Simona Rožman Strnad (2014)
Simona Rožman Strnad (2014) Photo: Matej Kramžer

Who is Simona

Choirmaster Simona Rožman Strnad is Viva’s boundless source of creativity. She graduated from the Department of Music Pedagogy at the Faculty of Education, University of Maribor in choral conducting, and during her studies, she gained knowledge and experience as a singer and accompanist with the Carmina Slovenica Choir. After finishing her studies, she returned to Brežice, and with the founding of Viva realized her desire to lead her choir.

She taught at the Brežice Music School and the Brežice High School, wherein in 2013, she co-founded the Mixed Youth Choir of the Brežice High School, which she still leads today. Since 1998, she has been devoting herself to creativity in culture as the head of the Brežice Regional Branch at the Republic of Slovenia Public Fund for Cultural Activities.

She has attended numerous seminars and workshops for choral conductors. At the international choral competition ‘’In canto sul Garda’’ 2001 in Riva del Garda, she received an award/scholarship for the best young choirmaster of the competition, and at the singing week Europa Cantat in Ljubljana 2007, she was an assistant in a workshop, led by the renown choir conductor Gary Graden. In 2021, she was a member of the International Music Commission for the Europa Cantat 2021 Festival.

She is the recipient of many awards at regional, national and international competitions for composing and performing competition programs and individual compositions.

For her outstanding contribution to the development of choral music in the municipality of Brežice and beyond, she received a gold medal from the Association of Cultural Societies of Brežice and the highest recognition of the Municipality of Brežice – the October 2012 award.

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