Sings "People's Soul." The winner of the Grand Prix of the competition of folk performing arts was named in Minsk

The final of the third competition of folk performing arts “People’s Soul” was held in the Minsk City Palace of Culture on October 15, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti agency reports.

“People’s Soul” unites performers, composers and creative teams who work in different musical genres, gives an opportunity to artists from different regions to demonstrate their skills. From June 1 to September 1, applications and the first round of the competition were accepted. Video works were received from performers from Belarus, Russia and Azerbaijan. According to the results of the first round, the jury determined 13 finalists (all from Belarus), and now they performed in Minsk. The final concert gathered the best performers on stage.

The main criteria for victory are the brightness and integrity of the concert number, artistry and a high level of skill. The finals were performed by performers in three categories - vocal solo, vocal ensemble and instrumental solo. The jury included leading music professionals, representatives of the Ministry of Culture, the Minsk City Executive Committee, as well as famous musicians, teachers and producers.

Head of the Culture Department of the Minsk City Executive Committee Ekaterina Luchina stressed that holding the festival in our capital is a significant and bright cultural event.

We find performers who then perform at concert venues in the city. It is important to preserve our cultural heritage. Belarusian folk song is especially important in this process, said E. Luchin.

Chairman of the jury - choirmaster of the National Academic Folk Choir named after G. I. Tsitovich, artistic director of the Honored Amateur Collective of the Belarusian People's Song Ensemble "Tsernitsa" Pavel Yukhnovich stressed that the winners are determined by the following criteria: high performing skills in each genre nomination, stage culture and costume.

The competition is aimed not only at identifying talented performers, but also at showing a diverse reading of the folk song.

For the first time, the vocal group “Unforgiving Age” from Gomel participates in the festival.

- The song was given to us by Valery Semin, we translated it into Belarusian and performed it. It is lyrical, evokes memories of childhood and grandmother. The author liked our performance, — said the head of the team Lydia Elova.

Among the finalists is the folk vocal team “Veleya Cossack” of the Vilei district center of culture.

- We perform a bright and energetic song “Oh, like a meadow”. The festival seemed fair to us. We had to send a promo and pass the jury selection first. We are glad to be noticed and we are in the final. We are worried before the performance, but we do not panic, said the founder and member of the team Andrei Dudarchik.

The vocal solo nomination was performed by Polina Borschevskaya, a student of BSUKI from the agro-town of Forest, Minsk district.

- For as long as I can remember, I have been singing since childhood. When I go on stage, the excitement passes, I completely give myself to the vocals, the light of the spotlights, the stage, she noted and said that she sings the song "Akrylyai" - about our Belarusian land and how beautiful it is.

The winners of the competition received diplomas and cash awards. The winner of the Grand Prix was the vocal team “Veleya Cossack” of the Vilei District Center of Culture, who received a monetary award and the right to perform at the final concert “People’s Soul”, which will be held on October 17 at the Palace of Sports in Minsk.

For reference

The organizers of the project are the Minsk City Executive Committee, Music Media Company LLC and Musical Frequency LLC.

Photo by Sergei Pozhi