She performed on concert stages worldwide – from the Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana to the San Francisco Symphony Hall, from the Teresa Carreńo Theatre in Caracas and to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Teatro Colon.

She works as an artistic adviser for choral music, gives lectures to conductors and she is regularly a guest conductor, jury member or member of artistic committees at choral festivals and competitions. She is a member of Multicultural and Ethnic Commission of IFCM- International Federation of Choral Music.

Her permanent ensamble - Concert choir Carmina Slovenica - is one of the leading ensembles of the world choir movement. It is also one of the foremost avantgarde vocal ensembles, creating interesting contemporary music projects. With “Choregie – vocal theatre” Carmina Slovenica introduces new concept which incorporate music, drama, dance and other stage elements.

Her choirs performed at the:

• World Music Days 2003 organised by ISCM ( International Society for Contemporary Music),
• European Symposium on Choral Music 1995 organised by IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music),
• General Assembly of Europa Cantat in 1997,
• America Cantat 2000 in Venezuela,
• Europa Cantat 2000 in project “Songbridge 2000”,
• Gala concert at Choir Olympics 2000 and participated at many international festival festivals.

Her concert choirs have been confirmed time and again at many international competitions where the choirs have won a number of top prizes and high awards, including:

• Kathaumixw, Canada - two first and two second prizes; the choir is proclaimed "The most outstanding choir of Kathaumixw 94"
• Golden Gate, California - three first prizes and the audience award
• Des Moines, Iowa - two first prizes and a gold medal
• Llangollen, Britain - first prize
• Montreux, Switzerland - Prix OTM, Prix de Jury
• Neerpelt, Belgium - Summa cum laude
• Kalundborg, Denmark - first prize (with the maximum possible number of points awarded)
• Riva del Garda, Italy - golden and silver plaquette
• Tampere, Finland - two golden stamps
• Our song, Slovenia - first prize, four special awards
• International competition Maribor, Slovenia - golden plaquette, five special awards.

In 2001, at the presentation of Prešeren Awards, which is the most significant cultural award in Slovenia, Karmina Šilec received the Award of Prešeren fund for the project “Vampirabile”, performed with the Choir Carmina Slovenica.

Karmina Šilec has brought characteristic flair and integrity to the direction of the choirs. Through her guidance they have not only attained the highest level of vocal achievement, but have transformed their performances, incorporating dance and traditional instruments, into highly innovative, exciting artistic events. Her enthusiastic exploration of the international music scene ensures the variety of the choirs' dynamic repertoire. She has special interests in contemporary music and music written by historical women composers.

She is a member of International Federation of Choral Music, International Alliance for Women in Music, Europa Cantat, American choral directors association

Contact details and further information

E-mail Karmina Šilec

For further details, see Karmina Šilec's website