
08/06/2025
We are delighted to present the Choir of the Music Society "Santa Cecilia" of Onda, Spain, along with their conductor, Nadia Stoyanova, as participants in this year’s Masterclass for Conductors.
Below is a short biography introducing their profile:
The Choir of the Santa Cecilia Music Society of Onda (UMSCO), Spain, was founded in 1985 to establish a permanent vocal ensemble within the local music community. Over the years, it has become a distinguished presence on both the local and regional choral scene.
Since 2012, the choir has been under the direction of Nadia Stoyanova, with whom they have undertaken a wide range of acclaimed artistic projects. These include performances of Requiem by Mozart and Michael Haydn (2015–2016), the revival and recording of Solemn Vespers by Onofre Guinovart (2019), Misa Tango by Martín Palmeri with Daniel Binelli and Polly Ferman (2023), Romancero Gitano by Castelnuovo-Tedesco (2022), and John Rutter’s Magnificat and Mass of the Children. In 2024, they premiered Flumen Mundi, an original interdisciplinary work combining choral music and classical dance.
In choral competitions, UMSCO has earned significant recognition, including second prize and the audience award at the “Fira de Tots Sants” Choral Contest in Cocentaina (2018), and both first prize and the audience award at the 5th Firacor Prize (2021), a prestigious quadrennial event for top-ranked choirs.
The choir also participated in the 38th Segorbe Choral Festival (2022) and was conducted by acclaimed Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds in Valencia (2019). In August 2025, UMSCO will serve as the pilot choir for the Artistic Choral Conducting Workshop in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.