With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the III All-Russian Choral Festival for the regency departments of theological educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church is taking place in Penza from May 27 to 31, 2024. The event is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of the Russian spiritual composer and choral conductor, graduate of the Penza Theological Seminary A.A. Arkhangelsky.
On May 27, the Grand Opening ceremony and the drawing of lots for the participating groups of the festival, which is supported by the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives, took place in the Great Hall of the Penza Regional Philharmonic.
Before the start of the ceremony, the guests were presented with a special issue of the Penza Diocesan Gazette magazine dedicated to Russian spiritual composers associated with the Penza Region, including A.A. Arkhangelsky.
Then the chairman of the jury of the festival, Metropolitan Serafim of Penza and Nizhnelomovsky, and the co—chairman, artistic director of the festival, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Vice-rector for Culture, Dean of the Faculty of Church Arts of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, E.M. Gundyaeva, took a place in the presidium.
After the conciliar performance of the Easter troparion, Metropolitan Seraphim addressed the audience:
"Christ is Risen!
I am glad to welcome you all to Penza land!
This year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the death of Alexander Andreevich, an outstanding composer and choral conductor who began his career here, in a small Narovchatsky district. His talents were noticed even while studying at the Penza Theological Seminary — as a student he became the regent of the Spassky Cathedral. Being a regent even in a seminary is quite responsible and difficult, and it was extremely difficult for a seminary student to manage adults in a cathedral. But Alexander Andreevich coped with it brilliantly.
And Penza has always been in his heart, being already a famous person, he came here for several weeks in order to organize folk choirs numbering more than 200 people. And I am sure that Alexander Andreevich is very glad that Penza is resuming this tradition today and holding a choral festival. Partly it will be a competition, a competition, but mostly we have gathered to enjoy our own work and the work of our outstanding composers — Alexander Arkhangelsky and his contemporaries.
May this festival leave wonderful memories of our wonderful land in your hearts. And, of course, I would like to wish you all God's blessing, a lot depends on this. God grant that the Lord will help each of you these days to show your talents and acquired knowledge, help protect the honor of your spiritual school. I wish you God's help, may the Lord strengthen us all in this work."
Then E.M. Gundyaeva addressed the audience. She noted that in the wonderful Penza land, rich in talents, the competition is gaining strength and acquiring a professional character. "Christ is Risen! God's blessing accompanies the holding of such festivals, and this is very important. You have to feel the power of what you are doing, feel the power of church singing and how important it is to bring it to people in the temple later — that's what we're going for," said, in particular, E.M. Gundyaeva. "During the festival, you will look at your colleagues, students from other schools and will be able to learn something new for yourself — with joy, with some humility, somewhere with delight."
"The role of the choir is very important because you don't just sing the notes and the text. When you put your soul and prayer into this text, then it sounds completely different. Because from under your hands, dear regents and dear singers, from your lips will come the prayer that people need. The hands of the regent should sing, speak and send people the world that is reflected in the chants, which is what I wish you. Let your performance combine professionalism, love of music and prayer. God and Mother of God help you!" the co—chair of the festival wished the participants.
Then the draw took place, following which the students of the regency departments determined the order of performances in the first round of competitive auditions, which will be held in the Great Hall of the Penza Regional Philharmonic on May 29.
Collectives of theological educational institutions from 13 cities will perform in the following order: Yaroslavl, Kuzbass, Kaluga, Orenburg, Tambov, Smolensk, Penza, St. Petersburg, Samara, Moscow, Kazan, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg.
A live broadcast of the first and second rounds of competitive auditions, Divine Liturgy and gala concert will be organized on the YouTube channel of the Penza Theological Seminary. Live broadcasts will be available on the official website of the Penza Theological Seminary and the Penza Diocese, as well as in the official groups of the seminary and the diocese on social networks.
The organizers of the festival are the Penza Theological Seminary, the Penza Diocese and the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church.