Musical Training for Priests and Other Topics in Orthodox Church Music, with Harrison Russin, on Music and the Church Ep. 11

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Interview: We discuss the musical training of ministerial students with Harrison Russin, Lecturer in Liturgical Music and Dean’s Fellow at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Yonkers, NY). He also shares his experience directing a choir in non-metrical chants; surveys the (many!) kinds of Orthodox music heard in churches across the U.S.; and explains why some Orthodox churches have organs, but most don’t.

Try This at Church: Use timbre to change your liturgical colors. Picking up on last week’s episode about using music to set Lent apart as a special season of the year, Stephen writes that he changes his musical “liturgical color” during Lent.

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Resources:

  • The website of the International Society for Orthodox Church Music
  • Robin Freeman, Director of Music at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary

Check out these composers of Orthodox music: