Valparaiso Singers deliver song, medical supplies to Russia

By Judith Stewart

Special to the Almanac
The 24-voice Valparaiso Singers, of which I am director, recently completed a humanitarian trip to Russia. Our purpose was twofold: to take much-needed medical equipment and supplies to hospitals and orphanages, and to deliver the Christian messages of hope, peace and love through our music.

The city of Voronezh was the principal recipient of our humanitarian effort. Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) had worked there earlier and paved the way.

We were connected with the right people, such as Svetlana Tchernyadeva, who volunteers as director of charities in Voronezh.

When our group of 40 arrived at the Moscow airport with more than 60 large boxes full of supplies, Svetlana met us and was overwhelmed at the sight. "I cannot believe this," she repeated over and over.

The boxes were trucked eight hours south to Voronezh while the singers stayed and performed our first concert in Moscow.

Arriving in Voronezh three days later, via a small Russian aircraft, we were taken directly to a military hospital that cares for veterans of the Chechnya war. The cargo truck was there on site, and our group had the privilege of unloading the boxes of equipment and presenting it to the medical staff.

The bronchoscope in particular was received with great gratitude.

"To say the hospital was shabby is perhaps an understatement," says David Ellison of Ladera, one of our singers. "The pharmacy and the operating room looked like something from the Fifties, and the lab was about what you would find in a California high school.

"But the doctors and nurses stood smiling in clean, starched coats, and one sensed that they cared about their professions and their patients. It was an honor to bring them help."

The next day our group toured a regional hospital for children, most of whom are orphans, and carried in dozens of boxes filled with clothing, small quilts, toys, and hospital linens.

Once again, the appreciation and gratitude was overwhelming.

I had absolutely no idea I would be giving speeches and be interviewed on radio and TV! I was unprepared.

Besides singing at the local LDS church, the Valparaiso Singers combined with the Blagovest Choir in a public concert. A music exchange had taken place earlier between directors, and both choirs learned pieces in the other's language.

We learned one of Rachmaninoff's lovely Vespers and they joined us on an American spiritual. It was fun hearing them sing "Sit Down, Servant!" with a Russian accent.

Beautiful St. Petersburg was our final destination. After a night's sleep and brief tour of the famous Hermitage museum, we were bussed two hours north to Vyborg.

Although the LDS church has three missions and many congregations in Russia, we all meet in rented buildings. This small city on the Finnish border boasts the only chapel actually constructed and owned by the church. Our concert that evening celebrated the 10th anniversary of the LDS church in this area.

As was true everywhere, the people could not believe a group would come this far to bring the gift of music and hope.

Language was never a barrier.

"None of us will ever be the same," says Mary Finlayson of Woodside. "We all received much more than we gave."

I will be eternally grateful to the singers and their spouses who accompanied me on this journey. I obviously could not have done this alone. We all paid our own travel expenses, but I thank the many members of our local churches and communities who so generously donated goods and contributed toward the purchase of the medical equipment.

Judith Stewart of Menlo Park directs the 24-voice Valparaiso Singers, who are mostly members of the LDS Church at 1105 Valparaiso Ave. in Menlo Park. For more information, call her at 854-3079.