The Holy Trinity Seminary Quartet, a choral group composed of seminarians from HTS, visited the parish of the Protection of the Mother of God in Rochester, NY on November 15 and 16. There they were very warmly received by the parish rector, Archpriest Gregory Naumenko, and were shown great kindness and hospitality by his parishioners. The quartet, whose members include seminarians Vladimir Davydov, Ephraim Willmarth, Nicholas Lochmatow and Michael Perekrestov, arrived on Saturday afternoon and were greeted by Fr. Gregory and the parish sisterhood, who prepared a sumptuous meal for the seminarians. Later that evening, at the All-Night Vigil, the service was sung antiphonally. The parish choir, under the direction of Matushka Maria Naumenko, sang on the right kliros, while the quartet occupied left kliros. The service was sung both in English and Church Slavonic.

On the following day, Divine Liturgy began at 9:30 a.m., and was sung in its entirety by the quartet of seminarians. After the Liturgy, Reader Sergio Silva, a 4th year seminarian who also accompanied the quartet and assisted in reading parts of the service, gave a presentation on the history of HTS and on the life of a seminarian. In his talk, Sergio expounded on the different aspects of seminary life and on the rich education, academic, spiritual and liturgical, which one can obtain at Holy Trinity Seminary. After the talk, the seminarians answered questions from the parishioners.

That same afternoon, at the invitation of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, the Seminary Quartet performed a selection of Russian Orthodox liturgical hymns before an audience of over 200 people. The selected pieces, which covered different epochs in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, were chosen in order to display different styles and influences in Russian Church singing through time, thus contributing to the exhibit Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs, currently on display at the gallery.

The concert was very well received by all, and afterwards, many people at the gallery approached the seminarians with questions about the seminary, church singing and Orthodoxy.

HTS and the Seminary Quartet would like to thank Fr. Gregory Naumenko and the parish of the Protection of the Mother of God, as well as the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, for the opportunity of performing there.