News

XXII All-diaspora church music conference, organized by the music committee of the Synod of Bishops, was held in Toronto

9 October 2012

October 3-7, 2012, XXII All-diaspora church music conference was held in Toronto (Canada).

Guests from Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Sergiev Posad took part in the work of the forum that gathered 75 choir directors and singers from the church choirs of Russian diaspora. The conference was organized by the Church music committee at the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

The achievements of church singing and problems faced by church choirs during the last 20 years were the main theme of the meeting. Presentations were read by a staff member of the Department of external relations of the Moscow Patriarchate priest Mikhail Asmus, choir director of Prince Vladimir cathedral in St. Petersburg M. I. Vashchenko, many years assistant of the reposed archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl), choir director of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius’ Lavra, E. N. Sadikova, and others.

Choir director of the Moscow representation of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius’ Lavra V. A. Gorbik gave master classes for conductors and singers.

The conference culminated with Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity cathedral in Toronto on 7 October. The Liturgy was headed by Gabriel, archbishop of Montreal and Canada (Russian Church Abroad). Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate parishes in Canada bishop Job of Kashira and bishop Irenei of Quebec (Orthodox Church in America), rector of the cathedral protopriest Vladimir Malchenko and other clergy conference participants concelebrated.

In the course of the All-diaspora music conference work the joint choir prepared and sang the compositions of metropolitan of Volokolamsk Hilarion, archbishop Ionafan, archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl), deacon Sergei Trubachev, B. Theoktistov, nun Julianna (Denisova), K. Sander, B. Ledkovsky, M. Konstantinov, N. Schidlovsky, G. Lapaev, K. Mironov, S. Tolsokulakov, as well as the chants of the Kiev Caves and Holy Trinity-St. Sergius’ Lavras.

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Church music committee was formed in 1959 by the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad. Archbishop of Syracuse and Trinity Laurus (later First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad) headed it from 1988 to 2002. Currently, the head of the committee is protopriest Andre Papkov, clergy member of the Chicago diocese.

All-diaspora music conferences are held from 1987 as a continuation of the pre-revolutionary tradition.

Communication service of the DECR/Patriarchia.ru