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IFAS Pardubice 2002 – 17th International festival of university choirs

Pardubice, Czech republic

"The International festival of university choirs IFAS Pardubice has become a very reputable term in the long time of its existence, not only by its high aristic and organizational level, but also because of that it is on a world-wide scale one from the few festivals specialized to comparing of skills of student's university choirs. The very important fact it is the presentation of Czech music abroad via obligatory of using a competition pieces by the most important Czech composers."

Via these words the festival was characterized by Minister of Culture of Czech Republic Pavel Dostál

The idea to organize an international meeting of university choirs came into being in 1967 in the University artistic choir Pardubice, that founder was Vlastimil Novák. He acts as a professor of conducting and choristering at the Conservatory of Pardubice where he has educated many of well-known conductors and choirmasters. He is invited into international juries and world's choir's competes.

Since 1980 the festival has been running periodically in two-years intervals. On festival may take part an university choirs and a choirs of university type schools. During its existence the festival has been joined by many of excellent choirs from whole the Europe and from the oversea as well.

The contest is passed in categories of mixture choirs, chamber mixture choirs and female choirs. Into the every competition category are by the festival artistic counsel chosen obligatory compositions from the production of the front Czech authors (A. Dvořák, B. Smetana, L. Janáček, B. Martinů, A. Tučapský, P. Eben, Z. Lukáš and the others) that has to be part of competition entrance of each the choir.

This year's volume of the festival was realized between 3rd and 8ht of July 2002 and there was taken part also by the mixed choir of Masaryk University in Brno GAUDEAMUS led by the choirmaster Alexander Vacek.

The festival concerts and contests was taking place in the modern aula at University of Pardubice. The participants of the festival were accommodated in the university college and the university area was living for the duration of four days by music and singing.

In sum the festival joined 18 choirs from whole the world (Poland, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Great Britain, Spain, Russia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Philippines, Taiwan), that was chosen upon basis of sended recordings by international jury in composition of: Blanka Juhaňáková, Slovakia, a conductress of several choirs and a haunted pianist; Gene Brooks, USA, the national executive director of the Association of American Choir Managers; Helmut Steger, Germany, the president of the German Alliance of Singers; Vlastimil Novák, Czech Republic; Ivana Štíbrová, Czech Republic, a lecturer at the Faculty of Education at Charles University in Prague and a choirmistress; Jiří Kolář, Czech Republic, the president of the Main committee of the Union of Czech Choirs and the artistic chairman of the counsel at the IFAS festival; Miloslav Stříteský, Czech Republic, a pedagogue and a concert singer; Józef Świder, Poland, a professor of composition in Katowice, a composer and a juryman.

At the festival favourite was regarded the mixed choir of Philippine University in Quenzon City, that in the last year represented its country on many of the European choir competitions and got the first awards altogether. However already the opening festival concerts indicated, that all the choirs was ready for hardly fighting over the victory.

On purpose of the opening concert was to present to the jury and the public not only singing choir, but also the country, that the choir is coming from. After the notification of the GAUDEAMUS, the public might has a impression, that they are at an introduction of the Smetana's "Sold's bride", the girls entered in manycoloured skirts and white starched tunics with their hair involved into plaits with red bows; the boys was in white embroidered shirts completed by vest. They impressed very freshly, the pleasure from the life and the singing radiated from them. For their entrance were awarded by stormy applause.

The second day the competition tilt started. Our choir came on order as late as evening, so that all the day was dedicated to last edits in the choir folklore program, in that it was contested in the evenig. The choir dressed into the folk costumes again. After two folk songs came a surprise: in several seconds the country youth was changed into the part of modern young people dressed into jeans and varicoloured T-shirts and on order came the spiritual. The effect was excellent, the applause gigantic.

The next day we were contesting in the category of mixed choirs, the obligatory composition was "Lacrymosa" by Zdeněk Lukáš for all the choirs.

In the evening everyone were impatiently expected to the results publication. The aula was filled to blow-out, time was lapsing, but jury stayed out still. So the public begun spontaneously amuse themselves by that, what they can do best and what joined them together regardless of the difference among their languages: by singing.

Releasing of the results begun by female choirs, continued by chamber choirs and as lately as then came to order mixed choirs. The suspension was great and the triumph even bigger. The GAUDEAMUS choir won first prize in the folk music category, as well as in the mixed choirs category. The choirmaster Alexander Vacek received a Special Award in the mixed choirs category for his outstanding performance as conductor. The best scored choir is every festival awarded by University of Pardubice Rector's Prize, also that triumph got the GAUDEAMUS choir. Our choir acquired not only feelings of the jury, but also won the hearts of public, who by their votes worths awarding of Prize of Public for the most likeable festival choir.

However the competition didn't finish yet. On the last day of the festival there was a competition among the winners of each category completed by two choirs with the highest score about the main prize - Grand Prix IFAS 2002, that was awarded for the first time this year. Drawed lots decided to our choir the last place in the entrance order. When the choir finished the last competition song "Tancuj, tancuj" in the arrangement of A. Vacek, there was rised a storm of enthusiasm. During the promotion of results all the members of our choir kept themselves by the hands and had the some common desire, that came into existence: they were by all the voices valuated like the best choir of the festival and the GAUDEAMUS choir became the first winner of the IFAS Grand Prix in 2002. The pleasure and emotion was great, there dropped also several tears. The congratulations and photography was endless. Favoured choir of Philippine University took brave the defeat. The conductor Mr. Ed Manguiat, a member of the International Federation of Choral Music, he was one of the first congratulators, with our choirmaster Mr. Vacek they interchanged competition music materials and there was settled reciprocal cooperation of both choirs.

What may be said in conclusion? The festival days was hard by both physical and psychical aspects, however for the choirmaster and for the singers of the GAUDEAMUS choir it ment culmination of the six years of hard work. For some members of the choir if ment the conclusion of their activities in the choir, because they finished studying at Masaryk University in Brno and are returning to their places. We have no choice but to thank them for exemplary representation and wish them Good Luck into their lifes.

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