha Blagovest” festival in Grodno, Belarus, winning 1st place (2013); in Białystok, Poland, at the Vidovdan festival (2014); and in Moscow at the Christmas gala concert in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour as the only Serbian choir (2015). At Easter 2016 the choir took part in the International Paschal Festival organised by the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, receiving the festival laureate’s charter signed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 the choir performed in Berlin (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Iași (Romania) and Lausanne (Switzerland). In November 2019, at the invitation of the Arab Orthodox community, the choir gave a concert in the Church of St Elijah in Jerusalem attended by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. Its repertoire consists primarily of sacred compositions of all the peoples of the world, covering a wide range of sacred music from the Middle Ages to the present day, from unison to polyphony. The ensemble performs sacred music a cappella, as the tradition of Orthodox churches requires. It is also drawn to the ethno sound of the region it comes from, performing with equal love compositions that present the folk heritage of the Balkans, with instrumental accompaniment, and to the music of other peoples, showing symbolically that music is the most beautiful bridge between peoples. The choir has been conducted since its founding by Mrs Jovana Mikić, and since 2024 its accompanist has been Miss Emilija Stojković.
Conductor
Jovana Mikić
Jovana Mikić was born into the Timotijević priestly family in Prizren in 1970, where she received her elementary music education. As a young woman she conducted the parish children’s choir in Đakovica. She graduated in sociology from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade in 1994. She revived the “Braničevo” choir in Požarevac and conducted it from 1992 to 1994. In Niš in 1995 she founded the youth section of the Church Choral Society “Branko” (the “Branko” Children’s and Youth Church Choir), which she has conducted ever since.
Programme
- Holy God (Trisagion from the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom) - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)
- Cherubic Hymn (Sofronievsky) - Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov (1877 - 1944)
- To thee, the champion leader (Kontakion from the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos) - St. St. Mokranjac (1856 - 1914)
