The women's choir "Berezinochka" has once again confirmed its "People's" (Amateur) title.

The female choir "Berezinochka" has once again confirmed its "People's" status. The head of the ensemble, Elena Prokopovich, talks about its history and achievements.

— The "Berezinochka" choir was founded at the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve in the 1960s. Those were the flourishing times for the choral genre; the ensemble also had a male section, and the number of participants reached up to 60 people, — notes Elena Vladimirovna. — The choir has always had an academic performance style. Its repertoire includes Soviet songs, examples of Belarusian folk art, and masterpieces of world classics. By the 1980s, "Berezinochka" had "lost" its male voices and acquired its current name.

In 1988, the ensemble began to operate under the Domzheritsy Rural House of Culture. In 1996, it defended its "People's" status. We have maintained this status to this day.

— What are the distinctive features of "Berezinochka"?

— We are one of the few vocal and choral ensembles with the "People's" status in the region that operate in a rural area. We are the only choir in the district with an academic singing style. However, unfortunately, the choral genre is not the most popular nowadays. It is not easy at reviews and competitions to compete with choirs and ensembles where people with musical and specialized choral education perform. "Berezinochka" is an amateur ensemble. We are enthusiasts, striving to achieve success through persistent training.

We also need an influx of new voices. However, the minimum training period for the academic singing style is three to four years. Therefore, for many years, we have been supported by the ensemble of the Domzheritsy School of Arts, whose teachers sing with us. For many years, the accordion class teacher, Alexander Neson, has been accompanying us. I have been teaching choral and vocal disciplines and leading the choir since 1997.

— What achievements do you recall?

— They won a diploma at the international competition "From the bottom of the heart" in Zhodino, were twice diploma winners of the republican review-competition "Belarus is my song", third-degree laureates of the international competition of traditional arts "Braslav Dawns" and received a diploma "For the best performance of a piece a capella". They also won diplomas twice at the regional festival of spiritual music in Vitebsk and twice at the "Festival of Two Rivers" in Dokshytsy. The choir also travelled to Poland as a representative of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve, with which we have long-standing creative ties. At the beginning of this year, they performed in Vitebsk at a creative report in honour of the 80th anniversary of the remarkable Lepel composer and accordionist Eduard Litvin.

Yauheni MUDRI.
In the photo: The choir "Berezinochka".