How did you choose the repertoire for the "Melocinematheca" concert-show?

I chose this repertoire out of the desire to get out of a routine and a universe in which we are used to acting as an academic choir, therefore choosing a film music repertoire, in an original and very challenging cast at the same time, that of traversing this music through, I would say, almost purely choral means. It's really a challenge because people in general are used to - when they think of a film music concert -to hear ample sounds, a full stage, lights and an orchestra in the background. This time, we will create the representative atmosphere for the chosen films by choral means, as I say, with a little help of course, which we get from the accompaniment made up of just a few instruments, piano, bass guitar and rhythm section. We are trying to create a universe, a story with stories. I believe that every art has the purpose of conveying not only the moods of the creator of that work of art (we know that film is also one of the modern arts) and, more than that, to reflect life in all its valences. The selection of films, newer and older, from international or local cinematography, tries to follow the evolution of man in the various stages of life, from the joy of childhood, moving on to the intense experiences of youth, love, butterflies in the stomach, unfulfilled love , disappointment, until the maturity of the middle-aged, when the man looks back and remembers with nostalgia the experiences and the beautiful memories that colored his life. In this sense, we wanted to travel this path of life through film music.

Along with the choir, there will be some special guests on stage. Please tell us a little bit about them.

We're going to have some special guests indeed. I would mention, first of all, the actress LetițiaVlădescu, who will be the host of the evening. However, she did not only have the role of introducing the audience to the atmosphere of one film or another, but also an artistic role, as a storyteller in one of the songs, and two of the performings of the evening also has her as a vocal performer. After that, I would mention CiprianNichita, a particularly talented director and a very soulful man who, pro-bono, tried to recreate this universe for us through some suggestive means related to movement or a game of lights. So, CiprianNichita completes this concept of the show concert. Last but not least, I would mention our instrumental collaborators, Kirina Arnăutu with the banjo, a member of the Radio Children's Choir, our colleagues from the National Radio Orchestra, Alexandru Anastasiu and Max (Lucian Maxim), as we call him. I would also like to mention the fact that the entire constellation of soloists is selected from among the members of the Academic Choir, and here I specifically targeted new members, who obtained this status only in this January, following the competition organized in autumn-winter. Therefore, they will have a double pose during Thursday's concert, having both the emotion of the debut in the first a cappella concert, but also that of soloists. We believe that together, all these special, emotionally charged elements will create a magical evening that we all want.

The Academic Radio Choir celebrates its 83rd anniversary during this period. What do you expect for the next concerts?

If, unfortunately, we couldn't celebrate the previous anniversary because of the pandemic period, we aim for the 85rd anniversary a series of surprise concerts, but until then we want to create special themes along the lines of a cappella concerts, which I will reveal in the timely moment. Our immediate concern will be the concerts during the season, and during the Easter period we will have two concerts with two different orchestras. We will also prepare two works for the first audition for the International New Music Week. We will end the season with the National Radio Orchestra with Mahler's Third Symphony and of course, a challenging work awaits us for the "Enescu" Festival with the three choirs of Bucharest. So, we have an extremely plentiful spring and summer, which we are eagerly preparing for.