PaTRAM Institute™ is proud to announce its newest collaboration with Maestro Ekaterina Antonenko, the renowned choral conductor, Founder and Artistic Director of the Russia-based Intrada Vocal Ensemble. Since its founding in 2006 the Intrada Vocal Ensemble has gained a reputation as “the best Moscow choir today” («Musical life», 2018).

PaTRAM Chairman Alexis V. Lukianov said, “PaTRAM is extremely pleased to partner with Maestro Ekaterina Antonenko, one of the top rising conductor stars in Russia, for our next concert tour and CD recording of Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil in June, 2021. Maestro Antonenko has received countless accolades for her work with Intrada, as the finest choir in Moscow. I am convinced that her creativity, professionalism and drive to be the best will have an outstanding positive impact on this project and the PaTRAM Institute™ Male Choir.”

Ms. Antonenko will be conducting the PaTRAM Institute Male Choir on their upcoming multi-city concert tour and CD recording of Rachmaninoff’s “All-Night Vigil”, June 2021 in Serbia and Bosnia. The concerts will be presented in the cities of Belgrade, Banjaluka, Novi Sad and Nis. The culmination of the project will be recording sessions overseen by PaTRAM’s long-time production company, Soundmirror, in Nis.

Soundmirror’s multi-Grammy winning producer, Blanton Alspaugh, referred Ms. Antonenko to PaTRAM™ and described her as “extravagantly gifted. She melds a scholar’s grasp of performance practice with an entrepreneur’s flair, all in the service of a fluent and unaffected musicality. She elicits splendid singing and I can’t wait to hear Rachmaninoff with Ekaterina and the PaTRAM Male Choir.”

Ms. Antonenko studied choral conducting at the Moscow Academic Music College and at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, earning her Ph.D. in 2013. She also studied at the prestigious Hochschule fuer Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Germany. She now teaches at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

She has performed all over Europe with Intrada, and has collaborated with Peter Phillips, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Vladimir Jurowksi, Mikhail Pletnev, and Yuri Bashmet, among others.

Most recently Ms. Antonenko led the Intrada Vocal Ensemble in singing Sviridov’s “Sacred Love”, the traditional Christmas carol “Shchedryk (the Little Swallow)”, Tchaikovsky’s “The Legend” and many other presentations. After the Dresden Music Festival, KARSTEN BLÜTHGEN, writing for Sächsische Zeitung, said about the Intrada concert, “One could hardly imagine more inspired, well-balanced and powerful choral singing.”

With such a stellar choral background, Maestro Antonenko will make an exciting and creative addition to the PaTRAM Institute’s choirs. PaTRAM looks forward to a long and artistically fulfilling relationship in the years to come.

Cue the spotlight and shine it directly on Michael Hawes! Michael, Bass-Baritone Singer and Trumpet player, is a member of Chicago based Axiom Brass, is the newly appointed Music Director at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Chicago, and tours around the world singing and playing with groups such as Axiom Brass, the PaTRAM Institute Choirs, Seraphic Fire, the Clarion Choir, St. Tikhon’s Choir, Skylark and more.

Michael said, “It is such an honor to sing with my wonderful and esteemed colleagues in the PaTRAM organization, and has been a huge highlight of my musical life these last several years. Most recently, a concert and recording tour to Saratov, Russia was a thrilling and deeply spiritual experience. Thank you PaTRAM!”

Michael has performed with PaTRAM choirs on three CDs:

• “The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom”
• “Blessed Art Thou among Women”
• “More Honorable than the Cherubim” (coming very soon)

Michael would like to share with us a piece called, “Dawn’s Awakening”, by Florence Price. To read more about Michael, please take a look at his website, michaelhawesmusic.com.

Cue the PaTRAM™ spotlight on Milan Acimovic, bass, who appears on the PaTRAM Institute Male Choir’s recording of “More Honorable than the Cherubim” which was recorded in Saratov, Russia in 2019 and is scheduled for release later this year. “Mika” hails from Bosnia and has been a critical contributor to PaTRAM’s planning of this year’s Rachmaninoff “All-Night Vigil” tour and CD recording in Serbia. His efforts on the ground there have played a key role in making this event a reality.

Mika is the Chief Conductor of the Belgrade City Choir in Serbia. He is also an orchestral conductor and a professional singer in his own right. But his talents run the gamut of responsibilities including music director of the International Belgrade Choir Festival, program manager of various musical events in Serbia and even work in pop bands on keyboards and backup vocals. A man of all musical trades!

Please watch this clip of Milan singing an excerpt he arranged from “Testament” by Rajko Maksinovic and based on text by Bishop Petar Petrovic Njegos. Also, enjoy watching Milan’s conducting skills on display in this clip of Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 3”, Fourth Movement.

This week we introduce Daniel Shirley, tenor, who appears on the PaTRAM Institute Singers’ GRAMMY-nominated recording of Kurt Sander’s “The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” and on their “Blessed Art Thou among Women” CD. Daniel has performed as a soloist with opera companies and symphony orchestras across the United States and Europe. He serves as Assistant Professor of Vocal Studies at the ECU School of Music in Greenville, North Carolina, where he directs ECU Opera Theater. He and his wife Caitlin have three small children, and he says they have located Goldfish crackers in nearly every imaginable location in their home.

Please enjoy this wonderful audio clip of Daniel singing an excerpt from “Danksagung an den Bach (Die Schöne Müllerin, D795: no. 4”, by Franz Shubert and accompanied by Eric Stellrecht on piano.

It’s our pleasure to introduce Katie Boardman, soprano, who appears on the PaTRAM Institute Singers’ GRAMMY-nominated recording of Kurt Sander’s “The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom”. She has recently performed with the Rose Ensemble, the Boston Camerata, Red Shift Choir, the St. Tikhon’s Choir and was a Voces8 US Scholar in 2019-20. A native of Wisconsin, she grew to love music at the Madison Early Music Festival and holds a degree in Historical Performance from Boston University. Katie maintains an active voice teaching studio online.

Please enjoy this wonderful video clip with Katie singing an excerpt from “Amor dormiglione”, by Barbara Strozzi.

PATRAM™ is excited to introduce you to the very talented singers who bring the notes and words, on pages of sheet music, to life in a truly beautiful and prayerful manner. We truly miss every one of our male and mixed choir singers and hope to be able to sing together very soon!

We begin with the supremely talented FOTINA NAUMENKO. Soprano Fotina Naumenko is based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She performs around the country as a freelance singer and serves on the voice faculty of Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA. She was a soloist on PaTRAM’s “Blessed Art Thou among Women” CD.

Listen to her angelic voice as she sings “Lilacs” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, with Joy Schreier at the piano

Don’t forget to check out Fotina’s website, too!