SAINT EPHRAIM MALE CHOIR
Special guest star: VICTOR SOLOMON
20th anniversary gala
more than 400 performers and guests on the stage
11 July 2022 at 8 p.m. (rain date: 12 July)
Margaret Island Open-Air Stage
Hungary's most popular vocal ensemble was started 20 years ago by Liszt Prize-winner and Artist of Merit, Tamás Bubnó. The multi-award-winning Szent Efrém Male Choir has successfully performed on four continents and in more than 30 countries around the world over its two-decade career. Whether they are singing deep-toned Orthodox music, medieval hymns, playful Bartók works, pounding Liszt anthems or world hits, they never fail to impress audiences with their mature sound and strong stage presence.
"The St. Ephraim Singing Ensemble will celebrate the biggest bang of their anniversary in 2022 with the Grand Gala on Margaret Island. They have been preparing all year long in order to bring the audience joy and pleasure and to conquer more and more people with the magic of singing. Their mission is to bring about the miracle of music and singing, spirit and intellect, manifest in the human body and voice!" declared Tedóra Bán, artistic director of Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre.
The 20th anniversary marks a truly epic choral gala on Margaret Island Open Air Stage! The ensemble will perform together with choruses that have managed to establish a significant artistic collaboration with them in recent years – all made even more colorful and festive by the symphonic orchestral accompaniment and special visual effect. The concert is set to be a dizzying musical journey from early medieval to gospel and modern hits, with arrangements written exclusively for the occasion.
The Lautitia Family Chorus, the Budapest School of Singing, the Várpalota Schola, the Premontrei Schola of Gödöllő, the Belvárosi Kántorátus, the Angelica Girls Choir, the Heuréka Pop Orchestra, and Swing á la Django will all perform. A total of four hundred singers will celebrate together with this outstanding vocal ensemble. Such a large-scale celebration in Hungary is possible only on Budapest’s Margaret Island. To showcase the ensemble's diverse repertoire, spanning the ages and styles of the world, the magnificent Victor Solomon, the magical-voiced gospel singer and finalist of The Voice 2021, will arrive from America with his ensemble to celebrate with the St. Ephrem Male Choir.
The ensemble and the Margaret Island Theatre team are preparing a truly cathartic experience. Through the experience of lifting their voices together, they will conquer and captivate the audience to the delight of all.
The entire Margaret Island will dissolve into one vast choral sound!
SAINT EPHRAIM MALE CHOIR
Introduction
In modern times, classical music has become an outdated genre that is closely associated with aristocracy. Saint Ephraim Male Choir wishes to tear down this stigma.
Our view is that there are two archetypes of music; the sacred and the profane, and we believe that classical values are inherent in both, regardless of its genre or age. Whether we perform deep tonal orthodox music, felxible Mediterranean Byzantine melodies, playful Bartók pieces, powerful Liszt hymns or popular modern music hits, our main goal is to offer quality in performance! IIt is not enough for us to enjoy singing our choice of music, we strive to make it enjoyable for our audiences as well. Saint Ephraim Male Choir is an intellectual hub, where we are constantly inspired by each other’s personalities, musical talents and vibrancy. We believe that good music is not meant to be understood – but it is meant to be enjoyed.
Short intro
Hungary’s most popular chamber vocal ensemble was established in 2002 by Tamás Bubnó, Hungarian Artist of Merit and Liszt Award laureate. The choir’s name comes from Saint Ephraim the Syrian (306-373), who was a celebrated hymn composer, aptly nicknamed “harp of the Holy Spirit’ by his contemporaries.
In the beginning, the choir specialised in performing the abundant musical heritage of Byzantine Christian music, which had also paved the group’s initial success within and across borders. The curiosity towards Hungary’s male choir heritage had also been a strong vein, inspired by the Greek Catholic Priest, János Boksay’s male choral liturgy. Once heading down this track, came the raking up of Franz Liszt’s forgotten male choir pieces followed by Béla Bartók’s sensational compositions. Thus, alongside maintaining the Byzantine musical heritage, the 2nd main pillar of the choir’s profile grew to nurture the male choral music of Hungary’s grand masters.
Having performed in various prestigious local as well as international festivals and concert venues, Saint Ephraim Male Choir’s unique sound became familiar to numerous contemporary composers, some of whom have written pieces specifically for the group. It has become their mission to perform contemporary music at all their concerts.
The permanent group of 8 singers perform regularly in Hungary and internationally as well as hosting an annual concert series named Orientale Lumen, where internationally renowned guests are also invited to contribute. They released 14 albums. Some of the members are aspiring composers themselves, often composing and rearranging pieces to expand the choir’s unique repertoire.
Milestones
- 2002 – foundation of St Ephraim Male Choir
- 2005 – János Boksay’s Liturgy for Male Choir is recorded and released
- 2006-2010 – international festival appearances and prizes (St Petersburg Summer Festival, Moscow; Hajnówka Music Festival, Poland; Ravenna Festival; Janacek May; Dvorák Festival; Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival; Donaufest-Ulm; MusikFestspiele Saar; Festival de Royaumont; Festival d’Auvers sur Oise)
- 2011 – Orientale lumen series begins
- 2012 – ’Cities’ series begins in Budapest Music Center
- 2013 – Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil at the Budapest Spring Festival
- 2014 – From One to Twelve – series commemorating Miklós Ybl
- 2015 – Bartók&Folk CD released
- 2016 – Joint concert with the King’s Singers (MüPa, Budapest)
- 2017 - Aldeburgh Festival, Artrium Contemporary Music Festival
- 2018 – Liszt Mosaics dance performance
- 2019 – Wings CD release, sold-out concert at the Liszt Music Academy
- 2020 – quarantine videos going viral – Pandémia, Türkisch
- 2021 – Bartók&Folk premiere
Victor Solomon competed on Season 20 of NBC’s The Voice where he was a finalist on Team John Legend. Victor plans to pursue his career in music and later on create his own label. Victor is also looking forward to an amazing year of new opportunities, traveling out of the country for bookings, and releasing new music. About his journey on the show ahead of the finale, Solomon spoke to reporters saying "For them to see me on this show and follow my dreams, it's really just a testimony that they can do it too. Whatever dreams or aspirations that you have, you can make it. If you keep God first, everything will fall in line."
Victor and his three siblings were raised by a single mom. He remembers times when they went without electricity and water, but they were a tight-knit family and always got through the difficult times together.
Victor started singing in church at six years old and won his eighth-grade talent show by singing John Legend's "Ordinary People." He continued singing in school and attended North Carolina A&T State University, the country's largest historically Black university. He performed in the school's 2020 virtual graduation ceremony, singing And I Will Rise Up.
Victor is now a senior and was voted Mister of his university. He serves on the Student Government Association Executive Board and stays busy with his Mister duties, but he continues to sing at church and in the school's gospel choir.
