St Petersburg Theological Academy Mixed Choir Wins First Prize of the 25th Hajnuwka 2006 International Church Music Festival

The 25th Hajnuwka 2006 International Church Music Festival took place in Hajnuwka, Poland, from 9 to 16 May 2006. With the blessing of the rector of the St Petersburg Theological Academy Archbishop Constantine of Tikhvin, the St Petersburg Theological Academy Mixed Choir conducted by Ms I. Khmelevsky took part in this year’s festival.

Prior to going to Poland the singers met the rector who gave them a blessing and wished winning in such a prestigious competition. The choir from St Petersburg won first prize among parish choirs sharing it with the Brothers’ Choir of Kiev Monastery of the Caves and was rewarded with a medal and a first-degree diploma. This victory, being the second one in the Hajnuwka proved the highest skills of the St Petersburg Theological Academy teachers, especially those working in the Church Music Department, as the prize was won by their labour and by their students’ diligence. The victory also became a good present for their alma mater’s rebirth 60th anniversary.

During their stay in Poland the students of the St Petersburg Theological Academy had a cultural programme. They had a chance to do some sightseeing in Poland’s capital city of Warsaw, to visit Białystok, Suprasl Monasty, Puszcza Białowieska. The choir also sung some church services, a Prayer for the Dead in the Białystok Central Cementary, a Vigil in the Warsaw Seminary, and Divine Liturgies in the Grabark Nunnery and St George church in Białystok.