ISOCM Members Participate in Orthodox Church Festival

Pomorie, Bulgaria – Members of the International Society for Orthodox Church Music (ISOCM) recently participated in the 7th annual International Festival of Orthodox Music "The Theotokos: It is Truly Meet," which took place here 9-13 June 2010.

Among those participating were ISOCM members Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, who served as chairman of the festival, along with Stefan Harkov, Bogdan Djakovic, Vera Carina, and Fr. Ivan Moody, ISOCM Board chairman, who participated in seminars which were held during the festival.

The festival has already established itself as a renowned venue for Christian Orthodox choirs from many countries, welcoming this year more than 30 choirs from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, and Bulgaria. Concerts were held in local Pomorie churches and at outdoor venues, including an open-air stage which attracted large audiences of local residents and tourists.

Festival participants were especially pleased to have Fr. Ivan participate by presenting a lecture and participating in a round table discussions focused on the contemporary problems of Orthodox music and choral singing around the world.

The festival, which received the blessing of His Grace Ioanikij, Bishop of Sliven, is organized by the Municipality of Pomorie, the Sliven Diocese, and the Cultural Centеr “Slavyanska Besseda”- Sofia received local media coverage: http://www.bnr.bg/sites/en/Music/Pages/2306IvanMoody.aspx

For more photos and information about the festival, click here: http://www.orthodoxvoices.org/index.php?page=story&objid=144