Saturday Social Event

Peter Bič Projekt

CANENS Women's Choir

The Canens Women's Choir was founded on September 1, 1990. From its inception, it has been characterized by a high artistic level, which has enabled it to perform numerous concerts and foreign tours. During its existence, it has performed more than 700 concerts and made over 40 concert tours abroad (France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, England, the Netherlands, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Latvia, South Africa, and others). The choir actively collaborates with orchestras and domestic and foreign soloists from the opera and pop scenes, and has collaborated with the drama and opera departments of the Slovak National Theater. It is the first choir from Eastern Europe to have had the honor of performing at Windsor, the summer residence of the British Queen. The choir's conductor is MgA. Ivana Záhorová Rovňáková, daughter of the choir's founder, Gabriel Rovňák. The choir is accompanied on the piano by Mgr.art. Nika Sidor, and the soloist and voice teacher is Bc. Vladimíra Babeľová, DiS. Art........

MgA. Ivana Záhorová Rovňáková
conductor and teacher. MgA. Ivana Záhorová Rovňáková is the artistic director and conductor of the Canens choir. She has been closely involved with choral singing since childhood – as the daughter of the choir's founder, Gabriel Rovňák, she sang in the choir for 15 years. She graduated from the State Conservatory in Bratislava and then continued her studies at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, where she obtained her MgA degree. During her studies, she completed one-year internships at the University of Leeds and Oundle School of Music in Great Britain, where she focused on conducting, singing, harp playing, and management. Her time abroad provided her with valuable inspiration and enriched her pedagogical and artistic work with international experience and modern approaches. She has worked closely with the Brno Philharmonic, Opera North (Leeds, UK), and Bibiana – House of Arts for Children (Bratislava). She regularly leads music workshops and educational events.

The Bratislava Boys' Choir

has been active on the Slovak art scene since 1982. Its founder, artistic director and conductor is Mgr.Art. Magdaléna Rovňáková ArtD, and its conductor is MgA. Gabriel Rovňák, Ph.D. The tenor and bass section usually performs at concerts with younger boys, but they will perform separately at the social evening. Collaboration with symphony orchestras (Slovak Philharmonic, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Košice State Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Radio Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra...) has enriched the ensemble's repertoire with dozens of oratorios, cantatas and symphonies conducted by leading international conductors. The choir performs throughout Slovakia and has been applauded by audiences in major European cities (Berlin,
Budapest, Brussels, London, Moscow, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna...), America (Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, San Francisco...), Canada (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto), Japan (Osaka, Tokyo...), Israel, Cyprus, and the choir has enjoyed great success in Oman and Taiwan. The choir collaborates with leading Slovak teachers - sopranos Miriam Garajová, Monika Maglayová and the outstanding pianist Mgr. art. Dana Hajóssy, PhD.

Doctor Artis Magdaléna Rovňáková
founder, conductor and manager of the Bratislava Boys' Choir, has been at the helm of the ensemble since its inception in 1982. During her many years of artistic activity, she has brought the choir to important stages at home and abroad. For nine years, she prepared the boys for performances at the Vienna State Opera. For over thirty years, she has collaborated with the Slovak National Theatre Opera, for which she has rehearsed children's parts in operas by G. Puccini, J. Massenet, R. Leoncavallo, G. Bizet, A. Boito, A. Berg, W. A. Mozart, J. Cikker, R. Wagner, and others. She collaborated on the staging of A. L. Weber's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the New Stage in Bratislava. She prepared the boys for a major tour with the Slovak National Theatre Opera in Japan and Cyprus. With the Bratislava Boys' Choir, she has won international choir competitions. Together with the choir, she has received numerous artistic and social awards. In 2014, she was awarded the Crystal Wing, and in 2019, she became Slovak Woman of the Year in the category "Education of Young Talents."