History of the festival.
The history of the MPF festival from 1935 to the present.
The first idea of bringing together youth choirs emerged in 1935 within the Association of Youth Choir Conductors in Slovenske Konjice. The vision of collective singing as a force of unity matured after the Second World War, when the need to rebuild community was especially strong. In 1946, this idea was realized in the first mass concert of young singers, entitled “The Festival of Youth Song.” On 29 June 1946, at Freedom Square in front of the Prothasius Mansion in Celje, 85 choirs and 3,000 singers from the Celje district were brought together under the direction of the first conductor of this unique mass event, Jurče Vreže. Thus, the 1st Youth Choir Festival was created. Song was recognized as one of the key forces capable of connecting, motivating, and building a new future.
The Celje Youth Choir Festival (MPF) is the oldest and most important international competition for youth choirs in Slovenia and one of the central cultural events of the city of Celje. From its very beginnings, the MPF had a distinctly unifying and visionary mission. Conceived before the war and established immediately after it in 1946, the festival emerged at a time when Slovenian society was deeply marked by the experience of war.
The choral manifestation gradually outgrew its local framework and soon expanded into the wider Slovenian and Yugoslav space. From a district event, the festival evolved into a republic-level event (1960), a federal-level event (1961), and in 1973 into an international competition. From its earliest years, it significantly influenced the development of Slovenian and Yugoslav youth choral singing. The best Slovenian and Yugoslav youth choirs, as well as numerous foreign ensembles, performed at the festival.
In 1960, the festival transcended its local character and became a republic-level event, featuring selected Slovenian youth choirs for the first time; the following year, choirs from other parts of Yugoslavia and from Slovenian communities abroad also participated. From 1963 onward, it was held biennially, accompanied by regular side events, and this period also saw the first performances by choirs from cities across the former Yugoslav republics. The MPF gained its competitive character in 1965 with the introduction of four competition categories featuring compulsory pieces and awards. In 1969, at its 8th edition, foreign choirs joined the mass concert at Museum Square, establishing a tradition that has continued ever since. In 1973, the festival officially became an international competition, as foreign choirs were included in the competitive programme for the first time.
A distinctive feature of the MPF has been its mass concerts of young singers. Joint performances in the courtyard of the II. (lower) gymnasium (1958), at Šlandr Square (1960–1967), Museum Square (1969–1973), and later in the City Park (1975–2003) brought together between 800 and 4,200 singers. The festival attracted the most distinguished Slovenian and international youth choirs to Celje. Alongside its competitive aspect, another equally important dimension of the festival has always been the meeting and socializing of young people, the presentation of choral achievements, and the discovery of other cultures.
The eighty-year history of the festival is inseparably linked with outstanding individuals who have shaped—and continue to shape—its artistic profile in the field of youth choral singing. Numerous music professionals have played a key role in its artistic growth. Over the decades, many organizers, conductors, jury members, and composers have contributed to the festival’s development, as well as the families of Celje who for years generously hosted singers from other towns and countries.
The organization of the festival has also included (federal and international) music commissions and juries, whose long-time leader was Egon Kunej. Music commissions worked over two-year periods to ensure smooth preparations (publication of the call, review of applications, selection of participating choirs). During the festival itself, international juries composed of distinguished conductors and musicologists carried out their important evaluative role.
Alongside the competition programme, the MPF has developed a rich accompanying programme: exhibitions of music literature, professional consultations, symposia, the publication of sheet music collections, and premiere performances of new compositions.
In 1989, once strong connections between nations and nationalities of the former Yugoslavia began to blunt. No one had the premonition that the festival, scheduled for 1991, will not take place. The war in former Yugoslavia started. The substitutional year for the postponed festival was 1992, with choirs from Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary. The arrival of the Bosnia and Herzegovina’s choir was stopped by the war. The foreign countries responded in a smaller number and with fear. “The performing choirs were singing in a relaxed atmosphere, the joint singing was spontaneously joyful, with great approval of the foreign choirs and conductors and the president of the Republic of Slovenia… It was a real European atmosphere.” Those are the memories of György Mihalka, a regular guest of the festival for many years. Since then, our choir manifestation officially become the International Youth Choir Festival Celje. The venue of the festival is our historic city of Celje (visitcelje.eu), center of the Savinjska region with 48.000 inhabitants.
That was truly a European atmosphere.” - György Mihalka
Since 1992, ten further festivals have been held, strengthening the event’s international character. In addition to Slovenian choirs, ensembles from numerous European countries have responded to invitations, including Italy, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Portugal, Russia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ireland, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Israel. The festival’s reputation has also been enhanced by respected members of international juries from across Europe.
During the 1990s, the MPF took place in changing social circumstances and gradually re-established its international standing, although with fewer participants. In 1995, new awards were introduced (the Audience Award, the Award for the Best Slovenian Choir, and the Award for the Best Performance of Contemporary Music), as well as a competition for children’s choirs. In the late 1990s and after 2000, certain organizational changes were implemented: choirs from Central Europe returned to Celje, new concert formats emerged, and additional accompanying activities were introduced. Mass concerts remained a symbolic constant, although after 2005 they moved from the City Park to other venues (Celjski dom, Narodni dom, Celje Castle, Krek Square). Throughout its history, the Municipality of Celje has continuously supported the festival as a partner, co-organizer, or co-financer. The festival traditionally enjoys honorary patronage from state and local representatives.
Since 2005, the festival has been organized by the Institute for Cultural Events and Tourism Celeia Celje. The festival remains international and thematically diverse, although somewhat smaller in scale after 2010. A significant milestone came in 2024, when the festival became the organizer of the biennial national competition for youth choirs (in cooperation with JSKD), while the national competition for children’s choirs continues to be held in Zagorje ob Savi. In 2025, the mass choral event Zborovski BUM brought together 5,100 singers in the Zlatorog Hall.
In the jubilee year 2026, marking the 120th anniversary of Jurče Vreže’s birth, the 100th anniversary of the beginning of his professional work, and the 80th anniversary of the MPF, a series of promotional activities is taking place in Celje, including opening and closing concerts; for the first time, the Vreže Award is also being presented. Important documents of this commemorative year remain for future generations: the scholarly monograph Let the Youth Sing! Jurče Vreže, Conductor and Visionary of the Youth Choir Festival in Celje (Dr. Darja Koter), the documentary film The Festival of Youth Song (Tadej Čater), and the exhibition Celje Sings; Jurče Vreže and the Youth Choir Festival (Dr. Marija Počivavšek).
Youth Choir Festival Celje.
The festival, hosted by Celje since 1946, knows how to listen to the pulse of the times. Every two years, the princely city is dressed in song and filled with youthful freshness. It is a biennial event at which youth choirs from all over the world present themselves. It is accompanied by the project “A Minute for Song”, whose aim is to bring music to the streets of Celje’s old town centre.
The festival we have been creating since 1946 is still alive. Because it knows how to listen to the pulse of the times. Because it is designed not to stand still, but to evolve with each generation.
Festival is made possible by
