A Concert of Spiritual Music Held in the Southern Capital as Part of the International Festival “Almaty Spring”

May 4, 2025 – Almaty. With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, a concert of spiritual music was held at the Ascension Cathedral of the Southern Capital.

The initiator of the event was O.N. Ovchinnikov – Secretary of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, conductor of the choir of the Kazakhstan Metropolis, and member of the Patriarchal Council for the Development of Russian Church Singing.

The co-organizers of the concert, held within the framework of the International Festival “Almaty Spring,” were: Protopriest Alexander Suvorov, head of the Public Relations Department of the Metropolis and sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral; Protopriest Alexander Ievlev, cleric of the Ascension Cathedral of the Southern Capital and head of the youth educational project “Master’s Chamber”; the Department of Culture of the Kazakhstan Metropolis (headed by L.E. Gorycheva, Honored Worker of Culture of Russia); and L.I. Romanovskaya, art director of international music festivals in Almaty and arts forums in Europe.

Participants in the concert included: the choir of the Iveron-Seraphim Convent of Almaty (conductor – O.B. Usoltseva); the “Sofia” children’s and youth choir from Krasnoyarsk, Russia (director – E.M. Plekhanova); the children’s choral school “Elim Ay” (director – L.I. Romanovskaya; director of the string ensemble “Divertissement” – S. Zaturinskaya); the senior choir of the Sunday school of the Church of St. John the Theologian (director – K.G. Uperenko); the folk ensemble “Gorenka” of the Ascension Cathedral’s Sunday school (director – A.N. Statsenko); the folk song theater ensemble of the Southern Capital (directors – M. Granova and O. Lebedinskaya); the student choir of the Mangystau College of Arts in Aktau (director – A.S. Sargozhayeva); and the choir of the “Tsevnytsa” Orthodox Singing School of the main cathedral of the Southern Capital (director – N. Golovina).

Guests of the musical celebration included parishioners of the churches and students of the Sunday schools of the Southern Capital, students of the Almaty Theological Seminary, and members of the creative intelligentsia.

Before the start of the concert, a welcoming address was delivered by Protopriest Alexander Suvorov. The sacristan of the main cathedral of the Southern Capital congratulated the program’s organizers, performing groups, and attendees on the Bright Feast of the Savior’s Pascha and noted the importance of such musical events.

The audience was offered the following musical selections: “Only-Begotten Son” by Igumen Philip (Moiseyev); “O Most Hymned Mother” by A. Grinchenko; “Simple Allelula” by D. Moore; “Paschal Chant” by A. Viskov; the spiritual verse “At the Jordan”; “Faith is Eternal” by Saint Nicholas of Serbia; “With Compassionate Eye, O Lord” by I. Denisova.

At the conclusion of the concert, Protopriest Alexander Suvorov presented letters of gratitude on behalf of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, along with commemorative gifts, to the choir directors.

Video recording of the event was carried out by the television studio of the Kazakhstan Metropolis “Semirechye” (director – Honored Worker of Culture V.L. Posadneva; cameraman – A. Schmidt); photography – A. Khalin.