CONCORDIA Christmasmatinée 2023

Giving children wings together! What does a child need to grow up happily and lead a good life?

The basis for all of us is a loving environment, people they can trust and a school education or vocational training. CONCORDIA looks after children, young people and families in over 100 projects in the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Austria. In these Eastern European countries, where many people live in misery, there is often a lack of basic necessities: no access to clean drinking water, a lack of medical care and infrastructure and social marginalisation make daily life a dreary struggle for survival.

The aim of our work is to lead children, young people and families out of the vicious circle of poverty and enable them to lead a self-determined life without marginalisation. By attending the CONCORDIA Matinée, you can actively contribute to the well-being of the children and take a step towards a positive future.

Tickets can be ordered at matinee@concordia.or.at for a donation of 280 euros per person. The ticket includes the classical concert and a festive meal afterwards.

If you would like to make a donation for the matinée, please transfer it to the donation account:
AT21 3200 0010 0703 4499
Please state "Matinee" as the reason for payment.

Your generous donation will benefit our social projects.

Every euro gives hope and a future. Thank you very much!

Programme

Sunday, 17 December 2023
Time: 10.30-13.00
Location: Palais Ferstel (Strauchgasse 4, 1010 Vienna)

Patron of honour

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen

Reading by

Simon Morzé

Artistic organisation by

Martin Gellner, Conductor and Artistic Director
Big Island Orchestra
Rusanda Panfili, violin
Futurelove Sibanda, tenor soloist
Golnar Shahyar, soloist soprano
Vienna Philharmonia Choir

Advent blessing by

Prelate Anton Höslinger Can.Reg. - Provost of Klosterneuburg Abbey

The reading

Simon Morzé

Simon Morzé was born into a family of actors, the son of Petra Morzé and Stefan Matousch. He made his own film debut in 2006 in the TV film "Die Entscheidung" by director Nikolaus Leytner. Since then, he has appeared in numerous film and TV productions. These include the series "Schnell ermittelt", "Der Trafikant" and "Der Fuchs". Simon Morzé has appeared on the theatre stage in the plays "Kleist - Familie Schroffenstein" and "Ein Monat auf dem Lande". His career is characterised by multiple nominations in the category "Best Young Actor" as well as the award of the Young Actor Award for his role in "The Fox" at the BAYERISCHEN FILMPREIS 2023.

Simon Morzé reads from "Fuchserde", a novel by Thomas Sautner, published by Picus Verlag. In his novel, Sautner tells the story of a long-forgotten ethnic group, outcast from society, a travelling people who are also at home here in Austria - the Yenish. Fuchserde brings an almost forgotten group of people back into consciousness.

The artists

Big Island Orchester

The "Big Island Orchestra Vienna" was put together by conductor Martin Gellner with hand-picked classical and crossover musicians from various renowned orchestras - from the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, to the Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Tonkünstler, to the Mozarteum and the Orchestra of the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien. The orchestra specialises in film music and multimedia recordings and has all the qualities needed to establish Vienna as a film music metropolis on a par with London or Los Angeles.

Martin Gellner, conductor

is a composer and arranger. He is the musical director and conductor of the concert series "Hollywood in Vienna" organised by the Vienna RSO. This collaboration resulted in the CD "The World Of Hans Zimmer" - one of the world's most streamed live film music recordings. Martin Gellner is music supervisor of the international concert tour of the same name. With his "Big Island Orchestra Vienna", founded in the first Covid Lockdown 2020, Martin Gellner has recorded the soundtracks for the Oscar-nominated Globe winner "Borat - Subsequent Movie Film" and "Riverdance - The Animated Adventure", among others. He lives with his wife Kim Duddy in Vienna and Minnesota.

Rusanda Panfili, violin

has worked with stars such as Hans Zimmer, Gavin Greenaway, Guthrie Govan and Carlos Rafael Rivera. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras from Mexico, Palermo, Grossetto, Moldavia, Romania, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester and the Dresdner Staadtskapelle. She graduated with honours from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Rusanda is active as a composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. With the ensemble "Panfili&Friends", which she founded, she immerses herself in the world of folklore. She plays a violin from 1610 by G.P.Maggini.

Golnar Shahyar, Soloist Soprano

Golnar Shahyar is a European-based Iranian-Canadian singer, composer, lyricist and music educator. After completing her bachelor's degree in biology in Toronto, she moved to Vienna in 2008 to realise her dream of becoming a musician. After a short time performing on international stages and festivals, she completed her vocal and music education at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Her commitment to creating new cultural and musical dialogues has led to numerous collaborations with internationally renowned musicians, both on stage and in the field of music production. As the lead singer of her bands Sormeh, Choub, Gabbeh, Sehrang, Golnar & Mahan, she has been selected by the NASOM programme to represent the Austrian music scene worldwide six years in a row, in addition to many nominations.

Futurelove Sibanda, Soloist Tenor

Futurelove Sibanda is a Vienna-based singer-songwriter, actor and dancer from Nyamandlovu, Zimbabwe. He gained a lot of valuable experience on stage at a young age - at the age of 17 he was a founding member of the internationally successful dance group IYASA. After studying dance at the Vienna Conservatory, he worked as an actor and dancer in numerous dance and theatre productions, in particular at Dschungel Wien. With his performance "how to get famous", Futurelove Sibanda won the 11th Fidelio competition together with the London-based performer Christian Margol. He was also named best male dancer at the European Dance Competition (ESDU) in Porec, Croatia.

Philharmonia Chorus Vienna

The Philharmonia Chorus Vienna is an internationally active professional opera and concert choir. It was founded in 2002 on the initiative of the former artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, Gerard Mortier, and has been performing as an independent organisation under the name Philharmonia Chorus Vienna since 2006 under the direction of its founder Walter Zeh.

Walter Zeh was born in Vienna, where he studied at the Conservatory and the University of Music and Performing Arts. In 1970, he was accepted into the Vienna State Opera Choir, where he remained for 32 years. Since 2002, he has worked as a freelance choral conductor on productions for the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the RuhrTriennale, the Salzburg Festival and many more.