Anastasia Shmytova is a musicologist and soprano from Saint Petersburg, Russia. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Musicology from the Saint Petersburg State University and Bard College. Her dissertation, titled “Musical, Liturgical and Aesthetic Change in Seventeenth-century Russia”, explores the political and religious turbulence of the seventeenth century in Muscovy and the effects these crises had on the liturgical music of the Russian Orthodox Church. Her project has received support from the Alvin H. Johnson AMS 50 Dissertation Fellowship, the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, and the Center for Culture, Society and Religion. In addition to her research, Anastasia sings with the Princeton University Chamber Choir, the Aquinas Institute Choral Scholars, Osanna Chamber Ensemble, and Chronos Ensemble. She is the founder and director of “Demestvo”, an ensemble that performs Slavic medieval chant and early polyphony.
