Solo Concerts in Vienna for MGIMO Proxenos Choir

27 December 2019

December 13th-17th, MGIMO’s Proxenos choir, supervised by Dmitry Vlasenko and Anton Tokovinin, gave solo concerts in Vienna. The tour was sponsored by the Russian Embassy in Austria and the Austrian Representation of Rossotrudnichestvo.

As the Christmas festivities begin, the MGIMO choir Proxenos visited the capital of Austria and performed there an original music program. The solo concerts unfolded on December 15^th and 16^th. On Sunday, the choir sang at St. Peterskirche, a picturesque historical monument in the centre of the Austrian capital.

Straight after the concert, the MGIMO choir did a flash mob on Graben street and was warmly applauded by members of the public. In preparation of the tour, the traditional carol “Fröhliche Weihnacht überall” was included in the program.

December 16^th, the choir performed at the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Vienna for an audience of lovers of choral music and MGIMO alumni. The representative of Rossotrudnichestvo in Austria Dmitry Sokolov (a MGIMO graduate of 1993) also gave a welcoming speech to all the participants.

The concert program comprised Christmas carols in European languages as well as songs in Burgundian, Koso and Yiddish, with a special focus on classical spiritual pieces by Russian composers and folk songs. Our compatriots abroad much appreciated this chance to reconnect with our native culture.

The choir events of 2019 are dedicated to the 75^th anniversary of the University, and well as the 5^th anniversary of the choir itself. The choir, during its short existence has already gained the sympathy of audiences in Poland, Germany, Belgium, France and Spain, as well as official recognition from the Russian choral community. The choir has a special place in MGIMO’s cultural life; it is one of the most dynamic student clubs and constantly works on its technical development, with the debut album “Anniversary” being released this year.

The Endowment has been supporting the MGIMO Choir since its foundation and wishes the project further success!

The interesting program and the skills of the singers had a lasting impact on the audience, so much so that the choir was invited to organize a new tour along the route "Bratislava - Budapest - Vienna" and to return to Belgium next summer.

Updated information about the choir’s new concerts can be found on YouTube, on its official webpage as well as on the social networks Vkontakte, Facebook and Instagram.

— See the MGIMO web-site for russian version