Two countries, two festivals – from June 28 to July 5 Lviv Polytechnic Polyphonia Chamber Orchestra participated in the East-West. Convergence festival in Poland and the Schengen Meridian festival in Slovakia.
The East-West. Convergence festival was held from June 28 to 30 in Radomsko and its neighboring cities. The festival is aimed at supporting good-neighborly and cultural relations between Ukraine and Europe, in particular Poland. Polyphonia Chamber Orchestra became its guest for the second time and again its performance was a great success. The orchestra participated in three concerts in various locations: in the local church, in the courtyard of the Museum of History and in the City House of Culture. The last performance was a joint one – together with two amateur Polish choirs and the Galician Chamber Choir «Yevshan» the band performed Hallelujah Chorus by Handel, the part from oratorio Messiah.
On July 1, Polytechnic Orchestras went to the mountains of Slovakia – to the village Zlatá Idka near Košice. After some rest Polyphonia performed in Tatranska Lomnica and in the church in Košice. And on July 4 there was a joint concert of all the bands which participated in the Schengen Meridian festival, focused on the convergence of Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia. Stabat Mater by Karl Jenkins was performed by the student choir of Wrocław University of Science and Technology, the Choir «Yevshan», the orchestra of folk instruments of Uzhgorod Music College, the Klasik Band brass band, the ensemble of percussion instruments from Legnica, Poland, and the Polyphonia Chamber Orchestra. In both countries, Poland and Slovakia, the musical performance was directed by conductor Roman Kreslenko. He, like vocalists Iryna Semeniuk and Tamila Mamedova, was a special guest of the Schengen Meridian.