With the blessing and prayers of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, the Magdalia Choir—under the care of His Grace Bishop Anba Makarios, Bishop of Minya and its dependencies—received wide acclaim on the evening of Thursday, July 30. The choir was praised for its distinguished participation and its skilled rendition of national songs, anthems, and spiritual hymns as part of the sixth edition of the Symphony for the Arts Festival under the slogan “إبؤرو.” The performance took place on the Anba Rewis stage at the Markian (Coptic Orthodox) Cathedral in Abbasiya and was held under the direction of the festival’s founder and director, Mr. Malak Mansy.The festival was attended by Bishop Anba Makarios alongside a number of church leaders, public figures, members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a selection of well-known artists, journalists, and media figures. Veteran broadcaster George Kordahi in particular praised the Magdalia Choir and expressed his pride and happiness at meeting Bishop Anba Makarios on this occasion. In his speech, Bishop Anba Makarios spoke of peace as the greatest power, saying that we should begin with peace and end all our occasions with it. He thanked the festival organizers for their months of effort to ensure the event’s success and also thanked everyone present.The festival ceremony included the presentation of the festival shield to the consecrated deaconess Tasouni Halbis, who is responsible for the Magdalia Choir. The choir stood out for performing national songs and spiritual hymns in nine languages—including Arabic, English, French, German, Syriac, and Ancient Egyptian (Pharaonic)—sending an important message that music is a universal language that unites hearts. The festival also honored several prominent religious, artistic, and media figures in recognition of their distinguished careers and contributions, among them Bishop Anba Makarios, broadcaster George Kordahi, Maestro Dr. Nader Abbasi, Father Boutros Daniel (head of the Catholic Center for Cinema), Dr. Hoda Wasfi (head of the Al-Hanager Center for the Arts and former director of the National Theatre), and Captain Shawky Gharib, former coach of the Egypt national team.