1.    What is the "Songs of Life Festival" and how do I get more information?
2.    Where specifically will the concerts take place?
3.    What music will be performed and how is it obtained?
4.    Who is the conductor, and what is his background?
5.    How will participants be selected?
6.    My choir has been invited but cannot attend. Can I still come as an individual singer? 
       Will individual singers (not coming with a choir) have to audition?
7.    Our choir does not perform liturgical pieces such as the Sacred Service. Can we still perform as part of the festival?
8.    How well do I have to know the music prior to arrival in Bulgaria?
9.    What level of musical ability must I have in order to participate?
10.  Will there be rehearsals in the US prior to departure?
11.  How will we get to and from rehearsals and performances in Bulgaria and Israel?
12.  How will we get from Bulgaria to Israel?  To Bulgaria and from Israel?
13.  What should I expect for hotel accommodations in Bulgaria? In Israel?
14.  I would like to upgrade to higher category hotels in Bulgaria and Israel.  Is this possible?
15.  Is it safe to travel to these places?
16.  What non-covered expenses should I expect?
17.  I would like to participate at the festival as an auditor (non singer).  What will I do during the rehearsal time
      of the singing participants

1.       What is the "Songs of Life Festival" and how do I get more information?

Songs of Life Festival is a new initiative of the Varna International Workshop (www.varnaworkshop.com) a professional organization that arranges musical performance and excursion tours to Europe and Israel for performers of all ages. A "project of the heart" for Varna Workshop founders Kalin and Sharon Tchonev, the Songs of Life Festival  honors the brave Bulgarian people who, during Hitler's reign of terror, refused to turn over a single Jewish citizen for transport to the death camps, and thereby saved all 50,000 --- many of whom live today in thriving communities in Israel.

Kalin Tchonev, a native of Bulgaria, serves as international director of the company. He holds two Master's of Music Degrees in Choral Conducting from The National Academy of Music in Sofia and the University of South Carolina. He also has a Master's Degree in Piano Performance from the University of South Carolina. Sharon Tchonev, a native of Israel and the granddaughter of a Bulgarian survivor, currently serves as communications director and administrative manager of Varna International Tours. She also teaches Israeli folk dance and culture classes. She is a graduate of the University of South Africa, where she majored in law.

The festival website at www.SongsofLife.org has complete information about the program, travel itinerary, performances, and how to apply to apply to participate in the festival and its activities.  Information on the sponsoring organization and key festival performers is also provided.

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2.       Where specifically will the concerts take place?

Concert halls in Plovdiv and Sofia, Bulgaria and in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel will be the sites for the four major public performances of the festival. Additional performance opportunities are also being arranged to complement the main events.  These will be major auditoriums which are usually used for performances of some magnitude and prominence.  We are expecting hundreds of performers to be involved.

All participants will join the Bulgarian host choir, Morski Zvutsi, in the four performances. Morski Zvutsi is one of the most prominent choral societies in Bulgaria. Their repertoire includes a capella choral works from a wide range of genres and styles as well as a large number of major choral works (the choir performs an average of 2–3 major works every year). For more detailed information about the choir, visit the “Performers” page at www.SongsofLife.org.

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3.       What music will be performed and how is it obtained?

There will be four performances of Ernest Bloch's Sacred Service (Avodat Hakodesh).

Each chorister is responsible to obtain his or her own choral score of Sacred Service.  These scores are available at places like www.sheetmusicplus.com for $15 – 17.50.  Chorus or vocal scores are acceptable. The publisher of Sacred Service is Broude Brothers Limited. At this point, there is no other piece planned to be performed at the festival concerts.   However, individual choral ensembles may perform other music during additional performance opportunities that will be arranged. 

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4.       Who is the conductor, and what is his background?

Dian Tchobanov is the Principal Conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, and permanent conductor of the chamber orchestra of Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria and chief Conductor at the Stara Zagora Opera in Bulgaria. For more detailed information about the conductor, please visit www.SongsofLife.org and click on the “Performers” page.

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5.       How will participants be selected?  

Songs of Life Festival has identified numerous high-quality choral organizations in the United States and Europe.  These organizations have received formal invitations to participate in the festival.  Representatives of invited choirs should mail the festival organizers a biography containing repertoire information, performance history and any awards/competitions/festival participation information.  We also require a recording of the ensemble made in the last two years.  Festival organizers will contact identified representatives of each choral organization to verify participation and make needed arrangements.

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6.   My choir has been invited but cannot attend. Can I still come as an individual singer?  Will individual singers (not coming with a choir) have to audition?

Yes.  We strongly encourage participation of both individual singers and choirs at the festival. 

Individual singers who are currently performing with an invited choir are automatically qualified to perform in the festival.  No recording is required to be sent by individual singers and there will be no audition required if you meet the condition just stated.  Individual singers should fill in the fields on the application describing their experience in choral singing as well as their sight reading ability.  

Individual singers not currently performing with an invited choir must submit an application and should include a brief written description of their choral performance experience, overall musical abilities, and sight reading ability.  Applicants will be notified within 10 days of application if they have been accepted.  If not accepted into the program, we will return the deposit.

Sorry, but group discounts are not available to individual singers.

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7.       Our choir does not perform liturgical pieces such as the Sacred Service. Can we still perform as part of the festival?

Yes. The purpose of the festival is to create an opportunity for participation for as many choirs as would like to join.  Singing the Sacred Service is not a requirement for choirs to participate at the festival. For this reason, the organizers will provide individual performance opportunities in both Bulgaria and Israel for guest choirs to perform their own repertoires (15–20 minutes at each of the two performances), as well as other opportunities to perform at alternative locations.

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8.       How well do I have to know the music prior to arrival in Bulgaria?

The minimum requirement for choirs and individual singers is to be able to read the music and text of their own part comfortably. During the first three days of the festival, the host choir, all guest choirs and the orchestra will rehearse 5–6 hours daily.  During these rehearsals the orchestral conductor and choral clinicians will prepare all ensembles for the performances in Bulgaria and Israel.

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9.       What level of musical ability must I have in order to participate?

Singers who apply to participate at the festival should have sufficient choral background and experience in order to successfully sing Sacred Service, which is comparable in difficulty to other major choral works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Brahms Requiem and others.

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10.   Will there be rehearsals in the US prior to departure?

Wherever there are groups of people from the same area (choirs or a number of individual singers), we will connect them with one another so that they could rehearse together. Individual singers should work together as a group wherever possible and should try to rehearse in the USA prior to departure.

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11.   How will we get to and from rehearsals and performances in Bulgaria and Israel?

Private buses will be arranged to transfer festival participants from the hotel to the rehearsal and performance halls; for the guided tours; and for airport transfers as per the festival schedule in Bulgaria and Israel.  The cost for local transportation is included in the festival fee.

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12.   How will we get from Bulgaria to Israel?  To Bulgaria and from Israel?

The festival fee includes air travel from Bulgaria to Israel, and will be arranged by Varna International Tours as part of the festival package.  Participants must make their own international travel arrangements from home to Bulgaria and from Israel to home, but can request that travel arrangements be made by Varna International Tours.  The festival fee does not include any travel to/from home to the festival locations.

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13.   What should I expect for hotel accommodations in Bulgaria? In Israel?

We will supply tourist class accommodations in Bulgaria and Israel (3 star hotel accommodations with private bathrooms). These are comfortable tourist hotels according to the European standard.

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14.   I would like to upgrade to higher category hotels in Bulgaria and Israel.  Is this possible?

Yes. The cost to upgrade to four star hotel accommodations throughout the tour is $1000 additional and the cost to upgrade to five star hotel accommodations throughout the tour is $2000 additional.  The costs are based on double occupancy. For a single room please add the following fees: 4 Star Hotel $800 and 5 Star Hotel $1800.  This cost also includes the private transportations to and from these hotels to the rehearsal and performance halls.

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15.   Is it safe to travel to these places?

In a word: Yes.  The organizers of the festival: Kalin and Sharon Tchonev are natives of Bulgaria and Israel and they know these countries intimately.  Furthermore, they have been organizing performance tours and festivals over the last 10 years and have had no tour cancellations or even a need to change the planned schedule for safety reasons.

Both Bulgaria and Israel are highly desired tourist destinations with millions of tourists visiting yearly. Bulgaria is a tourist-friendly country with cities and resorts that are equipped for and used to receiving large numbers of tourists from all over the world.  

With respect to the safety of travel in Israel, festival participants will be housed and transported safely and securely, and will be taken only to locations where there is no danger.  The organizers use an in-land tour operator who employs full-time security staff that keeps us informed at all times and will ensure the utmost safety for festival participants.

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16.   What non-covered expenses should I expect?

The festival fee does not include the flight from the US to Sofia and return from Tel Aviv to the US. Participants should expect an airfare cost of $1100 - $1200 including all taxes. The festival organizers can help make the airline arrangements on behalf on the participants upon request.

The festival fee includes all accommodations based on double occupancy.  A single supplement is available for an additional $350.00. Also included in the festival fee are:

·         Two meals a day --- all breakfasts and either lunch or dinner
·         All ground transportation necessary in Bulgaria and Israel for the festival activities (rehearsals, concerts, airport transfers, etc.)
·         Professional guided tours of performance cities
·         One-way international airfare from Sofia, Bulgaria to Tel Aviv, Israel

Participants will be responsible to pay for their third meal daily, tips and gratuities, travel insurance (approximately $130 per person), and incidentals.

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17.   I would like to participate at the festival as an auditor (non singer).  What will I do during the rehearsal time of the singing participants?

Auditors will have the unique opportunity to not only enjoy the festival activities (rehearsals, concerts, dinner celebrations and guided tours), but will have extra time to explore the environment of these fascinating cities during the rehearsal times.  The organizers of the festival will be glad to make arrangements for groups of 10 or more auditors for special activities with a tour guide who could assist the group.

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