Pietarin Aleksanter Nevskin luostarin mieskuoro

Festive Bishops male choir of Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra. St. Petersburg. A brief press release

The Bishop festive male choir of Alexander Nevsky Lavra was organized in 2010 on the initiative of Nazariy – Bishop of Kronstadt, vicar of Lavra.

The choir was the music highlight of the 300^th anniversary of Holy Trinity-Alexander Nevsky Lavra celebration. The choir had been performing music pieces

which had been sent to the church composers contest “For the 300^th anniversary of Holy Trinity-Alexander Nevsky Lavra” by different authors for three years (2010-2013).

The purpose of the choir is to revive the church music traditions of Saint Petersburg and to create new musical pieces. The choir sings at divine services in monasteries and cathedrals and gives many concerts. The divine services led by Bishop Nazariy are of special importance for the choir.

The choir has started its frequent concert tours since 2011, performing outstanding church music pieces. There were concerts in Tchaikovsky-concert hall in Moscow (2011), in MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations; 2013) and in Svetlanovsky concert hall of MMDM (Moscow International Performing Arts Centre; 2014).

In 2013 there were three concert tours in the Ukraine. The choir performed in all three Russian Orthodox Lavras in the Ukraine and also had performances in Kiev, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sevastopol, Simferopol, Yalta, Dnepropetrovsk and Vinnitsa.

The choir got a powerful creativity impulse at the beginning and continues its activity till today. Its repertoire is getting larger and the geography of the concerts is spreading.

In April 2014 there was a memorable performance at the Eastern music festival (Osterklang Festival) in Vienna (performed with a name Ad Libitum). In 2013-2014 the choir was the highlight at the Grand Eastern Festival in Arkhangelsk.

The choir mostly performs in Saint Petersburg – in the Grand and Small Halls of St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia, Grand Concert Hall “Octyabrsky”, Church Educational Centre “Svuatodukhovsky” (“Holy Spirit”) and in the Union of Composers Concert Hall.

The repertoire includes masterpieces of thousand years of Russian church music, West European classical music, folk songs and compositions of modern composers.

Dmitry Stefanovich, a laureate of international choir and composition contests, a prizewinner of St. Petersburg contest “Vivat-Talant”, a member of the Union of Composers, Associate Professor of the Choral Department  in the State Pedagogical Herzen-University is a conductor and an artistic director of the choir.