The RUSSIAN CHAMBER CHORUS OF NEW YORK was founded in 1984 by Artistic Director and Conductor Nikolai Kachanov. Over the course of more than twenty years, the chorus has become an important musical presence in the greater New York City region. Known for its stylistic versatility and heartfelt singing, RCCNY commands a repertoire spanning many centuries and styles, from ancient liturgical chants, through Russian Baroque, classical and folk music, to world premieres by leading contemporary composers.
Among other venues, the chorus has become a regular presence in Carnegie Hall. In November 2007, RCCNY performed Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, under the direction of Yuri Temirkanov. Previously, in April 2005, RCCNY performed in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Kirov Orchestra under Valery Gergiev. New York Times reviewer Allan Kozinn described the choral sound in this performance as “glorious.” In June 2004, RCCNY performed in the American premiere of Sergei Taneyev’s opera Agamemnon (concert performance), with the Manhattan Philharmonic under Peter Tiboris, and The Aquila Theatre Company featuring Olympia Dukakis, and in June 2000 RCCNY participated in the American premiere of Mikis Theodorakis’ opera Electra (concert version).
Other Carnegie Hall mainstage appearances include participating in a benefit performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on behalf of the victims of the Kashmir earthquake, broadcast live to Pakistan from Carnegie Hall (January 2006); as well as concerts with the Czech Philharmonic under Vladimir Ashkenazy (February 2003); with the Moscow Virtuosi under Vladimir Spivakov (November 1997); at the Moscow 850th Anniversary Gala (September 1997); and with the American-Russian Youth Orchestra under Leon Botstein (Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood, June 1997). In its more standard guise as a chamber chorus, RCCNY frequently performs at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, where it has presented liturgical masterworks and a capella or lightly-accompanied jewels of the concert repertoire.
In 2001, RCCNY performed Rachmaninoff’s monumental Vespers: All-Night Vigil to sold-out audiences at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; and performed excerpts from Rachmaninoff’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at the New York Festival of Sacred Music, produced by John Schaefer and Philip Glass at the request of the Dalai Lama. That event, part of a World Festival of Sacred Music that spanned two years and 19 cities, was simulcast on WNYC-FM. In 2000, the chorus performed Rachmaninoff’s Liturgy at the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra's “Re-Encountering Rachmaninoff” festival, where James Oestreich (The New York Times) praised the group for the “suppleness and otherworldliness of its sound”; Willa Conrad (The Star-Ledger) called RCCNY “an inspired choice” and hailed the chorus’s “stylistic purity” and “exciting, spontaneous” performance.” RCCNY’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, at the Bard College “Tchaikovsky Rediscoveries” festival in 1998, was called “splendid, radiant, and sonorous” by Paul Griffith (The New York Times).
Russian Chamber Chorus performances of contemporary and little-known music have also been hailed by critics: Mr. Oestreich (The New York Times) called the chorus's “superbly prepared cantata performances” of music by Yuri Yukechev “extraordinary; richly imagined and deftly realized.” Subsequently, First Art, a radio program devoted to choral music, aired Yukechev’s My Heart is Ready across the United States. The Library of Congress used ancient znamenny chants performed by chorus members for its documentary Old Believers, part of the Great Heritage series; and performances by RCCNY have been featured on “New Sounds” with John Shaefer and “Around New York” with Fred Child (WNYC-FM). The chorus has performed contemporary music by composers including Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, Zakhar Blyakher, Feliksas Bajoras, Victor Copytsko, Efrem Podgaits, Vladimir Ryabov, Michael Zeiger, as well as original compositions and arrangements by Nikolai Kachanov. Many of these works were written specifically for RCCNY. The chorus collaborated with the Bachanalia Chamber Orchestra and Nina Beilina in a rare full-score performance of Alexander Gretchaninoff’s Liturgia Domestica; and premiered Alexei Haieff’s long-lost masterworks, Holy Week and Easter, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in April 2002.
The Chorus frequently performs at the invitation of prominent New York City cultural institutions. In November 2003, the Chorus performed a sold-out program celebrating the 300th anniversary of the city of St. Petersburg as the culminating event of the Harriman Institute Symposium, St. Petersburg Through American Eyes. In July of 2004, members of RCCNY performed in Sir John Tavener’s groundbreaking all-night vigil The Veil of the Temple at the Lincoln Center Festival, and in fall 2005 performed at the Guggenheim Museum as part of the celebration surrounding the opening of that Museum’s comprehensive exhibit of Russian art throughout the ages.
In addition to its concert performances, the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York has garnered critical acclaim for its growing catalog of recordings. RCCNY’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom was chosen by New York Times critic James Oestreich as number four on his list of the top ten classical CDs of 2001. The chorus has also recorded Yuri Yukechev’s two cantatas My Heart Is Ready and By Candlelight (Helicon). | 
