The 11^th edition of the “Abanico” („Fan”) International Arts Festival was held as a hybrid event on 1- 4 April 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria. SSCE took part again and presented more Polish talents. The Festival was organized by the Artvoices Festival Music Agency (Sofia, Bulgaria).

In the live portion of the Competition Poland was represented by Wiktoria Marciniak (vocal), who won the 1^st prize and Grand Prix, while Emma Kocój and Kalina Massier (both on cellos) won the 1^st prizes in their respective category, as well as the Grand Prix as a cello duet. Emma was supported with a piano accompaniment by Justyna Kinga.

In the online part of the event a total of 6 contestants and two vocal ensembles took part, which competed in various age and genre categories. Here are the results: the “Fama” ensemble – 1^st prize, the “Farciary” ensemble – Grand Prix, Jakub Młynarz – 1^st prize, Natalia Gal – 1^st prize, Ewelina Hanula – 1^st prize and Grand Prix, Zuzanna Wojcieszek – 1^st prize, Katarzyna Sokołowska – 1^st prize, Marcelina Albrycht 1^st prize.

Congratulations to all. Wishing you continued success with our Agency and beyond.

SSCE’s artistic director, Saribek /Sar/ Sargsyan, was one of the international judges at the competition in Sofia.

Many thanks to the Festival organizers for a warm reception.

The International “Junior's Hope online” (season 6) was held in Kishinev (Moldova) on 29 January 2022. The event was again organized by our partner, “Effterman Production” (Kishinev). Poland was represented by Jakub Młynarz, Ewelina Hanula and Aleksandra Forystek. The two female singers secured 1st places, while Jakub came in 2nd. All three were nominated to sing in the Finals which was held online today (30 January) at 1pm CET on the official Facebook fan page of the Festival. Winners’ names were announced soon after the concert and we are honoured to say that one of the Grand Prix winners of JUNIOR's HOPE online is the Polish contestant in the “pop vocal” nomination, Ewelina Hanula. Congratulations!  

Saribek Sargsyan, SSCE’s artistic director, was one of the judges of the international jury “Junior’s Hope online".

Two online festivals, the “CRYSTAL STAR – II” in Prague and the “BEAUTIFUL BLUE DANUBE – II” in Budapest were organized by our partner in the Czech Republic, the “STARS WAY” European Festival Project (Prague).

Four contestants represented SSCE at the “CRYSTAL STAR – II” festival, one from Armenia and three from Poland, who were scored positively, as follows: Victoria Hovhannisyan (Armenia) 3^rd place, Zuzanna Wojcieszek 2^nd place, Marcelina Albrycht 1^st place, Nikola Bigos – Grand Prix.

Three Polish contestants performed at the “BEAUTIFUL BLUE DANUBE – II” Festival who also gave great performances. Here are the results: Kinga Lorenc and Martyna Marszałek – 1^st place, Weronika Wojtkowska – Grand Prix.

Congratulations to all contestants, wishing you all continued success! Thank you for your cooperation and hope to see you soon for SSCE’s upcoming projects.

The “Christmas Confession” International Music Festival was held on 1-3 January 2022 in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, organized by our Bulgarian partner, ARTVOICES. The event was held in the famous “Concert Hall no. 11” of the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. Due to the pandemic international contestants were competed via online channels. Poland was represented by 8 soloists and 3 vocal ensembles. As usual, the performances earned good scores: Vanessa Szanter – 2^nd place; Zuzanna Pasiowiec – 1^st place; Norbert Kuświk – 1^st place; Oliwia Kołbuk – 2^nd place; Ewelina Matejko – 1^st place; Natan Gryga – 1^st place; Julia Kmiecik – 1^st place; Filip Robak – 1^st place; FAMA – 1^st place; FARCIARY – 1^st place; WILD – 1^st place. Congratulations to all Polish contestants, wishing you all continued success!

For the “Christmas Confession” festival, Saribek Sargsyan, SSCE’s artistic director, sat on the international jury.

A new hybrid edition of the “Christmas League Talent” International Music Competition was held on 6-9 January 2022 in Vilnius, and SSCE proudly presented Polish talents during this event.

In the offline part of the competition Poland was represented by Marcelina Albrycht who won the first prize and was also awarded the “High Professionalism” honour for her beautiful performance. Eight other contestants and one vocal ensemble performed in the online part, competing for trophies in various age categories. All performances demonstrated a very high vocal quality. Here are the results: Magdalena Zagorska – 2^nd place;  Ewelina Matejko – 1^st place and the “High Professionalism” honour; Kinga Lorenc – 1^st prize;  Laura Cisak – 2^nd prize; Natalia Gal – 2^nd prize;  Patrycja Drzymalska – 1^st prize;  Julia Kmiecik – 1^st prize; Eliza Xerxa – Grand Prix, and the “Farciary” ensemble – Grand Prix. 

Congratulations to all contestants! Wishing you continued success.

SSCE’s artistic director, Saribek /Sar/ Sargsyan, was one of the judges of the competition in Vilnius.

The competition was organized by ARS FESTA which, in addition to the “Christmas Talent League” organizes two other major festivals-competitions: the “Music Talent League" in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the “Summer Talent League” in Lloret de Mar, Spain. All of these events are highly professional and working with ARS FESTA is a pleasure. SSCE is the sole official representative of all ARS FESTA competitions – contact us for the possibility to join the competitions in the upcoming editions

And here we round up two international online festivals: the “Sakura Blossom” and the “New Stream II”, organized by our partner, the European Festival Project, “STARS WAY” (Prague, Czech Republic). The events were held in collaboration with the “World Union of Culture”, and the media partner was the “Mozaika TV”, the European Internet Television. A total of 15 Polish contestants took part in both events, who represented our country in various genres and age groups, with one person nominated in the instrumental music category. Our contestants were hugely successful.

For the “New Stream II” competition held in Croatia the results are as follows: Kinga Lorenc, Zuzanna Ozimińska and Aneta Dąbska were awarded 1^st prizes, Paweł Szymański won the 1^st prize and the GOLD STAR, and Marcelina Albrycht came home with the GRAND PRIX.

The “Sakura Blossom” festival held in Japan brought about the following results: 7 persons were awarded the 1^st prize, including Julia Kmiecik, Emilia Szcześniak, Marcelina Albrycht, Zuzanna Ozimińska, Kinga Lorenc, as well as Julia Walaszczyk and Michal Makowski (duo), with Kornelia Wodka also awarded a prize for her instrumental piece. Weronika Dębska was awarded the 1^st place and the GOLD STAR. In addition, two Grand Prix prizes were awarded to Paweł Szymański (pop vocal) and Mateusz Ługowski (classic vocal).

Congratulations to all our Polish contestants, wishing you all continued successes! Thank you for a great cooperation and looking forward to upcoming events co-organized with the SSCE Agency.

For the “Sakura Blossom” festival, SSCE’s artistic director, Saribek Sargsyan, was asked to be one of the judges in the international panel.

We are delighted to share with you the latest update on our International Festival and Vocal Competition – Vistula Sounds – which is now scheduled to take place on 15-19 August 2022 in Ciechocinek. Due to the global pandemic the original dates planned for 2020 and 2021 could not be made. We realize you all have been waiting 3 years for the Festival to take place, and we have been forced to move the times twice already. This, however, gives us more time to prepare for the event in 2022.

We will start accepting entries on January 1, 2022. All details will be shared as they become available on the official Festival website: Vistula Sounds. Do follow us also on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates: https://www.facebook.com/VistulaSounds; 

https://www.instagram.com/vistulasounds.

We are looking forward to greeting you in Ciechocinek when we launch our special Vistula Sounds Festival next year.

The beautiful city of Nafplio located in the Peloponnese in Greece hosted a hybrid edition of “GREECE'S HOPE”, International Children’s and Young People’s Creative Festival on 22- 26 September 2021. As part of the online format the contestants presented by our Agency included not only singers from Poland, but also from Armenia:

Poland: Laura Cisak, 2^nd place, Karolina Zajdel & Julia Książkiewicz (duo), Grand Prix;

Armenia: Garnik Yeghiazaryan, 1^st place,  Vanessa Babayan, 1^st place, Vanessa Babayan, Aleksandra Mkhitaryan and Yana Baghdasaryan (trio), 2^nd place. In the regular format, Poland was represented by Eliza Xerxa-EliX who won the Festival’s Grand Prix for her amazing performance. Congratulations to all contestants! Wishing you all continued success with our Agency, and beyond.

The Festival was organized by “Effterman Production”. SSCE is the sole official representative of all “Effterman  Production” competitions. Our deepest thanks go to the organizers for the high quality of the event and professional organization. We also thank you for the warm welcome.

SSCE’s artistic director, Saribek (Sar) Sargsyan, was one of the international judges invited to the Festival. In addition, Sar gave a special performance during the official closing concert.

Hadrut in Artsakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, is where Sar Sargsyan was born – it is his home town. This is where he obtained his initial education, both general and musical, starting his artistic career at 4. Hadrut is also where his parents were born, as well as all of his known predecessors.For the first time in the history of the region, as a result of Azerbaijani military aggression which started in September 2020, Hadrut’s residents were expelled from their homes, from their city. In one instant they lost everything – their own and their fathers’ entire lifetime possessions. They were brutally deprived of their cultural legacy, their history, their complete past. In one instant they became exiles – among others, Sar’s mother, further family members, and many close ones. Multiple Armenians, including children and older people, were killed. Armenian houses were burnt and demolished, while Armenian cemeteries and unique historic monuments relating to Christianity were defiled, devastated, and with time razed to the ground. Sar’s home no longer exists.
“My Hadrut” is a song which pays homage to the city. The lyrics used to develop the piece were created in the 1980s, by a well-known Armenian poet and writer Sokrat Khanyan. Given the dramatic recent events which took place in the city, the wording needed to be adapted by the singer and the composer, Armenuhi Karapetyan. The latter is a well-known Armenian composer, member of the Armenian Association of Composers, author of many classical and stage pieces. Karapetyan composed the music for “My Hadrut” upon the request of Sar and especially for him – the two artists have worked together before.
“My Hadrut” is more than a dedication. It is a scream and an explosion of emotions felt by the artist, his step on the way to de-occupy his homeland. Ultimately, it is a cry for help to the entire world so no one dares to take away someone else’s HOME, uproot them and impose a different FATE.
The piece has an underlying minor tonality, with the final phrase when the artist calls upon his city, changing to a major one, expressing hope.

Listen to the song – click here.

Soon, on the upcoming eve of Hadrut Day, Sar Sargsyan will release his new song, “My  Hadrut” (Hadrut is Sar’s home town).

Lyrics by Sokrat Khanyan, music by Armenuhi Karapetyan, arrangements by Alexandra Maghakyan, mix and mastering by Stephan Berudzanyan; recording made at the “Spox music” studio in Warsaw; poster designed by Valeri Ayvazyan, photograph by Michał Ignar.

We are deeply grateful to the writers of the song and the others who have contributed to the development and recording of the piece. Our thanks also to all those who have been supportive of the creative process.