Former Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to CR Ms Danka Savić, during her mission in Prague had initiated the concert:
PONTANIMA – A Bridge Between Souls
to be held in cooperation with the Lastavica Civic Association in Prague, Prague Embassy of BiH,
Prague 6 Municipality and the Benedictine Archabbey of St. Adalbert and St. Margaret
On Sunday evening June 11th (19.30)
In St Margaret Basilica of the Brevnov Benedictine Monastery, Prague 6.
The PONTANIMA (from Latin Pons – bridge, Anima – soul) Choir of Sarajevo was created in 1996, the year following the end of the devastating war which was to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina and set its inhabitants irredeemably one against another. The Choir draws its repertoire on sacred chants of four religions (Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim and Jewish).
The founder, Franciscan monk Ivo Marković, who had lost several family members in the war, put together the initial core in the Franciscan Monastery of St. Anthony. In its Catholic church, the first tunes of Orthodox, Islamic and Jewish chants were heard along with Christian choir pieces soon after the war.
Over the twenty years of its existence, the Choir has been building spiritual bridges, giving concerts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, China and USA; it has received a number of international awards for peace and interreligious dialogue, in 2016 the Culture for Peace prize from the hands of French president F. Holland.