Digital Premiere—Celebrating Arvo Pärt at The Met

The musical language of revered Estonian composer Arvo Pärt was forged in the crucible of some of the worst atrocities of the 20th and 21st centuries. Throughout his seven-decade career, he has turned to spirituality and music to find a path forward.

As we watch the devastating violence inflicted on Ukraine—a mere 700 km from the Estonian border—we present the world premiere of Pärt’s haunting O Holy Father Nicholas, a remarkable composition about peace, faith, and rebuilding that was commissioned by Nektarios S. Antoniou for The Schola Cantorum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work was created to celebrate the rededication of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and the National Shrine at Ground Zero in New York City.

This world premiere, which took place in The Met’s majestic and timeless Temple of Dendur on October 31, 2021, was performed by Artefact Ensemble, Benedict Sheehan, director.

The Met dedicates this Digital Premiere to the people of Ukraine.

Learn more about the event: https://www.metmuseum.org/-/media/fil...

This program is made possible by the Adrienne Arsht Fund for Resilience through Art, William H. Wright II and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and David Bushler.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is on the island known as Mannahatta—now called Manhattan—in Lenapehoking, the homeland of the Lenape people.

Artefact Ensemble and Experiential Orchestra wish to thank the Lapchuk and Hoff
Families, Alexander and Taylor Thomas, the PaTRAM Institute, and Saint Tikhon’s
Monastery for their generous sponsorship. Thanks also to our other gracious donors:
His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America; the Antiochian
Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (whose mother cathedral is St.
Nicholas in Brooklyn); His Excellency Ambassador Sven Jürgenson of the Permanent
Mission of Estonia to the United Nations; Consul General Ms. Kairi Künka, Consulate
General of Estonia in New York; Rebecca Rasmussen; Zoe Turton; Joachim Wyslutsky;
Deacon Michael Abrahamson; Father Peter and Chelsea Simko; The Treasury NYC LLC;
Greece in USA; Stephen Tserpelis; and The Kallinikeion Foundation.

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