On Friday, May 17, The Women’s Ensemble performed its debut concert in Holy Presentation of Christ Church in Stratford, CT. The concert was held as a fundraiser for ROCOR’s Ecclesiastical Mission in the Holy Land benefitting the monastics and clergy living and serving there.

The Women’s Ensemble is a newly formed group, comprised of four members: Anastasia Utnyukhin, Olga Semyanko, Katherine Semyanko, and Valentina Utnyukhin, parishioners of Holy Presentation Church. These young women share the common interest of singing and praising God; they were inspired to create this event to share their joy of singing while benefitting a good cause.

The first half of the program was performed in the church nave and consisted of sacred Orthodox chants. The ensemble performed a variety of composers and styles. Starting with Znamenny chant and progressing to well-known composers including Trubachev, Rachmaninov, and Chesnokov, the ensemble represented the rich history of Russian Church music. The ensemble also performed chanting in the Appalachian style to demonstrate the influence of American tradition on Orthodox Church music in the United States. The second half of the concert, held in the church hall, featured Russian and American traditional folk music with Christian themes.

The concert was followed by a reception with Mediterranean-inspired appetizers and desserts in the church hall.