The nominees for the 2019 Grammy Awards were announced on 7 December and notably, a Russian-American Orthodox choir is among the nominees. In particular, the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute’s (PaTRAM) latest album, “Teach Me Thy Statutes,” featuring works of Pavel Chesnokov, under the direction of Maestro Vladimir Gorbik, has been nominated in the Best Choral Performance category.

The PaTRAM website notes that MusicWeb International also recently designated “Teach Me Thy Statutes” as its recording of the year. The album was recorded in Saratov Russia with a 42-piece ensemble including superb singers from Russia and America. The album has received many rave reviews, including from Dan Morgan of MusicWeb International, who said: “Really, this is a remarkable recording… Is there nothing this choir can’t do, no challenge to which they can’t rise? Of course, so much credit is due to Gorbik’s inspiring leadership, his devotion to, and affinity for, this music laid bare in every bar. Intensely beautiful singing and sound; quite simply, choral albums don’t come much better than this.” The album can be listened to and purchased at Reference Recordings, Amazon, and iTunes.

The conductor, Vladimir Gorbik is one of the most respected in Russia today, and is well-known beyond the bounds of Russia as well. He completed a specialization in choral conducting at the Moscow State Conservatory in 1998 and in orchestral conducting in 2000. Since 1996, he has served as the choir director at the Moscow Representation Church of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery, and since 1998 has been the Artistic Director and Conductor of the professional men’s chorus formed at the Metochion. On September 2012, he was appointed to the conducting faculty of the Moscow State Conservatory. He is also a PaTRAM founding board member.

Furthermore, Benedict Sheehan, the head of music at St. Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary in South Canaan, PA, who is also a PaTRAM founding board member and sings on “Teach Me Thy Statues,” also associate directed a second album nominated in the Best Choral Performance category—“Kastalsky: Memory Eternal” by the Clarion Choir. (Quelle: www.orthochristian.com, 10. Dezember 2018)