Romania’s Oradea University honors 30 years of artistic education

Students and graduates of the Department of Music will celebrate on Monday, November 24, the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Faculty of Arts within the University of Oradea, Romania, through an academic event and a vocal-symphonic concert featuring Vivaldi’s Gloria, conducted by Carmen Rus and Vladimir Agachi, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

“Thirty years ago, the two fields of the Faculty of Arts were established at the University of Oradea—Visual Arts and Music—with specializations that we value. A university cannot survive solely on fields that produce specialists for industry, for medicine, or for the economic environment. Art must also be done scientifically, and we are proud of the results of our colleagues,” said Constantin Bungău, Rector of the University of Oradea, on Friday for AGERPRES.

The anniversary event will take place on Monday at the Oradea Philharmonic and will include, in the first part, from 5:00 p.m., an academic ceremony dedicated to the anniversary of the Faculty of Arts, followed at 6:30 p.m. by the vocal-symphonic concert performed by the faculty’s choir and orchestra, led by lecturer Dr. Carmen Rus, choir conductor, and lecturer Dr. Vladimir Agachi. The choir will consist of about 60 people, and the orchestra will bring together around 45 instrumentalists.

The soloists of the evening will be sopranos Ancuța Măslină Pop and Florina Mariș Hinsu, together with countertenor Sebastian Vaida.

The artists will perform Gloria, one of the best-known pieces in Antonio Vivaldi’s sacred repertoire, a work that blends Baroque simplicity with melodic expressiveness, remaining both accessible and profound.

“Vivaldi’s Gloria is rightly considered a masterpiece of the Baroque choral repertoire. My thought today is a wish for a better world, through music and art, in our attempt to sensitize the modern world of the 21st century, the world of technology, so that we do not forget emotion, feelings, and experiences. Music is a universal language through which we reach the human soul,” said Ariadna Mircescu, Director of the Department of Music.

She emphasized that the anniversary event concludes a series of cultural and artistic activities dedicated to the 30 years of existence of the Faculty of Arts.

“We will have as guests former professors who contributed to the development of university-level artistic education in Oradea, as well as invited alumni—graduates who have been ambassadors of the arts and distinguished themselves in their careers with remarkable achievements in music and visual arts, with outstanding performances in pre-university and academic education, in the cultural life of the city, or even abroad,” added Ariadna Mircescu.

Herself a graduate of the Oradea Faculty of Arts in 2004, Ariadna Mircescu also holds a master’s degree from the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca (since Oradea did not yet offer one at the time) and a doctorate from the National University of Music Bucharest.

“I was welcomed with great warmth and support by my former professors in 2016, when I took on this position and was extremely young. I can honestly say I do not regret graduating from the Oradea faculty—I am truly proud of it. I received solid training, both in performance and theoretical knowledge. I was often asked who I had worked with, and during my admission to master’s and doctoral studies, my professors were highly appreciated,” she added.

Admission to the event is free, within the limit of available seats, based on an invitation that can be obtained from the ticket office of the Oradea State Philharmonic.

The Department of Music offers specializations in three study directions: Music, Musical Performance – Voice, and Musical Performance – Instruments. These are complemented by master’s programs: Pedagogy of Conducting Art, Vocal and Instrumental Chamber Music Performance, and Art of Instrumental and Vocal Interpretation.

The Doctoral School of Interdisciplinary Studies within the University of Oradea, through the Department of Music of the Faculty of Arts, has been offering doctoral studies in the field of Music since 2023.