The Mixed Choir Viva Brežice was established by Simona Rožman Strnad in the fall of 1992. Into this new choral circle she invited her musical friends from the local area and since the very beginning of their artistic creations they brought a breath of fresh air into an already rich choral tradition of the Posavje region. The continuous improvement of the choir’s quality in the past 25 years has been proved at numerous competitions, most recently in 2016 in Vic, Spain, at Cantonigros competition. The Mixed Choir Viva Brežice has marked the last six years with several innovative projects of their own. These projects have brought a new approach to the making of the choral music in Slovenia. The most notable being a concert where they performed The Symphony of Everything Flows - a choral instrumental work in 4 acts composed by four renowned Slovenian composers (Makor, Predanič, Bec, Močnik), based on the texts of famous Slovenian poets. The composition was written especially for the choir and it marked 25 years of its existence. With the annual concert Let me embrace you in October 2018 Viva reached all around in the field of Slovenian folk songs and weaved them together into a delightful story. In April 2019, they will perform at the eminent international choral competition in Tallinn, Estonia and will be singing in 3 different categories. The choir has released five CDs and has dedicated much attention to the engagement and the performance of fresh musical pieces and arrangements for the choir by eminent Slovenian composers (Mojca Prus, Damijan Močnik, Ambrož Čopi, Vladimir Hrovat, … ), as well as young composers and students of composition (Matjaž Predanič, Tine Bec, Uršula Jašovec, …). The Mixed Choir Viva Brežice is not just a choir. It is also a synonym for socializing, celebrating, creativity, innovativeness, and especially a love of singing, which has been keeping this choir alive for more than 25 years.

Tine Bec graduated in 2016 under Full Professor Jani Golob at the Ljubljana Academy of Music where he later also received his master’s degree. He is most widely recognised for his vocal and vocal-instrumental music, which is getting increasingly circulated internationally. He is the choir leader of the Zvon Mixed Choir and the leader of the Jurij Dalmatin Octet. He also leads two female vocal groups and often collaborates with various Slovenian choirs as rehearsal accompanist, vocal technique coach, and composer.