Sunday, 13 September
Crypt of the Church of Saint Sava, 7:00 p.m.
A concert marking the 190th anniversary of the choir’s founding
Choir of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Timișoara, Romania
Conductor: Joca Bugarski
Choir of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Timișoara
The earliest documented evidence of Serbian Orthodox choral singing in Timișoara dates back to 1836, when a male choir was founded at the city’s Serbian Orthodox Cathedral. It was one of the first Serbian church choirs anywhere in the world.
The choir’s foundation marked the beginning of a long, distinguished and fruitful tradition of Serbian choral singing in the Banat region. With only brief interruptions, this tradition has been maintained at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Timișoara for 190 years and continues to the present day.
The choir’s present mixed-voice ensemble began its work in January 1997, shortly after the former male choir, which had been active for more than a quarter of a century, ceased operating.
Continuing the rich tradition of its predecessors, the choir regularly sings at services held at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Timișoara and in churches throughout the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Timișoara. It has also taken part in numerous religious and secular events in Romania, Serbia, Republika Srpska and Hungary.
Its mission is to promote Orthodox Christian musical culture while helping preserve the national identity of the Serbian community in Romania. During almost three decades of activity, the present ensemble has released three audio recordings, while two monographs have been published about the choir and its work.
The Serbian Youth Choir of Timișoara will also perform at the concert. Consisting primarily of students from the Dositej Obradović Serbian High School, the youth choir is likewise conducted by Joca Bugarski.
Since the choir resumed its activities in 1997, it has been led by Joca Bugarski, a retired music teacher from Timișoara.
Joca Bugarski
Joca Bugarski was born on 2 January 1952 in Srpski Semarton, near Timișoara, Romania. He attended primary school in his home village and completed secondary school and the Music Department of the Faculty of Education in Timișoara. He graduated in 1974.
He worked as a music teacher in Grbov, near Bucharest; in Čenej, near Timișoara, from 1975 to 1990; and in Timișoara from 1990 until his retirement. Among the institutions at which he taught were the Dositej Obradović Serbian High School and the Constantin Diaconovici Loga National College.
He has been active in choral music since 1975. Over the years, he founded and conducted several school choirs, as well as the Timiș County Teachers’ Union Choir from 1985 to 1989 and the women’s and mixed choirs of the Dušan Vasiljev Cultural and Artistic Society in Čenej from 1990 to 1997.
Under his direction, school choirs achieved notable results at the local, county and national stages of the Song of Romania national festival.
The crowning achievements of his conducting career are the choir of the Dositej Obradović Serbian High School in Timișoara and the Choir of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Timișoara. He played a leading role in establishing and launching both ensembles and continues to conduct them today.
In addition to his choral work, Bugarski was a distinguished accordionist from an early age and took part in the activities of student cultural and artistic societies and folk orchestras.
He has prepared several school music anthologies, textbooks and collections of choral music for mixed and male choirs. His work has also appeared in sheet music collections, music encyclopaedias and periodicals.
In 1985, the Ministry of Education of the Socialist Republic of Romania awarded him the title of Distinguished Professor. He received the Vidovdan Charter from the Union of Serbs in Romania in 1998 and the Golden Badge of the Cultural and Educational Community of Serbia in 2007.
In 2012, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church awarded him the Order of Holy Despot Stefan Lazarević “for his active love for the Holy Mother Church, particularly demonstrated through his steadfast testimony to the Risen Christ.”
He lives in Timișoara.