How do we pass on beautiful, sacred music to the next generation?

We know that music has the power to transform our lives, but does our youth? The next generation, in large part, does not know how this beautiful music can heal, inspire and touch your soul.

Future generations are at risk of losing the power of sacred music.

We have a solution, and I am writing to you today to ask you for a gift to help us provide that solution.

We have an opportunity before us today – and this opportunity is the focus of our work. We have 30 students and developing artists who are ready to dedicate themselves and commit their time to affecting the quality of church music to facilitate deeper and more passionate worship and connection to God for all of us.

Today, I am writing to you to ask you to partner with us by making a financial gift to bring the splendor of Russian Orthodox choral music together with its astounding spiritual depth to the next generation – and a parish near you.

That’s why I am excited to share with you our campaign From Young Voices to God’s Ears.

By supporting these 30 singers through lessons with master teachers and live performances, we are laying the foundation for them to be the master teachers to future generations.

Our campaign From Young Voices to God’s Ears is about preserving the sacred music of the Church not by recording a new album but by giving it to the next generation for them to experience. The goal is to raise $33,000 so that we can come alongside 30 promising and committed developing singers to prepare them to become faithful stewards of this music. We want to complete this fundraising goal in the next few weeks as we have students who are eager to start – and live performances already scheduled for later this year.

This is an incredible opportunity before us, and not one that comes along everyday.

We have 30 students and developing artists asking for our support.

This is a partnership – a partnership between…

PaTRAM
30 promising and committed singers who are ready to begin a season of rigorous musical training
You

Since our founding, PaTRAM has been dedicated to affecting the quality of church music to facilitate deeper and more passionate worship and connection to God. Our goal was not to produce Grammy-nominated music – that was a byproduct. We want to help people connect to God through music, and our goal is that every church would have an excellent choir to facilitate that connection, and we do that through excellent educational programming. We are committed to growing the ranks of trained and professional singers and conductors in church choirs.

Right now, we have 30 students and developing artists who are ready to be trained. These students are ready to give of their time to cultivate their talents. These are busy individuals who are sacrificing their time and ultimately taking time off of work to travel to perform in a concert as a part of their musical training.

Sadly, the standard of church singing has been steadily declining throughout North America, and many of our churches have come to lack the critical element of beautiful and prayerful singing that helps draw people to the “right worship” of the Holy Trinity. While a small number of Orthodox parishes continue to have on their staff a trained and competent choir director, it is more common for parishes to be challenged merely to find a qualified leader of church singing. Thus, many Orthodox churchgoers today struggle through services marked by lackluster choral performances, often more mechanical than prayerful, rarely experiencing worship in the full beauty of the Russian Orthodox musical tradition.

You can be the third partner, and give a gift that is the catalyst for change.

Would you give a gift today to our campaign From Young Voices to God’s Ears?

This program truly is a journey to musical excellence.

The best way I can tell you about this journey is to tell you the story of the Osanna Chamber Ensemble.

We have been supporting the Osanna Chamber Ensemble in their development, giving them access to PaTRAM master teachers, who are the best in their field. We have opened doors for them and allowed them to reach a level of musical excellence that is uncommon in North America. We are so proud of the role we have played in their development. Their progress has been exceptional. Osanna has developed into a choir that is approaching the level of a professional choir. Their progress is due in large part to their commitment, and they deserve tremendous credit for their hard work. But I also know that their commitment and hard work alone would not have been enough to get them to where they are today. They needed someone to come alongside them to support their development. That’s where PaTRAM came in – and I am very proud of the role PaTRAM has played in providing Osanna the support they needed to take them to the next level.

This is the process I am asking you to help us continue and duplicate.

Would you give a gift today to allow us to begin the exact same journey for new students and continue supporting 30 developing singers who are ready to embark upon their journey to musical excellence?

These are young singers who are already working toward musical excellence. PaTRAM has come alongside them to take them to the next level. We do that through masterclasses and through performances, with the hope that once they go through the performance, they will be ready to go back to their home choirs to lead those choirs toward musical excellence.

The time to do this is now – while they are interested. They are waiting, and they are ready. We want to act to keep that interest before the world takes them elsewhere.

I’m asking you to partner with us, and I’m asking you to give.

That’s how you partner with us. You partner with us through your giving -- not because of the money -- but because the money is an outward reflection of where your heart is.

You can give $25 -- and if you give $25, you may not think that’s much -- but to us, you are saying, “I’m with you. I’m in this with you. I want to partner with you.”

Here are some of the ways your gift can make a difference.

A gift of $25 can sponsor sheet music and books for our singers
A gift of $60 can sponsor a lesson with a master teacher
A gift of $100 can sponsor meals for our students
A gift of $250 will help cover the cost of transportation and lodging
A gift of $600 would cover the complete cost of one student’s pre-concert lessons

If you are capable of giving a larger gift,

A gift of $1,000 would provide a complete scholarship for one student
A gift of $5,000 would sponsor a concert

You can click the Give Now button on the top right to make a gift now.

Here’s what your support means: it means we advance our mission to improve the prayerful sound and quality of Orthodox church singing.

Our singers will have two opportunities to participate in concerts this fall as a part of their journey to musical excellence.

Live performances are an integral part of learning and achieving musical excellence. Lessons with master teachers are step one. Step two is showcasing newly acquired skills, gaining confidence and giving the notes on a page a voice. Concerts are a vehicle to share the splendor of orthodox music with humanity. The Osanna Chamber Ensemble is scheduled to perform two more concerts in the 2023 season. The concert in October will feature the unique and influential music of Bortniansky, and the December concert will be a celebration of the Christmas season.

You can be a part of this journey to musical excellence by giving a gift today.

EVERY DOLLAR of your gift will go towards PaTRAM Institute’s educational and performance programs because ALL PaTRAM Institute’s administrative costs are supported by grants from the Lukianov Family Foundation.

Beautiful, sacred music literally transforms people. Ordinary people who have never heard the heavenly sounds of traditional liturgical singing become believers. Music aficionados who know exactly what high-quality music should sound like, are stunned by this new emotional volcano. Amateur singers learn to sing on a completely new level. Inspiration, emotion, faith – music has the power to spark this in all of us. PaTRAM Institute is committed to sharing this gift with all who will listen.

By giving a gift, you demonstrate that you too are committed to sharing that gift with all who will listen.

Thank you for your commitment to our faith and the values we share, and for your belief that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the power of beautiful sacred music.

If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to reach out to me at tgeringer@patraminstitute.org.

Together, we can share the splendor of Russian Orthodox choral music together with its astounding spiritual depth with the next generation and, ultimately, at a parish near you.

Sincerely,
Tatiana Geringer
Chief Executive Officer

P.S. We believe that providing this support to these 30 singers will inspire the next group of singers to begin their own journeys to musical excellence. And PaTRAM will be there for them, too. That’s how movements are born.

We will be posting frequent updates regarding our campaign progress to our social media accounts. Make sure you follow us and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/patraminstitute and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/patram_inst/

From Young Voices to God’s Ears

By Patriarch Tikhon Russian American Music Institute

From Young Voices to God’s Ears