History of the church

Mr. Bohumil Michalides as a founder of the choir  had an aspiration to join friends of choir singing from Nitra area. It became a reality  in 1995 and he established a chamber choir under the name of  ORBIS. 

1996-2007

At the end of the 1996 the choir got legal status of public association and took the name of  Choir Nitria.

Participation of the ensemble in several non-competitive and competitive festivals (in Trnava, Banská Bystrica, Námestovo, Topoľčany, Bratislava) met with positive reception among professional public. Successful performances under the conductor Mr. Pavol Procházka  (at present he is a conductor of the Slovak National Theatre Opera) enabled the chorus to take a part in international events abroad.

In 1999, the chorus Nitria represented Slovakia among 27 ensembles from all the world on an international festival in Brazilian town of Juiz de Fóra. In 2005 the chorus successfully represented Slovak culture in  Dutch town Ruinerworld.
 

2008

In 2008  Mr. Jozef Zábojník took over the leader position of the choir from the establisher and honourable president Mr. Bohumil Michalides. Conductor post was taken over by professional conductor Assoc. Professor, Mgr. Ondrej Šaray, ArtD. The choir Nitria under the new leadership  is spreading  beauty of choir singing  in smaller or bigger villages and towns of the country and abroad as well. 

The choir prepares every year several concerts  for its  friends and supporters in domestic background – in the town Nitra ( i.e. at  Basilic of St. Emeram at Nitra castle, Church of St. Gorazd at Klokočina,  Evangelic church of St. Spirit, Church of  Divine Mother, Synagogue, Nitrian Museum) The choir performed several concerts in close and distant towns and villages (in Kátlovce, Majcichov, Piešťany, Sereď, Trenčianske Teplice, Veľké Zálužie, Zlaté Moravce  and others).

The cooperation with other artistic bodies and personalities  brought  advancement and improvement to the choir: a common performance in Nitra with  Slovak Teachers´ Choir (2008),  with Women's Chamber Orchestra from Bratislava (2009), with the  Chamber Orchestra Collegium Cantorum from Nitra (2011),  cooperation with  Mr. Šaray´s student – young conductor and music composer - Ms. Maria  Jašurdová  at creation of her graduation concert in Nitra in 2011. Also a cooperation with A. Bagar ´s Theatre in Nitra was very positive one.  Nitria members  took part in theatre play Mariša and Gogol´s play  “Dead souls” .

The great success was anniversary concert of Nitria in Nitra synagogue (2011). On occasion of 15^th anniversary of choir establishment the Mayor of Nitra town Jozef Dvonč awarded a prize of the Mayor and the Chairman of Nitra district  gave a memorial letter and  a medal of  Chairman.

Under the conductor of Mr. Šaray  the Nitria chorus  had an opportunity  to represent Slovakia and its town abroad.  In  2009 and 2011 the choir was a guest in Báčsky Petrovec, inhabited by Slovaks in Serbia and in 2012 the choir members were rewarded by great applause  at its performance in northern Italy.

In 15 years of its existence the Nitria chorus grew up into  superior choir body with wide scale of  interpreted music. The repertoire includes sacral music as well as secular, older polyphonic and modem, commemorative compositions and arranged folk songs. Several its members graduated from basic art music school and  some of them are teachers of music.

The members of Nitria choir thanks to Nitria municipality support are meeting once  a week at trainings at Jozef Rosinský  Basic Art School  building in Nitra.  The members are hoping to create something that could  stay in the human hearts longing for beauty in spirit of  the motto:  “Singing is one of  the kindest of your pleasures”.