Ipavska Chamber Choir is a group of singers that continue the long tradition of choral singing in the upper Vipava valley, in the west of Slovenia. Starting as a modest vocal group, it has grown into a choir with over thirty singers coming from all parts of the valley.

The repertoire of the choir includes various musical works, ranging from Slovene folk music to sacred music including demanding contemporary choir pieces composed by Slovene as well as foreign composers.

Together with the accomplished conductor, Matjaž Šček, the singers want to present their quality and ambition by performing new pieces of music written both by Slovene and foreign composers.

The choir presents its quality by performing in concerts as well as by attending various competitions at home and abroad.

• Achievements
• CDs
• Conductor

Achievements

In 16^th Slovene national choral competition in Maribor in 1999 it won a gold plaque and a special award for the best debut choir of the competition. Ipavska entered this competition also in 2001 and proved its quality again by winning a silver plaque. The choir reached highest at the 18^th Slovene national choral competition ‘Naša pesem’ in Maribor in 2003. Alongside the first prize of the competition as the best choir Ipavska also received a special award for the best performance of a contemporary Slovene composition, while the conductor earned the award for the best performance of the compulsory composition. In 2005 Ipavska won a gold plaque for the third place in Maribor and Mr Šček was again awarded for the best performance of the compulsory composition.

In November 2002 Ipavska won the first regional choir competition in Postojna, where Ipavska Female Vocal Group performed for the first time and achieved the highest score in the category of female vocal groups. In addition to that, the choir earned a special award for the best performance of an original contemporary composition of an author from the region of Primorska. Ipavska is also proud to have won the second regional choir competition in Postojna in November 2004, where it received a Gold Plaque Award, given by the town of Postojna and the special Marjan Gabrijelčič Award for the performance of Riba Faronika, a contemporary Slovene composition by Patrick Quaggiato. In 2006 Ipavska again achieved great success at this competition by winning the overall competiton and with Ipavska Female Vocal Group winning the category of female vocal groups and the special Marjan Gabrijelčič Award for the best performance of a contemporary Slovene composition.

The choir is a regular guest at Primorska poje festival.

In terms of international competitions, Ipavska Chamber Choir is certainly proud to have won the international competition in Riva del Garda, Italy, in 2001, where it also came first in the category of sacred music. Furthermore, Matjaž Šček was awarded as the best conductor of the competition.

In October 2003 Ipavska entered 35^th CERTAMEN CORAL DE TOLOSA, the international Grand Prix competition in Tolosa, Spain, and was awarded 3^rd Prize in the category of polyphony and came fourth in the category of folklore. It was on this occasion that Mr Christian Balandras invited the choir to attend 33^rd FLORILÈGE VOCAL DE TOURS in May 2004, where among numerous excellent choirs Ipavska performed in the finals of one of the most prestigious choir competitions worldwide. The choir entered yet another Grand Prix competition and that was Concorso Internazionale di Canto Corale 2005 in Gorizia, Italy. Winning 5^th place in the category of polyphony was again proof of the choir’s quality.

In May 2007 Ipavska took part in the 6th International Choir Competition in Zadar, Croatia, and won the first prize, Nun Čika's Golden Cross, which is given to the best choir of the competition. The choir and its conductor, Mr Šček, were also awarded a special prize for the best performance of a composition written by a Croatian composer.

CDs

The choir is very proud to have released their first CD Ipavska in November 2003, presenting some choral pieces written by Vytautas Miškinis and the famous Requiem by Gabriel Faure. In November 2005 the choir released Primorske ljudske, a CD containing music which is closely connected with the region of Primorska. The CD presents the folk music of the region of Primorska arranged by composers that come from this region only. Some of the pieces recorded on the CD are very popular with the majority of choirs, some might be slightly less familiar, but Ipavska is very glad to contribute to the tradition of folk singing by recording certain newly arranged pieces.

Ipavska Chamber Choir wants to cherish the art of choral singing and share the wonderful musical experience with all the people that let the music fill their hearts.

Conductor

Matjaž Šček was born in a family of musicians in 1958 in Koper. His great musical talent took him to Ljubljana, where he studied the piano at first, but later he dedicated his life and studies to choral music. He studied to become a conductor at Ljubljana Academy of Music and with an accomplished Slovene conductor and composer Lojze Lebič.

In his carreer he has had a lot of success with various choirs, but he has reached the highest with Ljubljana Madrigalists, which he led from 1991 to 2001. For four years he conducted the Chamber Choir of Radio Slovenia and in 1996 he started his work in Vipava with Ipavska Chamber Choir. Republic of Slovenia Public Fund for Cultural Activities recognized Šček’s immense contribution to the field of choral music and awarded him the highest prize, Gold Gallus Plaque in 2001.