Difference between revisions of "Spirit of Orthodoxy Choir"

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The '''Spirit of Orthodoxy Choir''' is a choir composed of Orthodox Christian singers in the New York - New Jersey - Pennsylvania area of the United States. It is committed to singing in the English language the great works of Orthodox music that glorifies God and expresses the Orthodox faith, thus opening the treasury of Orthodox music to the community.  
  
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His Eminence the Most Reverend [[Archbishop]] '''Benjamin (Basalyga) of Pittsburgh''' was the first [[bishop]] of the Orthodox Church to be American born. Coming from one of the earliest families to emigrate to the United States from Slavic middle Europe he was an active part of the Orthodox mission as it grew in the United States.
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==History==
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The Spirit Of Orthodoxy Choir was established in 1997 under the direction of Aleksei Shipovalnikov. The choir consists of singers from various [[parish]]es and [[jurisdiction]]s who are dedicated to church singing and who desire to be witnesses to the faith through music.
  
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==Life==
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These music selections represent three schools of Russian Church music and have been sufficiently translated into English. Some of the choir's repertoire has been unheard in the West. The Choir sings chiefly in English but also performs music in [[Church Slavonic]]. Their repertoire witnesses to the range and quality of the liturgical life of the Orthodox Church. Their singing is a capella, without instrumentation. This is typical of the Orthodox Church, where the human voice and soul are invaluable in worship.
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The future Archbishop Benjamin was born Basil Basalyga on [[January 11]], 1887 in Olyphant, a borough in the anthracite coal region of northeastern Pennsylvania where many emigrants from the Galician and Carpatho-Russian areas of central Europe had come to work in the coal mines. As a youth he was very active in the life of the church. When the first [[missionary]] school of the Russian mission was opened in Minneapolis in 1897, young Basil was among its first students, graduating in 1902. Upon graduation, he was given a position as instructor of the school’s preparatory class. After moving back to Pennsylvania, he served a choir director and parish teacher in Charleroi and Pittsburgh until 1905. Then, with the opening of the new [[seminary]] in Minneapolis in 1905, he returned to Minnesota as a student.  
 
  
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In 1910, Basil became seriously sick, and upon recovering, he entered [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)| St. Tikhon’s Monastery]] in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. In 1911, he was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] and given the name Benjamin. On [[April 2]], 1911 he was [[ordain]]ed [[deacon]] in Brooklyn, New York by [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York |Abp. Platon]] and then, on [[April 9]], 1911, the archbishop ordained him a [[priest]] at St. Tikhon’s Monastery.  
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==Director==
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Aleksei V. Shipovalnikov was born in Rostov on the Don and studied composition, polyphony and conducting at the Gnesin Sate Conservatory and the Moscow Institute of Culture. His post-graduate studies included a master class with Leonard Bernstein in 1988. He served as Artistic Director and Manager of the Moscow State University Symphony Orchestra and Academic Choir and has conducted in the Soviet Union, West Germany and Poland. He established a reputation during the Communist era for innovative programming in spite of the political risks involved. In 1990 he moved to the United States, where he has served as Choir Director of [[Christ the Saviour Church (San Francisco, California)|Christ the Saviour Church, San Francisco]] and Music Director of Slavyanka Men's Slavic Chorus. He was Professor of Liturgical Music at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Seminary]], South Canaan, Pennsylvania. He is currently Music Director at [[Ss. Peter and Paul Church (Jersey City, New Jersey)|Ss. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Jersey City, New Jersey]].
  
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After his ordination, Fr. Benjamin became a sort of traveling priest, serving for short times at  many [[parish]]es throughout the United States. These included parishes in Chicago, Illinois; Hartshorne, Oklahoma; Pueblo, Colorado; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition, he helped organize parishes in Akron, Ohio; Spring Valley, New York; and Bellaire, Ohio. In 1919, Fr. Benjamin was raised in rank to [[igumen]] and appointed dean of the Scranton, Pennsylvania area. The next year, Fr, Benjamin was elevated to [[archimandrite]] and appointed administrator of the parishes in Canada.
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==External Link==
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* [http://www.spiritoforthodoxy.com/ Official website]
  
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After the return of Metr. Platon to the United States in 1923, Fr. Benjamin became for awhile his personal secretary. Thereafter, Fr. Benjamin again served at a number of parishes, including: Alpha, New Jersey; New York City; Wilmington, Delaware; Berlin, New Hampshire; and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
 
  
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On [[September 9]], 1933, [[Hieromonk]] Benjamin was elected bishop by the [[Holy Synod]] of Bishops of the [[Metropolia]], and on [[September 10]], he was consecrated to the episcopate at the [[Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral]] in New York City, thus becoming the first bishop of the Orthodox Church born in America. He was then assigned as Bishop of Pittsburgh and West Virginia. In 1938, Bp. Benjamin was sent as a delegate from the Metropolia to the [[All-Russian Sobor]] at a Sremski-Karlovtsy, Yugoslavia. In 1946, having been raised to the dignity of Archbishop, Abp. Benjamin was assigned to lead the Church in Japan, which had been placed under the protection of the American Metropolia after the Japanese surrender in World War II. In this position he led the [[Church of Japan]] in its recovery from the devastation from the war. In 1953, he was succeeded by [[Ireney (Bekish) of New York|Bp. Ireney]] and returned to his Pittsburgh diocese. On [[October 22]], 1961, during the celebration of his fiftieth anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, Abp. Benjamin ordained the monk Theodosius (Lazar) to the priesthood. Fr. Theodosius would in time succeed to his see as Bishop of Pittsburgh.
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[[Category:Church Music]]
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[[Category:Organizations]]
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Abp. Benjamin died on [[November 15]], 1963 in New York City during the sessions of the Eleventh [[All American Sobor]]. He was buried at the cemetery of St. Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.
 
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{{start box}}
 
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{{succession|
 
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before= ?|
 
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title=Bishop of Pittsburgh <br> [[OCA|Metropolia]]|
 
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years=1933-1946|
 
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after=?}}
 
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{{succession|
 
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before= [[Sergius (Tikhomirov) of Japan|Sergius (Tikhomirov)]] <br> [[Nicholas (Ono) of Japan|Nicholas (Ono)]]|
 
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title=Archbishop of Tokyo|
 
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years=1946-1953|
 
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after=[[Ireney (Bekish) of New York|Ireney (Bekish)]]}}
 
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{{succession|
 
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before= ?|
 
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title=Archbishop of Pittsburgh <br> [[OCA|Metropolia]]|
 
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years=1953-1963|
 
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after=Amvrossy}}
 
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{{end box}}
 
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[[Category: Bishops]]
 

Latest revision as of 16:04, April 13, 2016

The Spirit of Orthodoxy Choir is a choir composed of Orthodox Christian singers in the New York - New Jersey - Pennsylvania area of the United States. It is committed to singing in the English language the great works of Orthodox music that glorifies God and expresses the Orthodox faith, thus opening the treasury of Orthodox music to the community.

History

The Spirit Of Orthodoxy Choir was established in 1997 under the direction of Aleksei Shipovalnikov. The choir consists of singers from various parishes and jurisdictions who are dedicated to church singing and who desire to be witnesses to the faith through music.

These music selections represent three schools of Russian Church music and have been sufficiently translated into English. Some of the choir's repertoire has been unheard in the West. The Choir sings chiefly in English but also performs music in Church Slavonic. Their repertoire witnesses to the range and quality of the liturgical life of the Orthodox Church. Their singing is a capella, without instrumentation. This is typical of the Orthodox Church, where the human voice and soul are invaluable in worship.

Director

Aleksei V. Shipovalnikov was born in Rostov on the Don and studied composition, polyphony and conducting at the Gnesin Sate Conservatory and the Moscow Institute of Culture. His post-graduate studies included a master class with Leonard Bernstein in 1988. He served as Artistic Director and Manager of the Moscow State University Symphony Orchestra and Academic Choir and has conducted in the Soviet Union, West Germany and Poland. He established a reputation during the Communist era for innovative programming in spite of the political risks involved. In 1990 he moved to the United States, where he has served as Choir Director of Christ the Saviour Church, San Francisco and Music Director of Slavyanka Men's Slavic Chorus. He was Professor of Liturgical Music at St. Tikhon's Seminary, South Canaan, Pennsylvania. He is currently Music Director at Ss. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Jersey City, New Jersey.

External Link

Retrieved from "https://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Spirit_of_Orthodoxy_Choir&oldid=123163"