is a prominent representative of the Slovak professional choral singing. It entered the music scene in 1946 as the Mixed Choir of Czechoslovak Radio. During the first years, it was led by its founder, the conductor Ladislav Slovák. In 1957 the choir was incorporated into the group of Slovak Philharmonic ensembles. Several important personalities (J. M. Dobrodinský, Š. Klimo, P. Procházka, M. Vach, J. Rozehnal, B. Juhaňáková, J. Chabroň) took over the posts of choirmasters. From the 2023/2024 season, the Slovak Philharmonic Choir was led by the choirmaster Jan Rozehnal. Since April 2026, the position of choirmaster has been taken over by Petra Torkošová.
The sophisticated expression, sound balance of vocal groups, as well as performing readiness, reliability and exemplary artistic discipline are reflected in sovereign performances, which have been appreciated by many renowned conductors such as C. Abbado, S. Baudo, S. Bychkov, J. Conlon, Ch. von Dohnányi, V. Fedoseyev, J. Ferencsik, D. Gatti, P. Halffter, R. Chailly, D. Kitayenko, L. Maazel, Z. Mehta, F. Welser-Möst, A. Pedrotti, K. Richter, E. Pekka-Salonen, P. Schreier, V. Talich, E. Villaume and R. Weikert, K. Petrenko and others.
The choir has collaborated with prestigious foreign orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, and the Orchester de Paris. Its achievements have embellished important international festivals (Salzburg, London, Baden-Baden).
The Slovak Philharmonic Choir received the international Oper! Awards 2023 in the Best Choir category for the collaboration in the opera production Queen of Spades with the Berlin Philharmonic and K. Petrenko at the Easter Festival in Baden-Baden, Germany, and concerts at the Berlin Philharmonic (2022).
In April 2025 the choir successfully performed at the Easter Festival in Salzburg in a new opera production of Khovanshchina by M. P. Mussorgsky (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. by Esa-Pekka Salonen), and in March 2026 in a renewed opera production of Le Grand Macabre by G. Ligeti in the Vienna State Opera (Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, cond. Pablo Heras-Casado).
In the upcoming season 2026/2027 the choir will appear not only on domestic stages but also as a guest in Germany, Austria and Czech Republic.
The choir’s season will be opened in Merseburg in the oratorio The Book with Seven Seals written by the Bratislava native Franz Schmidt, under the baton of Jörg-Peter Weigle. At the end of 2026 it will give a guest appearance in the Vienna State Opera, in a new opera production La Damnation de Faust by H. Berlioz, conducted by Bertrand de Billy.
At the end of the concert season 2026/2027 it will perform again at festivals in Košice and Ostrava in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Subsequently it will appear at subscription concerts of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, where the oratorio Sv. Vojtěch (Saint Adalbert) by Ľ. Čekovská will have its world premiere, and A. Dvořák’s Te Deum will sound, with the conductor Tomáš Netopil. A repeated performance of the new work by Ľ. Čekovská will also take place at the festival Smetana’s Litomyšl and at Bratislava Music Festival 2027.
In August 2027 the choir will participate in a concert performance of A. Dvořák’s opera Rusalka, together with the Czech Philharmonic at the festival in Grafenegg
under the baton of S. Bychkov.