MPZ Cantus PoPuli

Croatia

The Mixed Choir Cantus PoPuli was founded in 2014 by its artistic director and conductor, music pedagogue Tatjana Merkl. The choir is highly active, regularly participating in both national and international competitions, where it has earned twelve gold, three silver, and one bronze diploma. In cooperation with the Croatian Choral Directors Association, the choir organizes the international choral competition Istria Cantat and the event Polyphonic Embrace, a gathering of choirs held to celebrate Pula City Day. It also presents its own independent concert, Echoes of Music, which takes place on the feast day of the city’s patron saint, St. Thomas. The choir’s deep love for Istrian music and culture is evident through its performances and participation in the Festival of Istrian Choral Music – Naš kanat je lip (Our Song Is Beautiful), where it received the Croatian Composers’ Society Award for the best performance of a choral work by a Croatian composer. Despite its relatively short history, the choir has entered the recording studio twice. In 2017, it recorded a song for a documentary about KUD Idijoti, the legendary punk band from Pula, and later performed at a charity concert held in the band’s honor. In 2019, the choir returned to the studio to record the song Sole with the band Dogma and Saša Antić from TBF.