ORTHODOX MUSIC MASTERCLASS 2021
FOR COMPOSERS AND CONDUCTORS
JUNE 24 - 26, 2021
THE SOCIETY OF SAINT ROMANOS THE MELODIST
is pleased to present
the Second Annual Pan-Orthodox Masterclass for
Composers & Conductors in VIRTUAL FORMAT
A Unique Masterclass for Orthodox Church Composers & Conductors
EMBRACING TRADITION, CELEBRATING CREATIVITY & BUILDING SKILLS!
Featuring:
- Repertoire composed and conducted by the participants & living composers
- Pan-Orthodox orientation centered around the English language
- Pre-event mentorship for composers & advanced conductors
- Pre-event musicianship training for all participants
- Designed to feature the participants & their talents
- Pre-event assessment for all participants
- Focus lectures & presentations
- Classroom instruction
Offering 3 tracks for participants:
- Conductors–beginner, intermediate & advanced levels
- Choral methods for adult and children & youth choirs
- Composers
Curriculum to include:
- Choral methods for adult, children & youth choirs: rehearsal technique, vocal development, organization and planning, and repertoire
- Score preparation & analysis
- Conducting technique
- Composing technique
- Musicianship
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I become a Masterclass participant?
If you are interested in becoming a participant in this masterclass, you should pick the category that you feel best suits your particular needs, level of musical activity, and area of focus–composing and/or conducting–and submit the registration form, resume, essay, and tuition. If you would like to have a better understanding of which category might be best for you and your skill set, please read the brief answers to frequently-asked questions below and/or contact us by email.
Registration deadlines:
- Early Bird: April 17
- Composers: April 30
- Advanced Conductors: May 31
- Intermediate & Beginner Conductors and Choral Methods Participants: June 18
Do I have to be an Orthodox Christian to be a participant?
No, everyone is welcome to apply and your personal faith or religion will not be used as a criterion for acceptance into the Masterclass. Participants should understand that the repertoire of the Masterclass is within the canonic Orthodox traditions. The Master Class is designed to fit the mission of the sponsoring organization–the Society of Saint Romanos the Melodist: to bring the beauty and spiritual depth of the Orthodox Faith to the world at large, in this case, through Orthodox music.
We are pleased to introduce a NEW TRACK: Choral Methods for Adult Choirs and Children & Youth Choirs. What will this track consist of?
The discipline of conducting, particularly choral conducting, is comprised of multiple sub-disciplines which include conducting technique, specialized musicianship training (score preparation & realization at the keyboard, error detection & development of inner hearing), rehearsal technique, organization & planning, repertoire building, work with various age groups, vocal technique, church rubrics, etc. Our program for conductors is more focused on conducting technique and musicianship training, but this new track gives participants the option of developing integrated skills connected with the multiple sub-disciplines. In addition, we are pleased to introduce Anne Schoepp, a conductor and composer in her own right, who is a seasoned conductor of children and youth choirs; together with Irina Riazanova, a specialist in work with the K-2 age group, our new track will give participants the practical skills needed to form and run a children and youth choir in their respective parishes.
What does the composer component of this master class look like?
Upon acceptance into the Masterclass, the participant will be asked to work on one or two projects in agreement with the assigned mentor. Work under the mentors will begin immediately upon registration. Composer-participants from last year's canceled masterclass can choose to continue work begun last year or initiate a new project. All the compositions must be completed and submitted to the faculty on or before May 30. Each composer will have the opportunity to present his/her composition as a capstone project during the masterclass sessions in a composer seminar.
How do I know if I am a beginner or intermediate or advanced conductor?
Every musician and conductor has his/her unique set of skills, strengths & weaknesses, and level of training and experience. The best way to assess a conductor is through a face-to-face Zoom conference. Without this personal evaluation, applicants can rely on the following general criteria to assess themselves:
- Beginner conductors can be singers or choir directors who would like to become more competent as leaders on the kleros in order to fully step into a choir director role or acquire skills that will eventually allow them to step into a choir director role. As members of this category, you will be assessed for music skills prior to the Masterclass and by the end of the Masterclass you will have a long-term plan in place for continued growth. A baseline music theory skill is that you be able to match pitch and sing in tune. You need not have significant conducting experience or hold a current conducting position.
- Intermediate conductors are expected to read music, have a working knowledge of key signatures and staff notation, and be able to hear and accurately discern pitches and intervals; you should be able to sing any given part of a 4-part choral score, and have some experience directing an ensemble or currently hold a conducting position.
- Advanced conductors should have completed a music degree–either an undergraduate or graduate degree or be, at the very least, in their 3rd year of a 4-year music degree program. This presupposes the completion of the standard 2-year sequence of courses in music theory, ear-training, and keyboard harmony. Advanced conductors should have the basic ability to analyze a score and be able to play a 4-part choral score at the piano (not necessarily at a performance level or tempo). They should have, also, conducting experience with a choral and/or instrumental ensemble.
The good news for all level of conductors is that as soon as you register, you can begin to build your musicianship skills through an online course of study with a theory & ear-training program offered by the Society of Saint Romanos. Advanced conductors will also receive individual instruction via Zoom sessions. Through this unique pre-event training, all conductors will be optimally prepared for the Masterclass in June.
How will the 3 conductor levels be taught?
Beginner, intermediate, and advanced conductors will be taught as separate groups in a class setting. The classes are organized sequentially over 3 days and taught by Maestro Steven Fox, Maestro Peter Jermihov, Maestra Tamara Petijevic, and Dr. Irina Riazanova. The daily blocks will focus on the development of manual technique & all the joints of the arm, the various ways of beating (legato, staccato, etc.) in all tempos, and expressive use of hands. Students will have the opportunity to apply concepts to the assigned repertoire. All conductors will receive written feedback from their colleagues and the faculty.
What skills & benefits can I expect to gain after completing the Masterclass?
Each track and level of participation will receive its own focused training. Conductors can expect to acquire and perfect a basic conducting apparatus–proper stance and hand position, appropriate-to-the-music hand movement, the ability to hear the score and connect their inner ears to their hand gestures, the ability to understand the style of the hymn at hand and its proper character within a liturgical framework, and most importantly, the knowledge of how to practice & prepare for performance and a self-awareness of the need for improvement in specific areas of competency.
Composers can expect to gain more clarity on compositional intent and the technique by which that intent might be realized, a better understanding of the various musical traditions within the Orthodox Church, and more knowledge of and insights into Church hymnography.
Will the course of study be challenging?
Yes. All participants will be encouraged to reach beyond their comfort zones but the activities will be conducted in a supportive, collegial, and caring manner. Growth occurs when we reach beyond our comfort zones and become open to "otherness."
I have more questions. Who do I address them to?
Please send an email to societystromanos@gmail.com
COMPOSITION & MUSICIANSHIP FACULTY
PHILOSOPHY
Composition of Prayer by Matthew Arndt
St. Augustine says that the one who sings prays twice, while St. Theophan the Recluse
distinguishes amongst bodily prayer, attentive prayer, prayer of the feelings, and spiritual prayer. How precisely might music duplicate these different degrees of prayer? I find it helpful in teaching composition for the Church to relate praying with the body, mind, and heart and the through the Spirit heuristically to rhythm, melody, harmony, and silence, so as to make each of these parameters a matter for careful consideration.
Bodily prayer
Praying with the body means using reverent posture and gestures (such as the sign of the cross) and pronouncing the words correctly. In musical terms, this prayer means having tempi and rhythms that accord with such demeanor, and—above all—writing rhythms that fit the word stresses in English. The principle is this: the stressed syllables must be metrically stronger than the unstressed syllables, unless syncopated. This principle requires special attention from student and teacher.
The action of the muscles in bodily prayer corresponds to the activity of the will, whose desire more generally should be for God. Music can embody this constant desire through long-range voice-leading goals and paths (coordinated contrapuntally through rhythm), which give direction and flow to music through its many vicissitudes. This aspect is the most subtle and open to interpretation, and it is not necessarily a matter for deliberate planning unless disruptions become apparent to the teacher that necessitate analysis and revision.
Attentive prayer
Praying with the mind means attending to the words and crediting them in faith. In musical
terms, this prayer means shaping the phrases and the form to accord with the sense, grammar, and rhetoric of the text and the liturgical versus paraliturgical function of the piece. Praying musically with the mind also entails giving the line an intrinsic sense through repetition and variation of motives (the smallest recognizable repeated parts) and Gestalten (shapes of all sizes). Motives need not be emphasized or obvious, nor do they require a great deal of planning unless musical non-sequiturs become evident.
Prayer of the feelings
Praying with the heart means wordless communion with God. Music can embody this
communion through the harmonious mixing of notes, not only in chords but in all collections, such as scales. “Harmonious” does not mean pretty. “Harmonious” literally means fitting together, but what fits depends on what is fitting. It is fitting that we should feel pain of heart in our lowliness before God, and that is fundamentally what our harmony should convey. As St. Gregory says, God’s love is granted for tears. The danger of neglecting this pain and taking harmoniousness for granted by using banal or even misapplied formulae is great. (For example, one might try to harmonize Byzantine tone four in a major key with the final as the third scale degree, with the result that the leading tone continually goes unresolved as a melodic apex.) On account of this danger, and due to the variety and complexity of harmonic problems, this parameter requires special attention. It requires sensitivity to the sounds and capabilities of the human voice. It requires the ability to hear oneself precisely. And it requires sensitization to harmonic possibilities from an experienced teacher.
Spiritual prayer
Spiritual prayer is the gift of constant prayer through the intercession of the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit is in all places and fills all things, so music is conceptually surrounded by silence, and by acknowledging this silence music can gesture toward the Spirit and spiritual prayer. Music can work with silence as a kind of negative space weaving through various textures. It can also evoke silence symbolically, for example through pitch centers or tonics, if these are used.
Furthermore, as the Spirit is the giver of life, so music is nurtured by silence. Only standing in humble supplication and silence before God can one make ready to receive the music that is to arise, whether in composition or in teaching. For in teaching composition, the music is still not totally on the page but in a kind of hibernation, and it needs to be coaxed out, which requires a certain emptying of oneself in imaginative sympathy. In my experience, this orientation toward prayer and silence by teacher and student alike is central to tradition in church music. When combined with long practice and study in singing church music, it automatically results in the cultivation of what Archbishop Kallistos Ware calls an “aesthetic dialect” of a time and place, while relying on ostensibly traditional elements such as the Byzantine tones or tonal harmony results in a hodgepodge. Thus the one who composes church music prays not just twice but (at least) three times: in asking for God’s help, worshipping, and singing. And the one who teaches composition of church music must likewise pray for God’s help.
CAREER
Matthew Arndt is an Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of Iowa and a choir leader at St. Raphael Orthodox Church in Iowa City. He has also taught composition and music theory at Mercer University and Lawrence University. He holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory with a double minor in Music Composition and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, an M.M. in Music Composition from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a B.A. with honors in Music Composition from Lewis & Clark College. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, he studied with Orthodox composer Richard Toensing of blessed memory, and at Lewis & Clark College he studied with composer Robert Kyr. From his conversion to Orthodoxy in 2009 until recently, Arndt remained mostly compositionally silent while absorbing church music and studying music theory. He researches the application of insights from the history of music theory to music theory pedagogy, analysis, and criticism. He also studies technical aspects of Georgian chant and has arranged Georgian chant for the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom into English. He is the author of The Musical Thought and Spiritual Lives of Heinrich Schenker and Arnold Schoenberg (Routledge, 2018) and several articles. Having found a mature voice, Arndt has recently returned to composition, primarily of church music and chamber music dedicated to his wife. His music is influenced by Georgian chant, Byzantine chant, Bach, Beethoven, Schoenberg, Theolonius Monk, Olivier Messiaen, Jacques Ibert, Arvo Pärt, and others.
Arndt collaborated with five other Orthodox composers, including Richard Toensing and Kurt Sander, on Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation (a collaborative setting of Psalm 103), premiered by Cappella Romana in October 2018. For this occasion, he also composed a setting of the Jesus Prayer. Of these works, Matthew Neil Andrews for Oregon ArtsWatch writes: “Arndt’s The Jesus Prayer, closing the first half, came at me out of nowhere, right out of the gate crying a big Ligeti-esque wall-of-sound chord on ‘Lord!’ and proceeding directly to fluctuating chromatic micropolyphony, occasionally resolving to lightly seasoned fifths before shifting back into 2001 overdrive, the text looping obsessively, cycling through iterations of ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,’ texture constantly changing, from vibrating clusters and close dissonant harmonies down to superquiet unisons. If I’d heard this in Seattle the previous night, I would have driven down here today just to hear this one piece again. Later, Arndt’s setting of his section of Heaven and Earth, ‘There is the sea, great and wide,’ used similarly dense harmonies to evoke ‘creeping things without number, living creatures small and great.’”
“How do I understand that words proceed into deeds? (…) from the fact that imitating the angelic choir, and endless hymnology is offered to God (…). Above, the armies of angels praise while below the people are standing in the choir of the church and imitating their praise. The Seraphim above cry the thrice-holy hymn and the people below raise the same hymn.”
St John Chrysostom, “Homily on Ozias.”
Patrologia Graeca; Paris: Migne, 1862.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Composing for the Orthodox Church is a task that requires both humility and daring. Like so many aspects of the Orthodox faith, this is a paradox that challenges us and simultaneously enables us. We require humility before the traditions of the Church, and daring in order to take hold of them and work with them, or, perhaps, have them work with us. These traditions (and I used the plural advisedly) should be the basis for any composer writing sacred music. But the
Church is dynamic, not static, and if we are not able to harness that daring, we are essentially creating museum pieces rather then renewing within tradition.
I am not interested in teaching students to write church music; my approach has always been to teach them to write music, to be able to make use of the full array of compositional tools and techniques available to them. Specialization comes later. And even at that later stage, I expect students to be able to absorb lessons from other traditions, from other repertoires, from other periods, that will help them to work in the best way possible within the framework of Orthodox liturgical traditions, rather than assuming that it is possible to live in a vacuum and ignore the riches of centuries of musical history.
Naturally there is also a category of work that falls outside the strictly liturgical, even though it may make use of liturgical texts. This paraliturgical music is also something with which I am much concerned, providing us as it does with a way of presenting Orthodox culture(s) on a wider platform, and in fact it is something in which the above observations concerning tradition and renewal have just as much relevance, given the relative freedom one has outside the strictly liturgical context.
In both cases, however, to be able to find the music for “endless hymnology”, we need to learn what it means, as St John Chrysostom says, to imitate the praise of the armies of angels. That is no small task, and in turn requires a technical facility that is not acquired without humility, daring and application.
BIOGRAPHY
Fr. Ivan Moody studied music and theology at the Universities of London, Joensuu and York (where he took his doctorate). He studied composition with Brian Dennis, Sir John Tavener and William Brooks. His music has been performed and broadcast all over the world, and commissioned by world-renowned artists.
His largest works to date are Passion and Resurrection (1992), the Akathistos Hymn (1998) and Qohelet (2013). Other significant works from recent years include the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom No. 2 (Greek Liturgy), commissioned by the St Romanos Choir of Chicago, The Land that was Not, commissioned for the BBC Singers and ‘cellist Nicholas Altstaedt and premièred in London in October 2014, and the Dante Trilogy, for choir and ensemble (O Luce Etterna, Oltre la Spera, and Cielo della Luna, premièred in Portugal and the USA). In 2016 he completed Los Espejos de Velázquez for the pianist Artur Pizarro, Paris, 7 a.m. for soprano Suzie Leblanc, a Petrarch cycle, Le Vergine, for Stimmwerck, Lacrimae for the brass ensemble Septura, and the large-scale Vespers Sequence for New York Polyphony, premièred to great acclaim in New York in January 2017. In 2017 he completed Psalm Antiphon for the Lisbon University Chamber Choir, a companion work to Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, two works in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Singer Pur, commissioned by Singer Pur and the Regensburger Domspatz, and in 2018 Isangele, premièred by the English Chamber Choir at the Patmos Festival of Sacred Music, and a set of three motets for Trio Mediaeval. Works completed this year include Tanninim for tuba and piano, to be premièred in Alcobaça, Portugal, by the composer’s daughter Sofia in August.
As a conductor, Ivan Moody has directed and collaborated with many choirs and vocal groups, notably Voces Angelicae and the Kastalsky Chamber Choir in Britain (both of which he founded) and Capilla Peña Florida in Spain. In 1992 he was invited by Radio Nacional de España to direct the inaugural concert in celebration of Columbus Day, broadcast live to more than 30 countries. He is a founder member of Ensemble Alpha, specializing in eastern and western mediaeval music, and which has given hugely successful concerts in various European countries and the USA, and of the Pravoslava chamber choir. He is in frequent demand as a guest conductor, and has given courses with a number of groups, such as Capilla Peña Florida (Spain), Vértice and the choir of the Semanas Internacionais de Música (Portugal), the Early Music Ensemble of the UFF (Brazil), Cappella Romana (USA), the Winterthur Vocal Ensemble (Switzerland) the Orthodox Choir of the University of Joensuu (Finland), the choir of St George’s Cathedral, Novi Sad (Serbia), Sforzinda (Spain), the Odyssea Choir (Portugal), the Chamber Choir of the Academy of Arts, Novi Sad, (Serbia) and Vox Laci (Portugal). He is a co-founder, together with Peter Phillips, Pedro Teixeira and Jordi Abelló, of the choral course Victoria 400, held in Barcelona.
As a musicologist, Ivan Moody has published extensively on the music of the Balkans, Russia and the Mediterranean, with a particular emphasis on contemporary and sacred music. His book Modernism and Orthodox Spirituality in Contemporary Music was published in 2014. He is a researcher at CESEM – Universidade Nova, Lisbon, having previously been Professor of church music at the University of Eastern Finland, and is founder and president of the International Society for Orthodox Church Music, founder member of the music panel of the European Academy of Religion and Coordinator of the Music Panel of the International Orthodox Theological Association. He is a protopresbyter of the Orthodox Church (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) and rector of the parish of St John the Russian in Estoril, Portugal.
PHILOSOPHY
Excerpts from On the Need for a Living Orthodox Creative Tradition by Kurt Sander.
Every Orthodox Christian has an obligation to nurture creativity in some way, as it remains one of the most essential and immediate ways we have to glorify God. God has given us, through His creative image, a mind that can conceive of things out of nothingness—to create art and music out of light and sound. He gave us voices to sing in a whole spectrum of notes and keys. He gave us the whole theory behind tonal music and its harmonic makeup which resonates throughout the natural world in mathematical proportions and ratios. He gave us these things that we might draw closer to Him.
Creativity is a delicate and temperamental thing. If overindulged, it suffers from excess. If constrained, it responds in passive silence. If neglected, it departs from us taking with it answers to some of the most fundamental questions of our being. Yet, despite creativity’s mutable nature, the Orthodox Christian has an obligation to nurture it, as it remains one of the most essential and immediate ways we have to glorify God. From a Christian perspective, the fountainhead for all human creativity remains the Divine act of creation. Of all that we confess in the Nicene Creed, nothing is more fundamental to the faith than the affirmation of God as Primordial Artist: the “Maker of Heaven and the Earth, and of all things visible and invisible.” The recurrent liturgical emphasis on God as the quintessential Creator obligates us to acknowledge the creativity of man as both a reflection of the image of God and an indispensable extension of our faith.
The moment that God willed us into existence, He gave to us an image of His own creative nature that manifests itself in in three ways: love, discernment, and free will. The first part of this image, love, can be considered the primary motivation for all creative activity. St. Isaac the Syrian reminds us that God’s creative will emanates from His inherent goodness, “brought about with a love that cannot be measured.” And so, as we were created out of love, out of love do we also create.
But love, alone, is incapable of ensuring good creative fruit. For this reason God offers us a second portion of His image given to us in the form of discernment. Holy Scripture describes discernment as a type of wisdom enabling us to recognize the intrinsic virtue in what we do or create. The Book of Genesis repeatedly emphasizes the good that God saw in His creation. In realizing the creative image of God, we remain obligated to seek the good in our own creations, understanding that “good” is that which is pleasing to Him.
The final, and most fundamental, aspect of the creative image is free will. Without it there can be no creativity. Free will is essential because it gives us the option to choose right or wrong–to direct our creative aspirations to glorify the sacred or the profane. In choosing what is good, we show our love for God and also for one another. St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Galatians, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Without free will, it is clear that our actions can never be completely born out of love nor do they demand our own discernment. Without free will, we cease to be creative.
CAREER
Kurt Sander's compositions have been performed in twelve countries on four different continents. Much of his choral and instrumental work takes its inspiration from the sublime dimensions of the Eastern Orthodox faith and its rich artistic traditions.
While his record of work includes a variety of contemporary concert pieces, his energies are heavily focused on the composition of Orthodox choral music and research on the aesthetics of Orthodox creativity.
His sacred choral work has been sung by many fine performing ensemble throughout the world including Cappella Romana, the Choir "Kastalsky," the Cincinnati Camerata, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, the St. Romanos Cappella, the Clarion Choir, Archangel Voices, and the PaTRAM Institute Singers. It has also been featured at the CREDO International Festival of Orthodox Choral Music by the Orthodox Singers. In 2017, the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute commissioned the composition of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which was recorded in August 2017 and will be released under the Reference Recording label in early 2019.
Sander has also acquired notoriety for his chamber and orchestral writing. He was recently named a finalist in the American Prize for his song cycle Ella's Song about the life of St. Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia. Other instrumental works have been performed by the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Brasov Philharmonic (Romania), the Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria) and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Synchronia, the Corbett Trio, the Solaris Wind Quintet, and the St. Petersburg Quartet.
Sander also is an active presenter and author. His research is directed toward the relationships between Orthodox iconography and music, and the unique traditions that inform the creative process for the artist and composer, more specifically, the work of contemporary Orthodox composer Arvo Pärt.
Sander currently serves as Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition at Northern Kentucky University. He holds degrees in composition from Northwestern University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Cleveland State University. His teachers include Bain Murray, William Karlins, Alan Stout, Rudolph Bubalo, Andrew Imbrie, and Alan Sapp.
CONDUCTING FACULTY
Conductor Steven Fox has been called “visionary” by BBC Music Magazine, and named “a conductor to watch” by Seen and Heard International. Of a recent performance with The Clarion Choir, The New York Times praised his “deft guidance” and commented: “An inspired interpretation. Mr. Fox revealed the drama of the score with vivid dynamic shadings. Intonation and pacing were exemplary throughout the performance.” For his recording, “Kastalsky: Memory Eternal” with the Clarion Choir, he was nominated in the category of Best Choral Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards
Steven Fox is Artistic Director of New York’s renowned Clarion Orchestra and Clarion Choir. Over his tenure, the group has expanded its repertoire from Salamone Rossi to Aaron Copland. He has led the Clarion Society in highly acclaimed performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center, the Miller Theatre at Columbia University, and Carnegie Hall. He continues to lead the Clarion Society in concert appearances throughout the New York metropolitan area. He recently conducted a new production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for L’Opéra de Québec.
After finishing his studies at London’s Royal Academy of Music, Steven Fox traveled to Russia, where he founded the country’s first period-instrument orchestra, Musica Antiqua St. Petersburg, reviving a lost repertoire of 18th-century Russian music from the court of Catherine the Great. Subsequently, he premiered the earliest symphony by a Ukrainian composer, Symphony in C by Maksym Berezovsky (c. 1770), which he has conducted in London, St. Petersburg and New York, and Russian composer Dmitri Bortniansky’s final opera, Le fils rival, which he conducted at the Hermitage Theater.
Fox has appeared as a guest conductor with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Juilliard415 at Lincoln Center, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Quebec Symphony Orchestra. Recently he was an Associate Conductor for New York City Opera. He has also served as Assistant Conductor for the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Program and Juilliard Opera.
Other recent guest conducting engagements have included Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus in Vilnius, Lithuania, with Jauna Muzika; and Mozart’s Sparrow Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. He has given master classes in Historical Performance at Yale University and Dartmouth College, and in early oratorio at The Juilliard School.
Steven has given master classes and clinics at his alma mater Dartmouth College, The Juilliard School and Yale University. He is a preparatory conductor for the Yale University Schola Cantorum, and Lecturer in Music at the State University of New York, Purchase College.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
My energy to teach comes from my own passion for music and music-making. I encourage students to root themselves in their innate passion for music and then work to acquire skills in a life-long process of self-betterment. I advocate score preparation and an attitude of self-criticism at all phases of music-making. My teaching philosophy is a kind of balancing act between the intrinsic-innate and extrinsic-acquired elements of a musician's persona.
I do not legislate religiosity or personal faith. I teach music–often sacred and Orthodox choral music in particular–and conducting. Within these boundaries, I encourage my students to explore their awareness of how sacred texts can impact their connection to the music.
I am always searching for new and more efficient ways of gaining and imparting knowledge and skills, but my main concern is to present an image to the students of a man who knows his limitations, who is honest in his appraisal of himself and others, and who is constantly seeking ways of becoming a better musician and person. Awakening and nourishing a desire to examine and better oneself is the greatest gift a teacher can offer a student.
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Chicago of Russian-émigré parents, Peter Jermihov is an American conductor with Russian roots. A student of legendary, master teacher— Il'ya Musin, he has cultivated a versatile career by combining professional conducting engagements with teaching appointments, choral with orchestral conducting, and music-making with research.
An internationally recognized specialist in Orthodox liturgical music, Jermihov is also a devoted proponent of East-West cultural exchange. He has led an initiative to commission and premiere new compositions from prominent Orthodox composers such as Ivan Moody and Kurt Sander and has actively promoted and performed the music of Russian and European composers Arvo Part, John Tavener, Alfred Schnitke, and Georgy Sviridov. Jermihov’s doctoral dissertation was dedicated to Georgy Sviridov, and he continues to champion the music of this major composer in the West.
Jermihov came to the St. Petersburg Conservatory as a Fulbright-Hays Fellow and International Research and Exchanges Scholar to study orchestral conducting under the legendary master teacher, Ilya Musin and to conduct research on the music of Georgy Sviridov under the composer's guidance. After two years of intensive studies he was invited to guest-conduct the country's top ensembles: the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg and Moscow Chamber Choirs, among others. Subsequently he appeared as guest-conductor in the Far East and Europe with such ensembles as the Shinsei Nihon Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo and the Pro Arte Orchester Wien. In 1988 he participated in a historic celebration of a Thousand Years of Christianity in Russia by conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and Symphony No. 5. He continues to guest-conduct internationally acclaimed choirs and orchestras in the Orient, Eastern Europe, Russian, and the United States.
During his formative years, Jermihov studied conducting under such renowned choral masters as Eric Erickson of Sweden, Vladimir Minin of Russia, and Helmuth Rilling of Germany. He was invited to the Tanglewood Music Center under Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa as a Conducting Fellow and to the American Orchestra League’s Conducting Seminars under Kurt Masur and Leonard Slatkin as an Active Participant. He had the privilege of serving as Robert Shaw and Vladimir Minin’s assistant in preparing Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem at the 2nd World Symposium on Choral Music in Stockholm. Jermihov has served as director of choral and orchestral activities at several major state universities and private colleges. His articles and editions of choral music appear in the Choral Journal, International Federation of Choral Music Journal, Musica Russica, Inc., PSALM Music Press, and numerous other publications.
He is active as a conductor and teacher throughout the world and has recently conducted the Russian premiere performance of Kurt Sander’s Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at the Moscow State Conservatory where he taught masterclasses in conducting for two consecutive years. In June of 2019 he organized the Orthodox Music Masterclass for composers and conductors which was held in Chicago and featured, exclusively, the works of living composers. Having served as Artistic Director of PaTRAM Institute Singers™—a professional chamber choir consisting of singers from across North America, he is the Founder & Artistic Director of the Society of Saint Romanos the Melodist—a Not-for-Profit corporation devoted to the promotion of Orthodox culture in America. In 2015 he conducted a recording of Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil with Gloriae Dei Cantores, an internationally-acclaimed CD (Paraclete Press: GDCD-063). In 2017 he conducted a recording of Kurt Sander’s Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom with the PaTRAM Institute Singers™ (Reference Recordings: FR-731), which received a 2020 GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Choral Performance. The latest release of a recording under his leadership was again with the PaTRAM Institute Singers™(Reference Recordings: FR-737) and is entitled Blessed Art Thou among Women, a recording that has received international acclaim.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Conducting is defined as a 'non-verbal behavior of a conductor' and, as such, is based on gestures. But those gestures should express the whole inner world of the person conducting, including broad knowledge of the music, intellectual and psychological potentials, emotional specter, and the physical condition. The art of conducting is very complex; it also includes leadership skills, organization and management of the ensemble with different people etc.
In addition, in church music, the conductor must have a deep understanding of the words and context of the church services and know how to transfer this understanding to the singers; all of this is essential for a person conducting sacred music.
To be precise and innovative at the same time, achieve the balance of tension and relaxation in every aspect, motivate the singers at each rehearsal, not just at the performance–these are some of the skills that I would like to teach students of conducting.
The Serbian St. Varnava wrote: "Music was the first consolation that Heaven sent to Earth after the Fall." Therefore, music is a comforting element in our lives, but it is also means towards salvation. I believe that collective (choral) singing is one of the great achievements of our civilization. Treat your choir with respect, but try to "squeeze" the most from it, and never stop learning how to do it.
BIOGRAPHY
Tamara Adamov Petijevic is a conductor, violinist, teacher, a researcher in the field of choral music, and leader and artistic director of three choirs and two symphony orchestras, with approximately 300 mostly young people. She conducts the renowned Orthodox Church Choir of St. Stephen of Dechani, the IsidorBajic Music School mixed and female choirs, and a professional vocal-instrumental oratorio studio Orfelin. She conducted the boys’ Choir of the Karlovci Seminary of the Serbian Orthodox Church as the first female-conductor and teacher in the history of that institution which was founded in the 18th Century. Petijevic’s choirs and orchestras won many prizes at national and international choral competitions and festivals. She was awarded the Best Conductor Performance at the Young Prague Competition, the title Ambassador of Good Will at Zimriya Festival in Jerusalem and several high national prizes for her pedagogical work. Her work as a researcher resulted in numerous projects, such as recording 10 CDs and editing and publishing three music collections of Serbian Orthodox music. She has served as a presenter and conductor at choral workshops for liturgical and choral music in USA, Canada, Italy, and Hungary. Petijevic is a member of the Regional Artistic Committee of Europa Cantat choral association, as well as many international juries for choirs and composition. In May of 2017 she initiated and founded the Serbian Choral Association. She completed her Ph.D. studies in conducting at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, conducting Rimsky Korsakov's opera Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and writing her dissertation about the opera's oratorization.
IRINA RIAZANOVA
PERSONAL STATEMENT
As musicians, we are always faced with the challenge of how to translate the composer’s vision into a meaningful and beautiful sound. The conductor’s role in this process is even more complex since he/she has to not only discern the inner meaning of the music but also be able to communicate that meaning efficiently to an ensemble and lead them in communicating this musical vision to the listener. My role as a teacher is to assist my students in this intriguing process of discovery and learning. I try to create a safe and engaging environment in which everyone can openly explore different ways of becoming better conductors and musicians.
BIOGRAPHY
Irina Riazanova received her Master of Music Degree in Choral Conducting with honors from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory, Russia and, upon immigrating to the United States, completed the Doctor of Music Degree in Choral Conducting from Northwestern University. Her doctoral dissertation, An inquiry into text and music relationships in Sergei Rachmaninoff's “Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom,” Opus 31, can be found at Northwestern University D. M. Publication Number: 3030539, 153 p., 1999. Her professional experience is multi-faceted, having served as an assistant conductor to Vladimir Minin in New York City and James Conlon at the May Music Festival in Cincinnati; as a professional vocalist in the Rockefeller Chapel Choir, St. Romanos Cappella, and PaTRAM Institute Singers; as a vocal coach at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Houston Opera; as a producer of a CD recording Holy Radiant Light with Gloriae Dei Cantores; and as a presenter and conductor at numerous Orthodox festivals and conferences across North America. Riazanova served as choir director and chanter in Moscow Patriarchate, OCA, and ROCOR parishes for over 25 years. She is currently employed as a full-time music teacher at Lincolnwood School District No. 74 and as an organist at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago. She is passionately devoted to bringing young people closer to their Orthodox faith through singing in worship.
Orthodox music has the potential to be a healing force that unifies a community of
worshippers, uplifts the soul, and turns our hearts to God. God has granted us the sweet
melody of music to bring truth into our hearts in a gentle, soul-cleansing way that we can easily
receive, and thus be lifted from our darkness into the light, love, and life of God. The beauty of
God should be reflected in our sacred song through a perfect balance and harmony of all its
elements. As a composer weaves together a perfect marriage of text and melody, a choral
leader finds music fitting for the ensemble and weaves together their voices in time, tone,
pitch, rhythm, language, meaning, and leads their singing in harmony with the clergy, the
assembly, feast, liturgical form, and acoustics of the space, to create a unified whole that
glorifies God to the absolute best of their ability. An effective choral leader must have fine
musicianship, solid vocal technique, and understanding of Orthodox liturgical practice,
psalmody and hymnography, an understanding of the score, a vision for how it should sound, a
reservoir of gestures that can effectively express and produce the sound desired, a love of
people and the desire to bring them together in unity, inspiring and valuing each voice that God
brings to the choir. I strive to enable people to enter into the joy and healing of making
beautiful music and inspire them through this experience to pursue a life-long path of musical
and liturgical growth that will enable them to in turn beautify the worship of the church to the
glory of God.
BIOGRAPHY
Lawrence Orthodox Christian Church in Felton, California, and teacher of general music and
children’s choir at St. Lawrence Academy, a K-8 school sponsored by the parish. Ms. Schoepp
holds a B.A. from Stanford University in Music with concentrations in voice, composition and
conducting, and has continued studying Orthodox choral music and leadership independently
throughout the years. She is a vocalist, violinist, private teacher, composer, arranger, and
publisher of Orthodox music at Seraphim Six Productions (www.seraphim6.com), and has
produced five recordings of Orthodox music, as well as music for the film, Painting St.
Lawrence: A Life in Icons. Ms. Schoepp was a founder and board member of PSALM (Pan
Orthodox Society for the Advancement of Liturgical Music 1996-2013), a co-editor and
contributor to the PSALM Notes newsletter, and directed the Liturgical Singing Seminar for 19
years on the West Coast. She has performed with Josquin Singers, Santa Cruz Chorale, and
more recently Slavyanka Russian Chorus in San Francisco, particularly enjoying their
performing tour to Russia in 2016.
