School choir
The European School Brussels 1 Secondary Choir is a group of 90 singers – secondary students and teachers who are associated with the European School Brussels 1 (Uccle) and who share a wonderful common passion – singing and music. This mixed choir has been working under the direction of Joanna Musko since September 2015 when Ms Musko started 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 had the pleasure and honour of cooperating with other outstanding artists including Zoran Petkovic (percussion instruments), Gabrielle Arnett – de Burbure (cello), Miriam Pino Brewka (cello), Monika Tomasik-Kowalczyk (violin) Marc Devreese (violin), Pablo Garcia (violin), Martin O’Sullivan (violin, viola), Ana Marjanovic (viola), Thomas Arnett (flute) and Fotis Fotiu (guitar). In addition the choir has performed with the Symphony Orchestra of EEBI, the Uccle Funk Community, EEB1 teachers’ band as well as 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 European Commission Presidents 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 (European Parliament, February 2020).
Since 2017 the choir has travelled regularly to Germany (Monschau, Kleve), 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 7 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 23th International Petersburg Choir Festival in Russia in March 2020.
In March 2023, the EEB1 Secondary Choir participated in the 9th Roma Music Festival, delivering a full concert “Voci in fiore!” for the school community of Istituto Sacro Cuore della Trinità dei Monti di Roma at The Holy Trinity at Monte Pincio, and performing at The Basilica San Lorenzo in Lucina and the Teatro Don Bosco. In the same year, the choir won the 1st Prize in the choral singing category at the American Edition Competition. 
In April 2024, the 80-member EEB1 Secondary Choir participated in The Golden Voices of Montserrat International Festival and Contest, winning 1st Prize in the Academic Singing category and 2nd Prize in the World Sacred Music category. The choir gave a full concert titled “Canto por y para la juventud… con amor” for students from four secondary schools in Barcelona, performing at the Conservatorio municipal de Música de Barcelona. The singers also performed at the Teatre de Lloret de Mar, and the Basílica de Montserrat.
The Choir regularly performs in Brussels. It used to sing at most important Belgian venues such as Flagey, the Royal Conservatory as well as Eglise Saint-Adrien, Eglise Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, La salle des mariages de la Maison communal, and Eglise du Collège St-Michel.
The EEB1 Secondary Choir has a wide and varied repertoire including works from different countries and styles of music in English, French, German, Latin, Polish, Italian, Slovenian, Latvian, Hungarian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Old Church Slavonic and the South African languages Zulu and Xhosa.
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