The European School Brussels 1 Secondary Choir is a group of 100 singers – secondary students and teachers associated with the European School Brussels 1 (Uccle) who share a common passion for singing and music. This mixed choir has been working under the direction of Joanna Musko since September 2015, when Ms Musko began her work as a seconded music teacher at the European School Brussels 1.

Since then, the group has had the honour of being accompanied by professional pianist Agnieszka Zywert. The choir has also enjoyed collaborating with outstanding artists including Zoran Petkovic (percussion instruments), Gabrielle Arnett-de Burbure (cello), Miriam Pino Brewka (cello), Monika Tomasik-Kowalczyk (violin), Céline Bodson (violin), Marc Devreese (violin), Pablo Garcia (violin), Martin O’Sullivan (violin, viola), Ana Marjanovic (viola), Thomas Arnett (flute, darbuka) and Fotis Fotiu (guitar). In addition, the choir has performed with the Symphony Orchestra of EEBI, the Uccle Funk Community, the EEB1 Teachers’ Band, as well as the student bands GERO and The Spring Report.

To date, the choir has participated in numerous school and external events and ceremonies, including the Annual Reception organized by the Presidents of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker (January 2018, 2019) and Ms Ursula von der Leyen (January 2020, 2024), the 15th European Remembrance Day for Victims of Terrorism (European Commission, March 2019), and the conference Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan: Let’s Strive for More at the European Parliament (February 2020).

 

Since 2017, the choir has travelled regularly to Germany (Monschau, Kleve, Blankenheim, Nideggen), where vocal workshops are held over a weekend and the group gives impromptu performances.

In May 2019, the EEB1 Secondary Choir participated in the 65th edition of the Cork International Choral Festival in Ireland. The singers gave seven performances in a variety of venues, including Cork City Hall, Cobh Cathedral and the Crawford Art Gallery.

The choir had been invited to take part in the competition of the 23rd International Petersburg Choir Festival in Russia in March 2020.

In March 2023, the EEB1 Secondary Choir participated in the 9th Roma Music Festival, presenting the full concert Voci in fiore! for the school community of Istituto Sacro Cuore della Trinità dei Monti di Roma at Trinità dei Monti, and performing at the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Lucina and the Teatro Don Bosco. In the same year, the choir won First Prize in the choral singing category at the American Edition Competition.

In April 2024, the choir participated in The Golden Voices of Montserrat International Festival and Contest, winning First Prize in the Academic Singing category and Second Prize in the World Sacred Music category. The choir also gave a full concert titled Canto por y para la juventud… con amor for students from four secondary schools in Barcelona at the Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona. Additional performances took place at the Teatre de Lloret de Mar and the Basílica de Montserrat.

The year 2025 brought the choir remarkable new experiences and awards. Participation in the Bratislava Spring Music Festival resulted in three Gold Diplomas, underscoring the choir’s continued artistic excellence. A particularly significant moment in the choir’s history was the concert at St. Leopold Church in Vienna, performed for Chorus Juventus, the senior group of the world-renowned Vienna Boys’ Choir.

In 2026, the choir took part in the Fingal International Festival of Voices in Ireland, achieving remarkable success by winning First Prize in the Sacred Music category while competing with experienced adult choirs. The visit to Ireland also included a highly enriching concert for the students and staff of Sandford Park School in Dublin, offering a valuable opportunity for cultural exchange and shared musical experiences.

The choir regularly performs in Brussels and has sung at some of Belgium’s most important venues, including Flagey, the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Église Saint-Adrien, Église Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, the Salle des Mariages of the Maison Communale d’Uccle, Église du Collège Saint-Michel, and the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula.

The EEB1 Secondary Choir has a wide and varied repertoire including works from different countries and musical styles in English, French, German, Latin, Polish, Italian, Slovenian, Latvian, Hungarian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Old Church Slavonic, and the South African languages Zulu and Xhosa.

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Conductor

Dr. Joanna Musko was born in 1974 in Poland into a family with musical traditions. She graduated from the Faculty of Arts at the Pedagogical College in Olsztyn and studied conducting under Prof. Lechoslaw Ragan. Joanna  Musko completed a Postgraduate Degree in Cultural Studies at the University of Warmia and Masuria in Olsztyn and after that – Vocal Studies at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. She subsequently got her doctorate of Musical Arts in the field of conducting under the supervision of renowned Polish conductor and choirmaster Prof. Marcin Wawruk.

Between 2004 – 2015 she taught at  K.I. Galczynski High School in Olsztyn (Poland), where she founded and conducted the youth choir Collegium Juvenum. The choir was renowned for its numerous concerts in Poland and abroad together with its radio and television recordings. It regularly took part in national and international choral competitions and festivals and won first place and Grand Prix awards. Under her direction the group of young singers won a special prize “Talent of the Year” (2013).

Joanna has received a number of accolades and honours for her educational and artistic work: from the Mayor of Olsztyn (2010), the Warmia and Masuria School Superintendent Prize (2011) and the Medal of the National Education Commission (2011). She also gained a prestigious award from the Minister of Education in Poland (2013).

Since September 2015 Joanna Musko has been a seconded teacher of Music at the European School Brussels1  (Uccle) and the conductor of the EEB1 Secondary Choir which she leads with passion, energy and soul.

 

Contact: joanna.musko@teacher.eursc.eu