ISOCM Board Chair Speaks in Serbia and Russia

Negotin, Serbia - Father Ivan Moody, ISOCM Board Chair recently gave the keynote lecture "Mokranjac as Cultural Icon," during the Mokranjac Days held here, September 12-20, 2014 honoring the legacy of Serbian composer Stefan Mokranjac. The lecture was presented at the Mokranjac House Museum where the composer was born in 1856.

In addition to presenting the keynote lecture, Father Ivan also directed the festival choir in workshops and a concert of contemporary Orthodox church music, with colleagues Bogdan Djakovic (working on Mokranjac's own music), and Predrag Djokovic (Serbian church chant). The concert, held on 16 September, was recorded by Belgrade Radio.

Moscow, Russia - Father Ivan also spoke recently in Moscow, at the International Academic Conference From Taverner to Tavener: Five Centuries of English Sacred Music, held at the Moscow Conservatory, here September 21-23, 2014. The well attended conference featured presentations by David Skinner, Fellow, Praelector, and Osborn Director of Music at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, a very well-attended and lively discussion with Peter Phillips, conductor of the Tallis Scholars, and presentations by Ekaterina Antonenko, conductor of Intrada, musicologist Roman Nasonov, and Father Ivan who spoke on the music of John Tavener.

The Tallis Scholars, around whom the festival centered, sang compositions by both the 16th century composer John Taverner and the 20th century composer John Tavener, while Intrada sang Pärt, Stravinsky, Tavener and the renaissance English composer Robert Fayrfax.

The festival was a project of the British Council in Moscow, held at the Moscow Conservatory, and served as a unique conjunction of cultural circumstances.

A transcript of Fr Ivan's interview is available here.