Informations for media

Year 2024

The 17th annual international festival of choral popular music, JIRKOVSKÝ PÍSŇOVAR, will take place during the first weekend of October (October 4th – 6th, 2024). This event is organized every year by the Ventilky Chamber Mixed Choir, operating under the auspices of the Jirkov School of the Arts (ZUŠ Jirkov). This year, the festival will once again take the form of a competition. However, there will also be numerous non-competitive choral performances and concerts by guest performers. After all, the purpose of Písňovar is not solely a choir competition, but primarily to bring high-quality choral groups to Jirkov and showcase our town in the best light. That is why choirs are invited every year to perform at interesting locations around our region, giving them the opportunity to get to know our area and establish new friendships.

This year will once again feature the Sunday concert in the Jirkov synagogue, titled "Písňovar in the Foothills," starting at 1 PM. Another traditional event, "Písňovar in Chomutov," will also take place on Sunday at 3 PM. Depending on the weather, it will either be held in St. Ignatius Church or the atrium of the Chomutov Library.

The opening concert on Friday, starting at 7 PM in the Knight's Hall of Červený Hrádek Castle, will feature performances by the hosting choirs—Ventilky Chamber Mixed Choir (ZUŠ Jirkov) and last year’s Písňovar winner, Oktet from Prague, which has claimed the Písňovar victory multiple times.

Despite these captivating events, the festival's main focus remains at Červený Hrádek Castle, where the competitive part of the festival will take place on Saturday morning and afternoon, followed by a choral workshop on Sunday morning. The festival jury will again consist of experts in vocal and choral art, and this year will see the return of Sylva Sasková, the conductor of Prague’s Oktet.

During Saturday afternoon, visitors to Písňovar can enjoy a traditional concert at the courtyard of Červený Hrádek Castle, featuring well-known singer Pavel Houfek from Teplice, guitarist Samuel Němec, and other special guests.

The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday at 7 PM in the Knight’s Hall. The overall winner of the festival, who will triumph in the Saturday evening Grand Prix, will receive the grand prize—the Jirkov Knight’s Cup.

The opportunity to host an international choral festival of this caliber in Jirkov is made possible by the support of the town of Jirkov and other sponsors and partners, without whom this event would not be possible. Among these, we would like to especially thank the town of Jirkov, the Jirkov Cultural, Educational, and Information Center, the Chomutov Library, the Faculty of Education at UJEP in Ústí nad Labem, and last but not least, ZUŠ Jirkov.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all of them.