Plovdivboyschoir

The Plovdiv Boy's Choir was founded in 1975 by the distinguished choir-master Stefka Blagoeva (1938-2000), who, for a very short time, developed it into an advanced chorus school, one of the best in Bulgaria. In 1981, due to the combined effort of Blagoeva and the conductor Teodosia Pankova, the Young Men’s Choir made its debut. The new formation gave the first generation of boys the opportunity to continue to be involved in the world of music, even after the mutation of their voices. These young men and boys, aged between 5 and 25, study solfège and sing in the three main chorus formations, namely the boy's, young men's, and mixed choirs. Finally, in 2008, the Men's choir was established, which built up a completed cycle giving the opportunity for all male singers to experience the full scope of development of their voices. Today, all male formations of the choir continue to consolidate the already high reputation of the institution.

In 2000, Milka Toledova succeeded Stefka Blagoeva as conductor of the choirs and continued the work of her predecessor. Throughout its stellar history, the choir developed rich and dynamic choral activities in Bulgaria and abroad. The choirs’ repertoire includes classical and modern choral songs, cantata-oratorio compositions by Bulgarian and foreign composers, and recreations of folklore songs, and many other works. Concerts for Christmas, Easter and other ecclesiastical and national holidays have become a tradition. Whereas the participation in concerts with symphonies, chamber, wind, and jazz orchestras and in operas such as: 'Attila', 'Carmen', 'Carmina Burana', 'Hansel and Gretel', 'Tosca', 'Turandot' and others, have permanently integrated the chorus in the cultural life of Plovdiv and Bulgaria. In addition, being a member of the choir provides the youngsters with the opportunity to explore other countries and cultures and to broaden their horizons and enrich them socially. Concert tours have been, and continue to be conducted in Bulgaria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine among others.

All the varied artistic-creational initiatives today are well-accomplished thanks to the collaboration among the conductors Milka Toledova, Teodosia Pankova, Borislava Blagoeva and the pianists Julia Petrova and Georgi Gadzhev. Additionally, a great contributor to the development, particularly of the Young Men's and Mixed Choirs, is the renowned conductor Krastin Nastev, who himself began as a tender aged chorister and experienced the choir's prestigious schooling. Under the guidance of the artistic managers throughout the years, the choir acquired its celebrated reputation and became known for its remarkable concert and recording history, as well as for its impressive contribution to the development, recognition and popularization of the male choral singing in Bulgaria and around the world. Being a member of the choir gives a unique opportunity to make a boy’s spare time worthwhile and to make them engage actively with music and arts through performing the choir’s various repertoires. The choir’s numerous honorable prizes from national and international choral festivals and competitions are the recognition of the world choral community for its achievements as an ambassador of culture and music. In 2003, in memory of its founder, the choir took the name 'Stefka Blagoeva'.