Welcome Meet the Artistic Director
In the 20th century, tragic events dispersed the people of Russia. Facing loss, adversity, and isolation from their motherland, Russian refugees settled around the world and safeguarded their musical and religious heritage: they built churches, preserved the customs of their faith, continued sacred and secular musical performance practices that were forbidden at home, and drew on tradition to create new art.
The Rachmaninoff Festival Choir of America (RFCA) — named after the Russian emigration’s most renowned musician — shares and promotes the traditions of sacred and secular music, as preserved and advanced by Russians in emigration. Founded to unify the musical talents of the North American Russian Diaspora and to strengthen cultural and spiritual ties between Russia and America, the choir’s programs are executed at the highest levels of artistry, in the cultural capitals of the United States and abroad.
The International Rachmaninoff Russian Music Festival, a project of the RFCA, celebrates the musical and cultural achievements of the Russian emigration by bringing together the best talents of the Diaspora for performances of the great works of Russian repertoire at the highest artistic level.