Chamber Choir of Pécs

The Chamber Choir of Pécs was founded on October 22, 1958 by Dobos László and Aurél Tillai from a circle of friends and students. Members include teachers, doctors, other intellectuals, and university students. Many ex-choir members have their own choirs now, and several have become internationally acknowledged conductors.

Their repertoire covers almost the whole literature of choral music. Their main aim is to familiarise audiences both abroad and at home with the works of Hungarian classical composers (Kodály, Bartók, Bárdos); nevertheless, they are just as eager to sing the music of the generations following Kodály.

The choir has won 39 international prizes. To name just a few, they won first prize in Tours (twice) and Spittal. In 2000, three first prizes were awarded to the choir at the Orlando Lasso Choir Competition in Rome. They perform regularly on Hungarian Radio on the spot, and their programmes have been broadcast in Helsinki, Torino, Paris, London, Brussels, Rome and Stockholm. The choir takes an active part in philharmonic life–they have sung over 30 oratorical pieces.

The choir is the creator of the International Chamber Choir Festival of Pécs, and has been the host since 1964. Due to the success of this festival, in 1988 the city of Pécs welcomed the tenth Europa Cantat Choir Festival. In August 2010, as a proud holder of the title 2010 European Capital of Culture, Pécs hosts the Pécs Cantat, which will be a major choral event of the year.