The beginnings, repertoire, cooperation
The Chamber Choir Pro musica was founded in 1968 in Subotica. The founder, alongside a few other enthusiasts, and the choir conductor till 1999 was Ms Gabriella Égető, a teacher of counterpoint and music forms in Music School, and a gainer of The Honorary Citizen Diploma in 2001.
The motive and impetus for establishing the choir was the unforgettable concert on the occasion of the centenary celebration of Music School for which a huge number (around 100) of pupils, students, teachers…. were gathered. A few participants of this project (17 singers) decided to venture into the unknown world of music. As people live by acts and not by ideas, Pro musica came to be.
Renaissance, baroque, classicism and romanticism, choral ‘a capella’ and oratorical, as well as 20th century music can be found on the repertoire. Owing to Ms Égető and the conductor Csaba Paskó some capital pieces of musical literature were premiered in this region thus enriching the cultural life of the town which has had a very long tradition of cherishing musical culture.
Resourceful knowledge, skill, talent and enthusiasm are the qualities which successfully radiated from Ms Égető for 31 years. Fruitful cooperation with various composers, soloists, conductors, choirs, professional musical bodies from the country and abroad, great interest of the audience and numerous tours have been inseparable from Pro musica during all these years of its existence.
Performances
Since 1969 the choir has taken part in various municipal, provincial, republic and state competitions. Worth mentioning are the tours made in ex Yugoslavia following the success at the 2nd Congress of Jeunesse Musicales of Yugoslavia in Baško Polje in 1971, as well as the unforgettable concert at 39th Dubrovnik Summer Festival in 1980.
Since 1974 Pro musica has taken part in renowned international competitions, and has given a number of concerts in Great Britain, Austria, Italy, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania. The highlight of all was a two-week tour to Mexico in 1981.
Awards
In the annals of the choir numerous prizes and diplomas, which speak of and testify about a long-lasting quality of work, are proudly kept. Here are just some of them: 23 gold medals from the Festival of Music Ensembles of District Voivodina in Ruma and a special diploma for the contribution to the development of choir singing and for the long-standing participation in the Festival, 7 awards from the Yugoslav Choir Festival in Niš (the Golden Badge was awarded for the special prizes won while taking part in the Festival), the awards “Twinkles of Culture“ and “Jeunesse Musicales“ by the Province of Voivodina, the first prize at the 3rd Competition of Choirs of Serbia in Leskovac, the second prize at the 20th International Choral Competition in Péch (Hungary), a special prize at the festival “Choirs among Frescoes” (Belgrade) in 2006, the prizes awarded by the town of Subotica for cherishing the choir singing and enriching the cultural life of the town: the October prize, the Bodrogvári Ferenc Diploma and “Pro urbe” diploma.
The Years of Changes
War, inflation, financial difficulties, brain drain, retreat after many years of work under the baton of Ms Égető, the change of four conductors in the course of four years, after their decisions not to continue their work with the choir, eviction from the beloved rehearsal room under the roof of the Town Hall are just some of the obstacles the choir faced. It was not easy for those members of the choir who had participated in the creation and success of the choir. And some were, or have been, its members from the very beginning.
Persistence, enthusiasm, love for music, for what had been done and built into the choir during more than three decades of its existence, were the main driving force for the choir to continue its work and start a new course.
In 2003 we got a new conductor, a former student of Ms Égető, reverend Csaba Paskó. Owing to his knowledge acquired at Music Academies in Pécs (Hungary) and Graz (Austria), experience acquired at numerous courses he attended in the past years in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, support of and cooperation with the new leadership, exemplary work of his professors from Pécs, Graz and Subotica, gradual changes have been introduced and have helped reaffirmation of the choir.
The web page, electronic notification service about the concerts of the choir and other musical happenings via ProMinfo, engaging soloists, singers from the country and abroad, organizing projects with the chosen members of the choir, enriching and changing oratorical works, pieces for choir and pipe organs, and many, many other things………
Years are to follow ………….
Media, written documents, motivation in determining one’s future career
During the 40 years of its existence, the projects of Pro musica have been recorded via written and electronic media. The choir has made recordings for radio and television stations alike. There are also recorded interviews with the conductors Ms Gabriella Égető and Mr Csaba Paskó.
In the jubilee year of 2008, the recording of the first professional CD marked 40 uninterrupted years of the choir existence and paid reverence to Ms Égető and her long-standing work.
The CD has also helped promote our town and the cherishing of music culture in this region among the international professional circles. The permanent sound recording has been included in the annals of European cultural legacy.
The delicacy of choir singing has helped a few young singers determine their future career. Music has become their goal in life and their life-long profession.
The choir archive abounds in important facts and information. More than 700 performances, numerous members of different professions and generations who have sung, sing, have learnt or learn about the world of music have been noted down.
