wfn.org | Russian seminary choir to tour U.S.

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

May 18, 2001 News media contact:  Linda Bloom·(212)870-3803·New York
10-21-71B{240}

By United Methodist News Service

A 15-member choir from the Russia United Methodist Theological Seminary in
Moscow will conduct a three-week U.S. concert tour in June.

Invited by Bishop Marion Edwards of Raleigh, N.C., the choir will first
perform June 9 during the United Methodist North Carolina Annual Conference
in Fayetteville. Other concerts are scheduled at churches in North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, New York and New Hampshire. The final performance will be July
1 at Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Washington.

Directed by Ludmila Mineeva, a graduate of the Russia Conservatory, the
choir is composed of seminary students, graduates and members of United
Methodist congregations in Russia.

Among the choir members are the Rev. Konstantin Vaganov, a professional
musician and conductor who is now pastor of First United Methodist Church in
Moscow; Farit Smirnova, a member of Good News Church and soloist in the
choir of the Russian Ministry of the Interior; the Rev. Nina Smirnova, a
professional singer and pastor of Good News Church; and Oleg Pozharsky, a
member of Resurrection United Methodist Church in Voronezh and a composer
and choir director.

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United Methodist News Service
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