Cappella Romana livestreams Tchaikovsky

Cappella Romana cancelled its live audience but not its performance of Tchaikovsky's Divine Liturgy at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 14. “This is a time when the soothing and healing effect of music is needed,” they wrote their fans.

Pacific Youth Choir has opted not to take part in the concert. Their decision was made in alignment with Governor Kate Brown’s order banning gatherings of 250 or more, and with Portland Public Schools proactively suspending events that bring large groups of students, adults, and community members together.

However, the 16 professional adult singers of Cappella Romana will perform the program Saturday before their virtual audience.

The link to the video stream will be on their website, cappellaromana.org. “As you can imagine, any loss of ticket revenue has significant financial impact on us,” their message states. 

In conductor Benedict Sheehan’s notes on the performance, he writes that Russian choral artistry long enjoyed the admiration of the Western musical world. After hearing the Choir of the Imperial Chapel of St. Petersburg in 1844, composer Robert Schumann wrote in his diary that they were “the most wonderful choir we have ever had the occasion of hearing.”

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