Moscow, February 23, 2017
St. Tikhon’s Seminary held a benefit concert last night at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Bethlehem, Pa., sponsored by the Pan-Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood of the Lehigh Valley, which includes thirteen parishes throughout the region.
The performance, “Psalms and Hymns,” presented Orthodox liturgical pieces in English especially meant to highlight the Biblical foundations of Orthodox Christian worship, which is especially relevant as about a hundred people who had never been to an Orthodox church before came to the concert thanks to a write-up in the regional newspaper.
Drawing especially on the thousand-year-old tradition of monastic singing in Russia, the program included examples of Znamenny Chant as well as more recent arrangements by composers from the Moscow Synodal School and the Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra. Also included on the program were arrangements by the late Deacon Sergei Trubachev [1919-1995], an original work by Mr. Sheehan, based on Znamenny chant, and a Byzantine-style psalm popular on Mt. Athos.
Proceeds from the concert will go to benefit seminarians of St. Tikhon’s.
A video clip from the concert is available below: