I attended the Russian Orthodox Church Musicians' Conference for the first time this year with my parents and one of my brothers. My mother is the choir director in our church, my father is the priest, and I'm often the only bass in the choir (not to mention newly tonsured Reader), so the conference was something we not only wanted, but needed to attend. It was one of the most enjoyable events of my life. One factor that made the whole conference more beneficial to me and many others was that this year, for the first time, the lectures and workshops were done entirely in English. Besides the many informative lectures and workshops on subjects such as choir directing, using the Typicon and the history of church music, as well as attending choir practice under several very accomplished choir directors, I had a rare chance to sing the Divine Services with a hundred and fifty Orthodox people who, like me, truly love singing the music of the Church. I feel that in Church, music and prayer are so closely intertwined with one another that it is nearly impossible to separate the two. It was a wonderful experience to hear and be a part of 150 voices joyously glorifying God all at once. If you love singing the divine services, the ROCM Conference is an event not to be missed.