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Slavyanka 40 Year Legacy 1979 to today and beyond...

Be it village folk tunes or masterworks by Russia’s greatest contemporary composers, it’s filled with deep feeling and spirit. It's music that brings us into the soaring mystical vision and spiritual depth of one of the world’s great faiths – and equally, into the earthy richness of traditional Russian life.

It's a community of singers, alumni singers, supporters, and listeners – people like you who come because they love and are moved by what they hear.

We wish for our listeners that this music will be, as it has been for us, a window opening on to a new and beautiful landscape;
and that you too will say in the words of those emissaries of a thousand year ago,

"We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth .." Paul Andrews 1987

Slavyanka discography. Most tracks and CDs are available for download at the iTunes Store; CDs are also available through various online stores such as amazon.com, CD Baby, and Harmonia Mundi.

Russian Church Music (1988)

Liturgical music in celebration of the millennial anniversary of Russian Orthodoxy.

Russia, Old and New (1991)

A combination of Russian choral music -- sacred and secular, classical and folk.

Konstantin Shvedov: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom (1991)

Shvedov, with Jaroff, was the primary arranger for the famed "Don Cossack" Chorus. He wrote this liturgy for male voice while living in New York in the 1930s, but it was never performed in his lifetime. Slavyanka had the honor of presenting the world premiere of this magnificent piece in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral.

Little ODESSA (1994)

Original soundtrack from
movie Little ODESSA.

1. Russian Frescoes: Fair by Boris Kravchenko

Orchestra/Ensemble: Slavyanka

2. Love is Sacred by Gyorgy Sviridov

Orchestra/Ensemble: Slavyanka

Period: Modern

4. Reveille by Gyorgy Sviridov

Orchestra/Ensemble: Slavyanka

Slavyanka in Concert (1999)

A collection of the Our Father, Otche Nash, the Lord's Prayer as realized by many composers over several centuries; includes compositions by Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Chesnokov, Shvedov, and Sheremetev, in addition to several contemporary settings.

Slavyanka in Concert (1999)

Recorded live in Mission San Luis Obispo. A mix of sacred and secular songs including the the popular "Veniki", and "Priidye Spas' Dnes'" (with Khoomei Tuvan-style overtone singing).

Song of the Volga Boatmen (2000)

Mostly secular collection of Russian and 3 Georgian songs. Includes M. Mussorgsky's last compositions, the very widely-known "Song of the Volga Boatmen", and "Meadowlands".

With Love, from the Balkans & Caucasus (2003)

Folk, composed, and Orthodox church music from Georgia, Armenia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Deep basses and high tenors lift you with their expression of the Slavic soul in song.

Russian Favorites (2004)

A collection of our favorite Russian folk, traditional and composed songs for male chorus. Compositions by Sviridov, Mussorgsky, Schnittke and Chesnokov. Highlights: "Evening Bells", "Meadowlands", "Along the Piterskaya", and "My Soul Yearns for Heaven".

Slavyanka in Russia (2016)

In October 2016, the Slavyanka Russian Chorus, now named Slavyanka Chorus, was the only American choir invited to perform in the 150th anniversary celebration of Moscow’s historic Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In addition, we also performed in three other cities in western Russia -- Dubna, Velikij Novgorod, and Saint Petersburg. The Chorus was met with critical acclaim, enthusiastic applause, lots of accolades... and even a very excited stage crasher! There were several media moments during the tour. In Dubna, Artistic Director Irina Shachneva appeared in an interview segment on a television program, and a few Chorus members were interviewed on camera, pre-concert. The men's chorus performed in Moscow on "Dobroe Utro" (Good Morning), a nationally broadcast TV show akin to Good Morning America, on Russia One. And in conjunction with the philharmonic symphony based there, another Russia One film crew captured moments of Slavyanka members touring the grounds of the Kremlin, as well as snippets from our concert that evening, in Velikij Novgorod. In sum, we had seven performances on the tour:

07 October -- The Art Club, Dubna

09 October -- Kuskovo Palace, Moscow (informal recital)

09 October -- Vesna Choir School, Moscow

11 October -- The Moscow State Conservatory

14 October -- The Kremlin, Velikij Novgorod

15 October -- Sheremetyev Palace, Saint Petersburg

16 October -- Glinka Cappella, Saint Petersburg

We celebrated our success with the Return from Russia concert on 30 October 2016 and plan to issue a CD of concert performances from the tour in the fall of 2017.

A 40 year History

Paul Andrews
Founding Director 1979 - 2011
President 2011 - Present

Irina Shachneva
Artistic Director & Conductor
2011 - Present

Aleksie Shipovalnikov
Director 1993- 1996

Gregory Smirnov
Director 1996 - 2011

Robert Teets (1947 - 2016)
President 1987 - 1992

Andy Anderson
President 1993 - 2004

Donn Davy
President 2004 - 2011

Slavyanka Men's Russian Chorus
1995 with Women Guests
Alexie Shipovalnikov - Director 1993-1996

Slavyanka Men's Chorus founders Paul Andrews and John McCarthy, after graduating from Yale and remembering their singing experiences with the Yale Russian Chorus, began work in 1979 to recruit like minded SF Bay Area singers to join the chorus. Paul was the first Director. The chorus grew from 10 to 20 singers and ended with 25-30 regular singers over the next 34 years. Paul stepped down in 1991 as the Director after recruiting Aleksei Shipovanikvo to become the next Director. The photo shown is of the chorus in 1991 listing 28 singers. It was taken just before the Chorus performed the complete Konstantin Shvedov: Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. It was recorded and published by Harmonia Mundi in 1991 and later republished in 1999 by Dorian Recordings.