This "George Enescu" Philharmonic's season is marked by the 60th anniversary of the founding of the academic choir.

For well over a century, the George Enescu Philharmonic Choir represents the second major component of the Bucharest musical establishment.

In 1950, when the Choir was formed, the order of the day required catching up with the instrumental music. Chronologically, choral music preceded instrumental music by several centuries and has always prevailed over it, at least quantitatively—even during the emergence of the great symphonic works of the 19th century. Up to the mid 20th century in the Romanian musical life, however, the compositions for great vocal symphonic repertoires were only rarely represented by a few private choirs or professional singers' and amateurs' unplanned gatherings, which could barely keep up with the level of performance of the Philharmonic Orchestra. With the creation of the State Choir, the public's perception of classical music underwent a radical change.

By their constant and ever so varied works, oratories, misses, motets and a cappella music, the vocal ensemble has managed to perform all the masterpieces of the genre, by composers ranging from Monteverdi, Bach, Haydn and Brahms to the most avant-garde opuses of contemporary music. Either for soloist parts or for aria recitals and Lieder, the members of the Choir come to the fore just as their instrumentalist counterparts do. A spirit of competitiveness among the singers and a continual self-assessment of their artistic level are thus kept alive. Besides, a strictly controlled selection of the choir members and the collaboration with honoured conductors such as Lawrence Foster, Sergiu Comissiona or Cristian Mandeal work together in maintaining a high professional level and keeping up with the benchmark of the Symphonic Orchestra.

The outcome is revealed in exquisite concerts, which are always a pleasure for the regulars of the Philharmonic. When the two musical ensembles come together is seems as if it is only then that the formidable acoustic of the Athenaeum comes alive. It is only then that it manages to amplify and round out the ample, brilliant, as much overwhelming as exciting sonority of the Hall. It is in such moments that words like 'complete performance' come to mind.

Since 1990, the George Enescu Philharmonic Choir has participated in great music events in Romania. Thus, in 1995 the ensemble managed to work with the great Polish conductor Krzysztof Penderecki, and in 1998 it managed to sustain together with Orchestre Nationale de France and Lawrence Foster a variant of concert for the opera Oedipe by George Enescu at the namesake Festival.

Since 1997, the Philharmonic Choir is conducted by the conductor and pianist Iosif Ion Prunner, a member and continuer of a renowned family of musicians and educated people in Romania. He stimulates both the continual exploration of the all-time vocal music literature and the performance of the Lieder recitals by the members of the Choir—with piano accompaniment, often by the conductor himself.

Already a part of the European musical flow, the Philharmonic Choir has participated on a regular basis in international tours, making a name for itself in the concert halls of Spain, France, Italy, Bulgaria and Greece.

Dirijor

Ion Iosif Prunner

Iosif Ion Prunner has been the permanent conductor of the Choir of the Philharmonic since 1997. He is a valuable pianist and orchestra and opera conductor, who brought a new spirit to this artistic group, and won recognition for it at important Romanian music events.

Philharmonic Choir soloists presented in vocal-symphonic and choral 2009 - 2010 season

Iunia Artamanov (soprano), Lavinia Mamot (soprano), Nelly Niculae (soprano), Madalina Stan (soprano), Elena Stancu (soprano), Alexandra Andrei (mezzosoprano), Stefania Bolos (mezzosoprano), Alina Buzdugan (mezzosoprano), Geanina Munteanu (mezzosoprano), Georgiana Mototolea (mezzosoprano), Mircea Ciurez (tenor), Ion Vasile Orheian (tenor), Ionut Popescu (tenor), Consztantin Cocris (bass), Razvan Georgescu (bass).

Sopranos

Ruxandra Alexandrescu, Iulia Artamanov, Viorica Boncu, Anca Butuc, Nicoleta Constantin, Iolanda Constantinescu, Lacramioara Cosmescu, Cornelia Crainic-Stanciu, Madalina Cretu-Carcota, Raluca Enea, Silvia Florea, Anfisa Fugaru, Madalina Gheorghe, Alina Gramada, Mirela Ionescu, Eugenia Mihai, Georgiana Mototolea, Neluta Nicolae, Valentina Panas, Mariana Popovici, Stefana Puia, Elena Radut-Siliste, Ileana Raica, Madalina Stan, Elena Stancu, Paulina Stavrache, Ileana Tanase, Ecaterina Ungur, Mioara Voicu

Permanent Collaborators: Cornelia Belcescu, Gabriela Damian, Cleopatra Maria, David Roxana, Velisarescu Aneliya Vidinova, Cristina Voicea

Altos

Alexandra Andrei, Marina Constantin, Olga Csorvasi, Alina Ionescu, Anita Iosephovici, Maria Lungu, Haricleea Marica, Mariana Mirescu, Geanina Munteanu, Simona Oarfa, Andreea Petre, Magdalena Postolache, Liliana Seica, Magdalena Serafim, Liliana Seropian, Daniela Svaricevschi

Permanent Collaborators: Cristina Luchian, Mihaela Tufan, Eugenia Dobos

Tenors

Victor Bruma, Mircea Ciurez, Olimpian Cojocaru, Daian Dinulescu, Vili Dula, Paul Ghica, George Hogas, Mircea Ionescu, Petre Macedoneanu, Cristian Manta, Cristian Mitrache, Constantin Neiconi, Mircea Popescu, Vasile Sfia, Catalin Stoica, Dragos Teodorescu

Permanent Collaborators: Mircea Trandafir, Panait Nicusor, Vlad George, Ion Vasile Orheian

Bass

Cristian Babuta, Ieronim Buga, Adrian Fugaru, Sorin Georgescu, Ionel Gramada, Nicolae Grof, Vasile Groza, Liviu Ionescu, Valentin Ivascu, Mircea Lucaciu, Alexandru Lupes, Emilian Mincu, Bujor Petru-Anica, Gabriel Stefan, Vasile Tudose

Permanent Collaborators: Cristian Constantinescu, Sorin Dumitrascu, Mihai Mateescu, Valentin Parvu