The meeting began with a solemn Eucharistic celebration led by the dean of the Chapter of Vrhbosna, Msgr. Pavo Jurišić, in concelebration with the professor of liturgy at the KBF in Sarajevo, Rev. Ivan Rako and the parish vicar of the Dolac parish, OFM Mijo Šuman.

In the opening greeting, Msgr. Jurišić thanked Rev. Marko Stanušić for his many years of work on the gathering of church choirs and singers in the Sarajevo cathedral. "We gathered here for the communion of the Eucharistic celebration, to praise God with prayer and song, which is what you normally do in your parish liturgical celebrations. The entire liturgy, but also our lives, express a song of praise to the glory of our Lord. We praise God with songs and musical instruments, we bless him because he hears our prayers and our cries. He lovingly accepts the glory we give him", said Msgr. Jurišić.

Playing according to God's "notes"

After the readings from the scriptures and the proclamation of the gospel, he tried to "connect the joy of music and faith in God with a few thoughts" in the appropriate homily. "An orchestra consists of many instruments (...) In the joint harmony of the instruments, harmony is created that gives life to the composition. True, there are also solo concerts, but here we are looking at musical groups and choirs.

The whole human community is like an orchestra because we do not live as soloists, but with each other in communion. This applies to every life, in the family, at school, at work and in society. As individual instruments differ in their sound and tones, individuals also differ from each other (...) Where does this difference come from? Faith tells us that God created man in his own image and likeness. Every human being is the image and likeness of God. But God is infinitely great and so rich that an individual man cannot even come close to painting Him. That's why each person reflects certain features of the divine battle with his or her own personality", explained the preacher.

He went on to say that when an orchestra plays in front of us, then we see the musicians, and in front of them are the sheet music holders. "Notes determine for each musician a section that is only his. The composer used notes to write down his musical ideas respecting the law of harmony, and thus composed a work of art or simply a composition (song). No musician is allowed to play whatever comes to his mind because that would be noise, not music (...) Just as notes adjust the harmony of instruments and individual voices turn notes into a work of art, so in interpersonal life there are sheet music, instructions and regulations that God gave us. If we take care of them, then life together will be harmonious", said, among others, Msgr. Jurišić.

Members of all six choirs, led by the Josip Stadler Cathedral Mixed Choir, led by rev. Stanušić, regent of the choir of the Sarajevo cathedral and coordinator for church and liturgical music of the Vrhbosna archdiocese, who has also been an organizer of choir gatherings for years.

Commemorative concert

After the end of the Holy Mass and after a short break, a spiritual music concert followed, during which six choirs treated the audience with performances of 12 polyphonic or Gregorian chants. The leader of the program was sister Nikolina Džavić, SMI.

After the theology choir of the Vrhbosna Theological Seminary Stjepan Hadrović, led by rev. Rako, the parish choirs performed with the conductors: Cathedral of the Heart of Jesus – Sarajevo under sister Petronila Kovačević; St. Anthony – Bugojno under sister Auksilija Milić; Assumption of the BVM - Uskoplje under sister Renata Lizatović; and Assumption of the BVM - Dolac under Vlatka Čabro. The concert was closed by the cathedral mixed choir Josip Stadler - Sarajevo under the direction of Rev. Marko.

After a short address of Rev. Stanušić, Msgr. Jurišić presented certificates of thanks to the leaders of the choirs, followed by a joint photo shoot and socializing in the Priest's Home of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese.