The SVOTS Men’s Choir is adding to their repertoire as they visit parishes of various Orthodox Christian jurisdictions and worship with parishioners of wide-ranging ethnic backgrounds. Hierodeacon Philip (Majkrzak), chapel choir director at the seminary, recently led the choir on a trip to Pennsylvania, and several clips of them in concert are now on YouTube for your viewing, listening, and comment!
"Each choir trip is different," said Father-deacon Philip, "because I don't always have the same singers, and I try to accommodate whatever voices I am blessed to work with. On our recent trip, we sang some new arrangements of familiar music, such as Kievan Chant, and we also employed previously unknown pieces from the Znamenny and Byzantine repertoires."
On Saturday, January 15th, the choir sang Great Vespers at Christ the Saviour Church in Harrisburg, a parish of the Orthodox Church in America. They were warmly welcomed by the Rector, Fr. Stephen Vernak, and the Rector emeritus, Fr. Daniel Ressetar.
The choir spent Sunday, January 16th at St. John Chrysostom Church in York, where SVOTS Trustee Dr. Nicholas Pandelidis, and his wife, Lisa, acted as hosts. In addition to chanting a Byzantine setting for the Divine Liturgy at this Antiochian parish, where Fr. Peter Pier is the pastor, the choir presented a concert at the church's Open House, drawing in many non-Orthodox visitors.
The next Men’s Choir trip will be to the Greek Orthodox Church of Our Saviour in Rye, New York on March 23rd, for the Presanctified Liturgy at 6:30 p.m. If you are in the Westchester County area, please come to worship during this lenten service and great our seminarians.
