Students of the “Tsevnitza” School Become Laureates of the 5th International Church Singing Olympiad for Children and Youth

January 16, 2026. Almaty. With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, students of the “Tsevnitza” school at the Ascension Cathedral became winners of the 5th International Church Singing Olympiad for children and youth.

The event, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the repose of Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of All Russia, was held from November 15 to December 31, 2025 at the initiative of the leadership of the Children’s Department of the Moscow Synodal Choir and with the support of the Church–Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the Development of Russian Church Singing.

The Olympiad was organized to foster interest in church singing art among youth, test their understanding of the liturgical order, types and texts of chants, the Church Slavonic language, and the peculiarities of bell ringing among the youngest generation of parishioners.

More than 850 children from Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan took part in the creative competition.

The contest was held in two age categories – children’s (9–14 years old) and youth (15–20 years old) – in one round, remotely, based at church institutions (Sunday schools, schools of church singing, etc.).

The students of “Tsevnitza” completed the Olympiad tasks under the guidance of teachers N.O. Golovina and I.V. Bykova.

According to the jury’s vote, the Almaty participants were included among the First–Degree Laureates:

Children’s Group

• Sofia Bulavkina
• Daria Golovina
• Andrey Boguslavets

Youth Group

• Arina Plotnikova
• Sofia Bykova
• Nelli Kulmakhanova
• Anastasia Shepel

A special prize from the leadership of the Children’s Department of the Moscow Synodal Choir was awarded to Nelli Kulmakhanova and Sofia Bykova for a creative task: composing a troparion of the canon to Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, in the Church Slavonic liturgical style.