On the evening of January 9th, the day dedicated to the Holy Protomartyr Stefan, the long-awaited first Christmas concert of traditional holiday carols was held in the beautiful atmosphere of the grand hall of the Macedonian Philharmonic.
At this solemn concert, which was a kind of crown of the three-day celebration of Christ’s birth and wrapped up the year-long activities of the huge number of dedicated members and volunteers of the “Badnik Walks” association, some of the church dignitaries were present, including our Blessed Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonian Stefan, Metropolitan of Tetovo-Gostivar Joseph, Bishop of Stobi Jakov, our Elder, Bishop of Antaniski Partenij, as well as a large number of politicians, professors, social workers, monks, musicians, and friends and collaborators of the “Badnikovi Povorki (Badnik Walks)”.
Numerous Macedonian singers took the stage on the evening of January 9, the day dedicated to Saint Stephen, in the beautiful ambiance of the large hall of the Macedonian Philharmonic for the highly anticipated first Christmas concert of traditional holiday songs.
The festive concert, which was the crowning event of the three-day celebration of the birth of Christ and rounded up the year-long activities of the huge number of dedicated members and volunteers of the “Badnikovi Povorki” association, was attended by some of the top church dignitaries, including our Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonian, Stefan, Metropolitan of Tetovo-Gostivar, Joseph, Bishop of Stobi, Jakov, our Elder, Bishop of Antaniski, Partenij, as well as a large number of politicians, professors, social workers, monks, musicians, and friends and collaborators of Badnikovi Povorki (Badnik Walks).
The numerous performers on the stage included Antonia Gigovska, Lambe Alabakovski, Dimitar Andonovski, Stefan Filipovski (“Next Time”), and Nikola Perevski-Pere (“Nokaut”), led by the unique and incomparable Vera Milosevska from the “Ljubojna” group. The skillfully woven festive symphony of sounds was taken care of by our established musician, composer, and founder of “Ljubojna,” Oliver Josifovski. Among the musicians, the world-renowned clarinet virtuoso, Ismail Lumanovski, was also present, as well as the group “Chalgii Merak”. They were joined by other notable musicians who made a significant contribution to the concert, including Filip Mihajlovski on the canon, Toni Arslan on the violin, Hristijan Janevski on the tambura, Robert Angelovski on the kaval, Petar Hristov on the lyre, Oliver Nastovski on the oud, Mite Naumovski on the jumbush, Anastasios Ioanu on the clarinet, Demir Shakirov, Hristijan Nikolovski, and Sheriff Mustafa on percussion. The event was given a special touch by the participation of the “Kozma Prechistenksi” choir from the city of Kichevo, as well as singers from the traditional music and dance department at DMBOUC “Ilija Nikolovski-Luj,” who brought joyous Christmas atmosphere to the Macedonian Philharmonic, lifting everyone present with their harmonious voices to the sublime celestial spaces.
One of the most beautiful moments of the Christmas concert was the address by some members of the Badnik procession, who called upon His Eminence Archbishop Stefan with great love and warmth to come to the stage, in a sign of gratitude for his generous blessing towards their activities, to present him with an archiereus encolpion, dedicating this unusually beautiful ceremony in honor of his patron saint day.
Through the live broadcast enabled by the national service MRTV, viewers had the opportunity to receive this festive concert atmosphere in their own homes, so that no one was deprived of this rare pleasure of watching the beautiful Christmas concert, announced by the sweet voice of host Ljubica Janevska-Ivanovska.
The photographers, Stefan Rajhl, Nikolaj Grncharov, Aleksandar Paunovski, and Aleksandar Kotevski, as well as the camera operator Stojan Stojanovski (production 2S), were responsible for the photographic material. Through their lenses, they attempted to capture every moment of the beauty that flowed from the stage and the hearts of all present, not hiding their satisfaction. They rewarded the performers’ efforts with long and heartfelt applause after almost every carol.
We sincerely hope that this Christmas event will become part of the now traditional program of the Badnik processions, growing into a beautiful tradition that will make the Macedonian people widely known for such spiritual and cultural events, which in the spirit of Orthodox tradition, particularly solemnly celebrate the Name of God, even outside the churches.
Christ is born!
