Gregory Smirnov
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Gregory Smirnov | |
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Григорий Смирнов | |
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| Born | March 16, 1949 |
| Occupation(s) | Choral director, composer, music instructor |
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.
Biography
Gregory was born in Pskov in 1949. He was 13 years old when he first began taking piano lessons.[1] 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.[2] In Pskov, he directed several choirs and ran the music department at the Pskov Drama Theater.[1] He also worked as a professor 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 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] In 1993, he conducted a rendition of the Cherubic Hymn by Tchaikovsky with the San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble that he discovered on hand-written sheets in a private Russian library.[5][6] He became a US citizen in 1999.[2]
In 1996, Gregory was hired as the choral director of the Slavyanka chorus, a position that he retained until 2011. In 1998, Slavyanka performed his arrangement of Alfred Schnittke's "Jesus Prayer" in the film What Dreams May Come.[7] His arrangements were included on several Slavyanka recordings, including the 2000 album "Song of the Volga Boatmen".
References
- ^ a b Bartlett, Jean (28 January 2009). "Choral masterpieces from Russia with love". Pacifica Tribune. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Russian Men's Chorus comes to the coast". Independent Coast Observer. 26 July 2002. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Smirnov Music School". Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ Lorenz-Fife, Iris (31 July 1998). "Russian chorus gives mesmerizing performance". Independent Coast Observer. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d Ward, Betsy (3 June 1993). "Talented conductor brings forgotten classics out of Russia". The Tribune. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ Sosna, Marvin. "Ensemble's 20th a joyful affair". The Tribune. No. 9 June 1997. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Famed Russian-Style men's chorus comes to the coast". Independent Coast Observer. 30 July 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2024.