Voices of Peace: 29th National Congress of the Pueri Cantores in Bad Ischl
About 300 children and young people from Austria, Hungary, and Croatia gathered in Bad Ischl from October 9 to 11 to sing together, celebrate Mass, and get to know one another. In addition to musical highlights such as the opening concert and the festive Mass, the gathering also marked a historic change in the association’s leadership.
From October 9 to 11, Bad Ischl hosted the 29th National Congress of the Pueri Cantores Austriae with about 300 children and young people in a total of seven choirs. In addition to the five choirs from Austria, one choir each from Hungary and Croatia also traveled to the event.
The event kicked off with the Concert for Peace on Friday evening at the parish church in Bad Ischl, where each choir also had the opportunity to perform individually. After a joint rehearsal of all ensembles on Saturday morning, the choirs spread out into the surrounding area to lead evening Masses and give small concerts in the nearby parishes.
To conclude the event, on Sunday all the choirs celebrated a solemn Mass together with the PCA’s spiritual advisor, Lukasz Wojtyczka, and the Bad Ischl parish community, during which, among other pieces, L. Delibes’s “Messe brève” was performed.
During the gathering, the association also held its regular general assembly, at which a new board of directors was elected. For 18 years, Josef Döller, the retired choirmaster of Graz Cathedral, served as the association’s president. His successor at Graz Cathedral, Melissa Dermastia, was now also elected to lead the association – making her the first female president in the PCA’s history. In the presence of the international president of Pueri Cantores, Elisabeth von Waldstein, Josef Döller was warmly thanked by the singers at the end of the closing Mass, and Melissa Dermastia was joyfully welcomed to her new position.
Images: Michael Schadler
