Brief Historical Background
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The Bi-communal choir for Peace in Cyprus was established in May 1997, after an initiative of the Bi-communal Citizens’ Group for Peace in Cyprus. Its members are citizens of the two communities, Turkish-Cypriots and Greek-Cypriots, who share the same vision of a re-unified and peaceful common country and also believe in the unity of the two communities through Music. The choir repertoire consists mainly of selected songs from the tradition of Cyprus in both Greek-Cypriot and Turkish – Cypriot dialects as well as newer songs in Greek, Turkish and any other language as long as they send messages of peace, love, solidarity and reconciliation, messages that conform with our aims and visions. The choir works under the instructions of two conductors, a Turkish-Cypriot and a Greek-Cypriot and it also co-operates and performs with cultural groups of the smaller communities of Maronites and Armenians. The Bi-communal Choir started rehearsing at the LEDRA PALACE Hotel, and its first official performance took place in October 1997 at a bi-communal festival organised by the UN at Ledra Palace Hotel. Despite its enthusiastic start in May 1997, the choir went through a turbulent period from December 1997 until the beginning of 1999 as it could not function freely due to various difficulties and obstacles. It started to rehearse again in the mixed village of Pyla, situated in the buffer zone in Larnaca district, about forty-five kilometres from Nicosia. Since 2000, the choir has managed to become widely known and appeared in numerous events both in Cyprus and abroad, including London, Istanbul, Athens, Bratislava, Debrecen in Hungary and Lebanon. In 2007 it sang in the European Parliament in Brussels. After the partial lifting of the ban of free movement across the divide in April 2003, the choir has been happy to take part in a large number of activities and organize concerts in both parts of Cyprus, thus sending its messages of peace all around the island. We are very proud to say that since its establishment , the Bi-communal Choir for Peace in Cyprus has taken part in more than 250 events and has hopefully contributed, with the power of Music, to the creation of a more positive and optimistic atmosphere that will lead to the building of permanent peace on our common island. We, the members of the Bi-communal choir do not compromise with the division of our island but we long to see a re-unified Cyprus, part of the big European family which will safeguard a peaceful, happy and prosperous future for all its inhabitants. At the general assembly of the Bicommunal Choir for Peace in Cyprus, held on January 29, 2022, its Members unanimously decided to rename the Choir in honor of its late Maestro Lena Melanidou from “Bicommunal Choir for Peace in Cyprus” to “Bicommunal Choir for Peace-Lena Melanidou”. The new logo of our choir was created by our Turkish Cypriot compatriot, Senih Çavuşoğlu, on a non-profit basis. |
Cyprus - Our Island
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