The "Orthodox Church Music" Foundation invites you to the 39th International Festival of Orthodox Music "Hajnówka 2020", which will run from 17 to 20 September 2020.
Since 1982, choirs from all over the world have presented themselves at the largest festival of church music in Poland. In 1995, Polish Ministry of Culture declared the International Festival of Orthodox Church Music in Hajnówka as an artistic event of the highest rank, awarding it the "zero category", thus placing the Festival on the same level with such prestigious events as the Chopin Competition and the „Warsaw Autumn” International Festival of Contemporary Music, which are the most renowned Polish music events internationally. Starting with the 19th edition, the presidents of Poland have served as the event’s honorary patrons. In 2003-2020 the Festival was held under the artistic patronage of Krzysztof Penderecki. For many years the Polish Composers' Union has been the patron of the event. Since the 3rd edition, choirs has competed for prestigious awards in the competition judged by the international jury consisting of composers and conductors of church music. For many years the jury has been chaired by Romuald Twardowski, outstanding Polish composer and teacher.
The inaugural concert of this year's Festival, performed by the Polish Chamber Choir Schola Cantorum Gedanensis from Gdańsk, will be dedicated to Romuald Twardowski in the year of his 90th birthday. Choirs from Warsaw, Kraków, Białystok, Olsztyn, Budapest (Hungary), Riga (Latvia), Piraeus (Greece) and Sofia (Bulgaria) will take part in the competition auditions. On 20 September, the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic will host a gala concert in memory of Krzysztof Penderecki with the participation of the Festival’s Laureates and the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir.
The Festival will also feature an accompanying concert in the St. Trinity Evangelical-Augsburg Parish in Warsaw on 18 September, performed by choirs from Greece and Bulgaria. Promotion of the album “Festival of the singing soul” and screening of a film about the Festival will be held on the same day in the Chamber hall of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic in Białystok.
The live broadcast will be available at: http://festiwal-hajnowka.pl/eng/