Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Director of Music Harrison Russin has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, “I Believe: The Credo in Music, 1300–1500.” Russin passed the oral examination via Zoom on January 22, 2021.
Russin will now be granted a Ph.D. in musicology from Duke University, Durham, NC. He also holds an M.A. in musicology from the same institution.
“While my research had its origins in some possible Eastern Christian connections in medieval Western European music, I eventually settled on the topic of monophonic rhythmic chants of the Credo that proliferated mostly in Italy and France in the late medieval period,” Russin explained.
“Writing and finishing my dissertation while teaching and conducting at St. Vladimir’s has been a challenge—and even more so in the past year because of limited access to libraries and scholarly resources. I am grateful to everyone at St. Vladimir’s for giving me the time I needed to research and write,” Russin added. “I especially thank Fr. Chad Hatfield, Dean Alex Tudorie, and librarians Eleana Silk and Danielle Earl.”
Russin and his family have a long connection with St. Vladimir’s. In addition to teaching on the faculty, Russin is an alumnus, having graduated from the Seminary’s M.Div. program as valedictorian in 2013. His wife, Gabrielle, is an M.A. graduate of St. Vladimir’s (‘14) and currently works as the Seminary registrar and student affairs administrator. Russin’s cousin, the late Protodeacon Keith Russin (+2017), graduated from St. Vladimir’s in 1971.
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