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            Dobro nam dosli to
70th Annual SSF Singing Festival

Festival Information:

      - SSF festival Srbobran article
      - Festival driving direction
      - Festival hotels
      - Festival schedule of events

Petar Krstich Choir
The Petar Krstich Choir, an active member choir of the Serbian Singing Federation, sings
for Sunday Divine Liturgies and selected other services. It has been under the musical
direction of Slobodan Zelich for many years. Assistant directors are Nino Karas and Mary
Lynn Ricci. The choir regularly travels for concerts in other parishes and for the annual
Serbian Singing Federation Festival. Choir practice is each Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM.

The Petar Krstich Choir was formed in 1943 as the Mirjana Choir of Holy Resurrection
Serbian Orthodox Church in Steubenville, Ohio. Their first public concert was held in
1946. That same year, the choir took the name of the prominent Serbian composer and
director, Petar Krstich. In 1948 the Choir was received as a member of the Serbian
Singing Federation by the Federation’s Executive Secretary, Vlajko Lugonja, with SSS St.
Elijah of Aliquippa as sponsor.

The Petar Krstich Choir—also known as the “PK” Choir—has been a regular participant
in the annual SSF Choral Festivals and has been selected as Honored Guest Choir of
the Festival four times. Over the years, the Choir has sponsored four choirs for
membership in the SSF.

The PK Choir has been honored by invitations to sing all over the United States and
Canada. They have performed on radio and television and have sung for special events
at the request of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada, the
Movement of Serbian Chetniks “Ravna Gora,” the Serb National Defense of Canada, and
the Serb National Federation. The Choir, however, is first and foremost a church liturgical
choir, singing the responses in both Church Slavonic and in English faithfully at the
Divine Liturgy and many other services in their home parish.

The Petar Krstich Choir has been led by their well-known and widely respected director,
Slobodan Zelich, since 1960. Mr. Zelich has expanded the repertoire of the Choir
enormously through his own arrangements and compositions, the most recent of which
was performed at the 2003 Festival. He has also added numerous selections by other
composers to the Choir’s lengthy list of favorites. Mr. Zelich has been a leading
proponent of Serbian choral music in the United States; and his compositions and
arrangements of Serbian patriotic, liturgical, and folk music have done much to keep this
tradition alive.

The Petar Krstich Choir has produced five recordings that showcase their favorite
liturgical and folk selections. They are Songs of the Serbian People and Bells of
Visoki Decani, which are LP recordings; Kosovski Bozuri and Za Krst Casni i
Slobodu Zlatnu, which are cassette tapes; and the most recent production, A Portrait
of Orthodox Hymns and Serbian Folk Music, which is available in both cassette and
CD format.