Don Kosaken Chor Serge Jaroff

Serge Jaroff (1896–1985), the legendary conductor and choir master, studied church music at the Synodal Academy. In 1919, as a Cossack lieutenant fleeing Bolshevik rule, he ended up near Istanbul, where in 1920 he founded the Don Cossack Choir. In 1923 the ensemble debuted in the Vienna Hofburg, and worldwide recognition followed. Over the decades the choir became very popular in Europe and the United States thanks to its unique sound, high performing mastery and vividly expressed character.

Zharov’s work was continued by Wanja Hlibka (born 1948), the youngest soloist of the original choir, who performed with it until the end of the group’s activity. In the 1980s and 1990s Hlibka revived the choir, renewed the repertoire, preserved the singing traditions of the original choir and added contemporary colours. Today Don Kosaken is an old German brand and a German company, with great popularity in Germany and Austria. Alongside Zharov’s traditional songs the repertoire has gained many Ukrainian folk songs, Christmas carols and new sacred repertoire, as well as world hits and cover versions. The ensemble consists almost entirely of Ukrainian singers, including outstanding performers of earlier years.

Since 2023, under the direction of Pjotr Morozov, who previously spent over twenty years on the world’s opera stages and founded and conducted several projects, the choir has entered a new rise and flowering: new colours and nuances have appeared in its sound, and new, younger audiences from contemporary generations have started coming to concerts. Wanja Hlibka personally entrusted the artistic direction to Pjotr Morozov.