St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble returns to St. John’s
The Arts at St. John’s will host a special performance on Sunday by the St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble.
The ensemble, made up of Kirill Sokolov, Andrei Volikov, Vadim Smantser and Sergey Shapinskiy, performs songs from various styles and across centuries.
“This is the third time they’ve appeared at St. John’s. They’re very popular,” said Gwin Paden, who helps to promote events hosted by the church.
Their performances often include compositions by Tchaikovsky, Chesnokov and Rachmaninoff, as well as Russian folk songs.
Sokolov, the conductor and choir leader of the a capella group, directs their musical journey spanning ancient Russian chants, Western European chorales, and sacred and secular music through the present day.
The group will perform on Sunday, but prior to their performance they will offer a special treat to parishioners.
“What is different this tour is that we have invited them to sing two songs in our church service at 9:30 a.m.,” the Rev. Elaine Breckenridge said.
The St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble has been touring the United States since 2002. They studied music at the Glinka Choir School and St. Petersburg Conservatory, and have recorded three CDs of music from the 16th through the 20th centuries.
“Powerful classically trained voices. Always an amazing performance,” said Pete Krengel of the Arts at St. John’s.
The Arts at St. John’s, which has sponsored public performances of various musical groups for the past 15 or 20 years, is pleased to present this popular Russian men’s quartet once again.