The singing
Zobor region

The beginnings

The Zoboralja women's choir from Žirany has a history spanning more than thirty years. It continued the work of the Csemadok mixed choir in Žirany, which had a 15-year tradition.

The choir movement in Žirany dates back to 1971, after a successful performance (with the choir from Veľký Kýr). At that time, I had eight years of experience. Even then, I admired the world of music, especially choral singing, and over the next fifty years I became the conductor of several choirs.

The choir enriches our spiritual life, influences our moral character, provides us with company, entertains us, and makes us happy.
Our melodic folk songs and their arrangements reflect our rich cultural past. Our folk traditions clearly enrich the culture of our community and region. Imported pop music is just a passing fad; it is not as close to our hearts as the melodies that spring from the hearts of our ancestors.

Our love of music, strong will, and diligence have borne fruit. Thanks to this, we have become familiar with the lives and works of several composers and have mastered many choral works. We have performed in many villages and towns in Slovakia and abroad. We have spread the good reputation of our village and region. The delicate harmony of choral works has a great impact on our listeners, and so we rejoice and celebrate together in a wonderful atmosphere.

Organizing and leading the choir, maintaining its artistic standards, managing relationships, securing performances, and other tasks require a good family background. This is provided by the founding member of the choir, chronicler, and soloist, who is also my support — my wife. Together, we solve the choir's problems, look for the best solutions, and enjoy its successes. The choir is not only our hobby, but also an irreplaceable part of our lives for more than 50 years.

PaedDr. Simek Viktor, choirmaster
Knight of Hungarian Culture

Mixed choir of the local Csemadok organization in Žirany  

had 45 members and performed throughout Slovakia. It appeared several times at district and regional competitions, as well as at many festivals at home and abroad. It participated four times in the national singing festival Kodály Days in Galanta. It always placed among the top performers and in 1981 won the gold wreath with the jury's commendation.

The members of the mixed choir also performed independently with their own program. They always took first place in the district competition.

The ZOBORALJA women's choir from Žirany

On January 2, 1991, after several initiatives, the newly formed women's choir continued the activities of the mixed choir. After several auditions, the singers who had signed up formed a group that was soon ready to perform in public. At that time, the women's choir had 20 to 25 members, but to date, there have been nearly 45 singers.

The women's choir currently has 15 members. It meets once a week and, if necessary, organizes two rehearsals in its cozy rehearsal room.

Since its inception, the choir has been financially supported by the local government. The development of the choir depends mainly on the attitude and diligence of its members.

Initially, it performed at home and in neighboring villages. As its repertoire expanded and the sound of the choir improved, it gained the confidence to perform further from home.

In 1996, it established contact with the teaching staff of the Radnóti Miklós Primary School in Balatonfüred (Hungary). Thanks to this, it participated twice in the regional festival in Balatonfüred. It has fond memories of the days spent together, especially the concerts and the grateful audience at Lake Balaton.

That year, the women's choir won a bronze award at the national choir festival Kodály Days in Galanta.
Thanks to our partnership with the twin town of Dorog (Hungary), we were able to participate in the international choir festival in the basilica in Esztergom (Hungary).
Since 2000, we have performed 484 times and learned more than 200 choral works.

In 2014, the National Executive Committee of the Hungarian Christian Democratic Alliance awarded PaedDr. Viktor Šimek a lifetime achievement award for his many decades of outstanding and selfless work in Hungarian education and culture...

The choir's repertoire often includes Zoltán Kodály's Evening Song, Three Folk Songs from the Zobor Region by Jenő Szíjjártó, Leonard Cohen's recently acquired modern song Hallelujah, and our conductor's composition My Mother, I Will Tell You My Secret (Three Folk Songs from the Zobor Region). The women's choir often performs at various events and church concerts and participates in Holy Masses. Our conductor compiles a separate program for each performance.

Advent and Christmas concerts consist almost exclusively of works by church choirs.
The choir sings most songs with their original lyrics. The program includes arrangements of folk songs, works by old masters, compositions by 20th-century composers, and works by contemporary composers.

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