ROCOR--New York

ROCOR's Rachmaninoff Festival Chorus Singers to Headline at the International Choral Festival Honoring the 450th Anniversary of a Landmark Cathedral in Moscow

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, a group of singers representing many parishes across the four North American dioceses of the Church Abroad  departed on October 8, 2011, for the Motherland. There they will participate in historic celebrations honoring the 450th anniversary of the great cathedral dedicated to the feast of the Mother of God's Holy Protection, commonly known as St Basil's.
 Two dozen select members of the Rachmaninoff Festival Choir, led by Artistic Director Irina Shachneva, will participate in an International Choral Festival by giving concerts in Nizhniy Novgorod, Suzdal and Moscow.

In Moscow, at 7:00 pm on Friday, October 14, after singing Liturgy for the great feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, the ROCOR singers will open the International Choral Festival at the History Museum on Red Square, an event organized by Lev Pankratov and the male cappella Blagovest with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. Members of the choir will also sing at the Festival's Grand Finale performance on Monday, October 17.

The choir will give its first performance on Tuesday, October 11, at the Conservatory in Nizhniy Novgorod, famed for its commitment to preserving Orthodox music traditions, including Church Slavonic texts, even through the dangerous era of the godless Soviet regime. The following day the ensemble will visit the Monastery of St Euphymius, where they will briefly perform a selection of sacred works. That evening they will give a concert for the public of Suzdal, departing the next morning for Moscow.

Major sponsorship for the tour includes underwriting by the Fund for Assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which is sponsoring the participation of young singers who would otherwise be unable to afford the travel expenses associated with the project