Turetsky Choir Art Group
Turetsky Choir (Russian: Хор Турецкого) (art group) is a Russian men's a cappella ensemble and musical collective under the direction of Mikhail Turetsky. Their voices range from tenore contraltino to basso profundo.
The Turetsky Men's Chorus | |
|---|---|
 From left to right: Oleg Blyahorchuk, Evgeny Tulinov, Vyacheslav Fresh, Konstantin Kabo, Mikhail Kuznetsov, Mikhail Turetsky, Alex Alexandrov, Boris Goryachev, Evgeny Kulmis and Igor Zverev, performing at the Green Theater (Moscow), 2011. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Moscow, Russia |
| Genres | Vocal, Crossover, A cappella |
| Years active | 1989 - present |
| Labels | Nikitin |
| Members | Mikhail Turetsky Evgeny Tulinov Mikhail Kuznetsov Alex Alexandrov Evgeny Kulmis Oleg Blyahorchuk Igor Zverev Konstantin Kabo Vyacheslav Fresh Pavel Berkut Avi Grigoryan Edward Khacharyan Alibek Almadiyev |
| Past members | Arthur Keish, Valentin Suhodolets, Boris Goryachev |
| Website | http://www.arthor.ru/ |
Background
The Turetsky Men's Choir was established at the Moscow Choral Synagogue. The chorus made its debut in 1990 with Jewish liturgical and folk music in the philharmonic halls of Tallinn and Kaliningrad. It has been a vehicle throughout Russia for renewed interest in the Jewish heritage.
In his blog "Teruah Jewish Music" Jack Zaientz wrote, "I don't know if any of the choir members, including Turetsky, are Jewish or what being Jewish might mean to them... And I'm not sure how much it matters. Seeing a bunch of seriously good male vocalists singing Jewish music to a huge crowd of Russians, in the face of the centuries of discrimination that Russian Jews have faced, does my heart proud."[1]
"Very few people were interested in that kind of music at the time, and no one at all in the post-Soviet countries… … … So when I got an opportunity, I did some research in libraries in New York and Jerusalem and discovered this profound, diverse, and very stylish kind of music that was accessible at a basic human level… … … We understood that we had to have a broader scope and began to include secular material in our programs… … … Today, our repertoire contains music from the last four centuries – from Handel to Soviet pop hits, chanson, and the best examples of contemporary pop culture…"
Mikhail Turetsky, leader[2]
History
- 1989 — Chorus formed by Mikhail Turetsky at the Moscow Choral Synagogue.
- 1990 — With financial support from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the choir made its official debut at the Moscow Choral Synagogue. The Choir gave its first concerts in Kaliningrad, Tallinn, Chisinau, Kiev, Leningrad, Moscow and other cities.
- 1991–1992 — Performances in the United States. The Choir sang in Washington, D.C. for Congress at the Chanukah celebration, the Park East Synagogue in New York, and at Carnegie and Merkin Halls. They were invited to sing in Spain at the "Por Me Espiritu" international festival, commemorating the 500th year since the Spanish expulsion of the Jews.
- 1993–1994 — Tours in England, Israel, United States, Poland. In 1993, the American Cantor Association awarded Mikhail Turetsky the Golden Crown of the Cantors of the World Award.
- 1995–1996 — The Choir split into two parts. One part stayed in Moscow; the other went to Miami, Florida to work at Temple Emmanu-El Synagogue. The Choir performed together with Julio Iglesias. The repertoire of the Choir grew to include folk songs, opera arias, Broadway classics, jazz pieces. When the group returned to Moscow, were named the city's official Jewish choir by Mayor Yuri Lujkov.
- 1997 — The group took part in over 100 concerts in Iosif Kobzon's Russian farewell tour and was recognized as a State Choir.
- 1998–1999 — The Choir toured the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, and the United States. During the choir's stay in the US, February 6 was proclaimed the Moscow Jewish Choir Day.
- 2000–2001 — Joint tour with Iosif Kobzon. Performances in Israel, the US, Australia, Germany, and the CIS. The choir performed on the stage of the Moscow State Variety Theatre.
- 2002 — Mikhail Turetsky received the title "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation" for his achievements in the arts.[3]
- 2002–2003 — Touring the United States and Europe.
- January 2004 — The first performance under the name Turetsky Choir Art Group. The program, "The Ten Voices that Overwhelmed the World," brought Mikhail an award in the category "Cultural Event of the Year" of the national "Man of the Year Award."
- December 2004 — The choir presented the program "When Men Are Singing" in the State Kremlin Palace with the participation of Emma Shapplin and Gloria Gaynor.
- January 2005 — Performances in concert halls of the United States in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago.
- 2005–2006 — The anniversary tour "Born to Sing" visited more than 100 cities in Russia and the CIS.
- 2006–2007 — The choir toured 70 cities in Russia and the CIS with the program "Music of All Times and Peoples."
- 2007 — The choir received the Russian Music Award "Record 2007" for the best classical album of the year (the collector's edition of Great Music). It was also recognized for the children's charity concert "Be Kind-Hearted Today!". The concert for a group of children in the State Kremlin Palace occurred March 27 with support of the Moscow's Government and the Committee of Culture of the Moscow. More than 5,000 children (gifted and talented children, children from a socially disadvantaged background and those from families having many children, children with disabilities) attended. The choir received a National "Emotion" Award in the category "Respect".[4]
- 2007–2008 — "Hallelujah to Love" Tour around Russia and the CIS. The choir performed four times at the Kremlin and had another concert at State Concert Hall "Rossiya" (ru: ГЦКЗ "Россия"), in Luzhniki.
- 2008–2009 — Touring Russia, the CIS, and the US with the new program "And the Show Goes On..."
- 2010–2011 — anniversary tour "20 years: 10 voices"
- 2011 — tour "The beginning" starts.
Soloists
| Soloist | Started to sing in the choir |
|---|---|
| Mikhail Turetsky — tenor voice. National Artist of the Russian Federation, founder and the leader.
Born in Moscow in 1962. He received a degree in Choir Conducting from the Gnesin Academy of Music. Following an internship as a symphonic conductor, he conducted at the Children's Chapel, the Political Song Ensemble and the choir of the Yuri Sherling Theater. |
1989 |
| Alex Alexandrov — dramatic baritone.
Born in Moscow in 1972. He graduated from the Choral Singing College named after Sveshnikov and The Gnesin Academy of Music. Alex is also an assistant choreographer. Many of the dance pieces in the choir's concerts were staged with his help. He is at home in the style of pop stars like Toto Cutugno and Boris Moiseev. |
1990 |
| Evgeny Kulmis – basso profundo, director of the choir in the past, poet.
Born near the city of Chelyabinsk in the Southern Urals in 1966. He began as a pianist. He graduated from the Gnesin Russian Music Academy and then became a postgraduate specializing in musicology. Evgeny Kulmis is the author of poems and translations of selected musical compositions executed by the choir. For example, he wrote the text accompanying the original compositions in "Twilight" by the Electric Light Orchestra. |
1991 |
| Evgeny Tulinov — dramatic tenor, Distinguished Artist of the Russian Federation, assistant art director and a professional choir conductor.
Born in Moscow in 1964. He graduated from the Music College at the Moscow Conservatory and from The Gnesin Academy of Music. In his first student years, Tulinov sang liturgy in the Church of Saint John the Warrior, conducted the choir at the Recreation Centre and sang in the Male Chamber Choir conducted by V. M. Rybin. |
1991 |
| Mikhail Kuznetsov — tenor altino, Distinguished Artist of the Russian Federation.
Born in Moscow in 1962, Kuznetsov graduated from The Gnesin Academy of Music. He then sang in the Moscow Chamber Choir conducted by Vladimir Minin and in the Male Choir of the publishing department of the magazine Moscow Patriarchy. |
1992 |
| Oleg Blyahorchuk, lyric tenor, instrumentalist (piano, guitar, accordion, melodica).
Born in 1966 in Minsk, Belarus. He studied at the Minsk Musical College. After college, he entered the Minsk State Conservatoire with a specialty in choral conducting. He worked in the choir of the Belarus Radio and TV Company, where the main conductor was V.V. Rovdo, a student of People's Artist of the USSR A.V. Sveshnikov. Blyahorchuk then became a soloist of the concert orchestra of the Republic of Belarus under the leadership of Mikhail Finberg. |
1996 |
| Igor Zverev — bass
Born in 1968, in Moscow region. He graduated from The Department of Choral Conducting of the Moscow Academy of Arts and Culture. He worked as a professional singer in the Academic Song and Dance Company of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation and then in the Polyansky's State Academic Symphonic Capella. |
2003 |
| Boris Goryachev — lyric baritone
Born in Moscow in 1971. Graduated from the Moscow Conservatory. Boris Goryachev worked in the Men's Chamber Choir "Akathist" under the management AV Malyutin. The group performed Russian spiritual music, which was then new and popular. In 1995 Goryachev joined the choir "Peresvet" as well as performing in his own quartet spiritual and Russian folk music. Started singing with the Turetsky Choir in 2003. Died 15 July 2021.[5] |
2003 |
| Konstantin Kabo — baritone tenor
Born in Moscow in 1974. Graduated from Sveshnikov Musical College and The Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS). He sang in musicals including "Nord-Ost", "12 Chairs", "Romeo and Juliet", "Mama Mia". He also wrote the music for the program "The Circus on Ice". |
2007 |
| Vyacheslav Fresh — counter-tenor.
Born in Moscow in 1982. He graduated from the Department of Music and Fine Arts of J. Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. |
2009 |
Discography
High Holidays (Jewish religious songs)
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Bravissimo
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Jewish Songs
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Star Duets (ru:Звёздные дуэты)
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Une vie d’amour (ru:Такая великая любовь)
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| When the Men Sing (ru:Когда поют мужчины) (Concert in Haifa, DVD, 2004) (see the next DVD) – concert without Gloria Gaynor and Emma Shapplin. |
When the Men Sing (Concert in Moscow, DVD, 2004)
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| Born to Sing (ru:Рожденные петь)
1st Part
2nd Part
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| Great Music (2 CD + DVD) (ru:Великая музыка)
Great Music DVD
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| Moscow – Jerusalem (ru:Москва-Иерусалим) (2 CD + DVD)
Moscow – Jerusalem CD 1
Moscow – Jerusalem CD 2
Moscow – Jerusalem DVD
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| Music of all times (ru:Музыка всех времен) (CD + 2 DVD)
CD: Music of all time
DVD 1: Music of all times (The Kremlin – 2006, Live)
DVD 2: Hallelujah to Love (ru:Аллилуйя любви) / Kremlin Live DVD – 2008
|
References
- Zaientz, Jack (March 30, 2011). "The Turetsky Men's Choir – the Russian Jewish answer to Riverdance". Retrieved 11 July 2013.
- "УКАЗ Президента РФ от 16.07.2010 N 909 "О НАГРАЖДЕНИИ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫМИ НАГРАДАМИ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ"". Archived from the original on 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- "Умер солист "Хора Турецкого" Борис Горячев". smotrim.ru.