From July 24 to August 2, the first singers’ shift took place in Gorny Altai, organized by young people from the Novosibirsk Old Believer Choir. More than twenty people from different parts of Russia took part in the shift – boys and girls from Novosibirsk, Barnaul, Tomsk, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Moscow and the Moscow region.
The shift included two stages. The first half took place at the recreation centre in the Chemal district of the Altai Republic. Beautiful nature surrounded by mountains and in close proximity to the Chemal River – all this contributed to the fruitful assimilation of educational material. Most of the time, the participants were engaged in choral singing at rehearsals and worked individually with vocal teachers. Special attention was paid to the study of Russian spiritual poems and polyphonic songs. This first part of the shift was also full of hiking, sports games, and other events. Rafting down the Chemal mountain river is remembered by many shift participants as the most exciting event.
The program included daily Gospel reading with analysis and common prayer. Children participated in divine services in the city of Gorno-Altaysk, where recently, on June 18, 2023, a temple in honour of the Smolensk Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God Hodegetria was consecrated. The primary task of the first part of the shift was the preparation for the service of the patronal feast in the church of prophet Elijah in Multa village.
The second part of the shift took place in Multa village of the Ust-Koksa district. Singers from the summer singers’ shift graced the singing at the service on the patronal holiday in honour of holy prophet Elijah the Thesbite. Many hymns from the service to the saint were sung in Znamenny chant.
On the evening of August 2, in the district centre – the village of Ust-Koksa, an event dedicated to the Old Believers took place, called “Elijah’s Meetings on the Uimon Land”, in which Bishop Sava of Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk, and All Siberia and Archpriest Nikola Dumnov took part. Participants of the singers’ shift performed hymns of the Znamenny chant, including stichera from the service to Prophet Elijah, as well as spiritual poems and folk songs. The performance of the choruses added a special solemnity to the evening, created a special atmosphere, and showed a living tradition.
Such was the ending of the first singers’ shift in Altai.
In addition to working with their voice, singing in a team, and a certain workload, everyone received unforgettable emotions from this trip. For some of the participants it was their first time in Altai. Everyone had their own goals, their own expectations, and their own results in that shift.
Here is the feedback from one of the participants of the event. Glafira, Novosibirsk:
— For me, that shift was a dream come true. All aspects came together. I was surrounded by the like-minded people, almost a family. We were in incredibly beautiful places – the Altai Mountains. I also got to travel: it’s such a pleasure to enjoy nature! And what we were doing there is not just mindless relaxation: it was singing, development, deep conversations, unity. This trip helped me rethink many things in my life.
All participants in the session hope that the event will be repeated next year and will continue to be held annually.
