Gregory Anatolyevich Smirnov (Russian: Григорий Анатольевич Смирнов; 16 March 1949) is a Russian-born choral director, composer, and music instructor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He served as the director of the Slavyanka chorus from 1996 to 2011.
Gregory Smirnov | |
|---|---|
Григорий Смирнов | |
 | |
| Born | March 16, 1949 |
| Citizenship | Russia (birthplace), United States (naturalized in 1999)[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Choral director, composer, music instructor |
Biography
editGregory was born in Pskov in 1949. He was 13 years old when he first began taking piano lessons.[2] He attended the Pskov College of Music and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1970, then a Master of Fine Arts in Music from the Saratov Conservatory. At the conservatory, his specializations included choir conducting, voice coaching, and music education.[1] In Pskov, he directed several choirs and ran the music department at the Pskov Drama Theater.[2] He also worked as a teacher at the Pskov College of Music for ten years.[3] Before emigrating from Russia, he founded Russia's Chamber Choir, which gave an award-winning performance at the Festival of Russian Choirs in 1992.[4]
In 1991, the San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble planned a trip to perform in Russia, and group members Rich and Mary Ferguson were invited to stay with Gregory and his wife Ludmilla in Pskov. As a result of this visit, Gregory was invited by director Gary Lamprecht to guest conduct the ensemble for a Christmas concert.[5] In 1992, Gregory and his wife made the decision to immigrate to the United States. After arriving in New York, he found a job as the choir director of a Russian Orthodox Church in Menlo Park, California.[5] As a faithful Orthodox Christian, he was grateful for the opportunity to perform sacred Russian music that was previously repressed in the Soviet Union.[5] He became a US citizen in 1999.[1]
In 1996, Gregory was hired as the choral director of the Slavyanka chorus, a position that he retained until 2011.[6] His work included arranging, editing, and transcribing a variety of secular and sacred choral music for the choir.[7] In 1998, Slavyanka performed his arrangement of Alfred Schnittke's "Jesus Prayer" in the film What Dreams May Come.[8] His arrangements are included on several Slavyanka recordings, including the 2000 album "Song of the Volga Boatmen".
Gregory has uncovered and performed a number of rare choral works that were hidden from authorities during Soviet times, including ones by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Gretchaninov.[5][9] In 1993, he conducted a Tchaikovsky rendition of the Cherubic Hymn with the San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble that he had discovered on hand-written sheets in a private Russian library.[5][10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Russian Men's Chorus comes to the coast". Independent Coast Observer. 26 July 2002. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ a b Bartlett, Jean (28 January 2009). "Choral masterpieces from Russia with love". Pacifica Tribune. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Smirnov Music School". Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Lorenz-Fife, Iris (31 July 1998). "Russian chorus gives mesmerizing performance". Independent Coast Observer. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Ward, Betsy (3 June 1993). "Talented conductor brings forgotten classics out of Russia". The Tribune. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Slavyanka 40 Year Legacy". Slavyanka Homepage. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Repertoire 1979-2011". Slavyanka Homepage. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Famed Russian-Style men's chorus comes to the coast". Independent Coast Observer. 30 July 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Lamprecht, Gary (Spring 1993). "From Russia, with hope". San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble Voice.
- ^ Sosna, Marvin. "Ensemble's 20th a joyful affair". The Tribune. No. 9 June 1997. Retrieved 15 March 2024.