MANHATTAN  — The acclaimed new album celebrating Rachmaninoff, featuring Great Bend native and K-State music professor Bryan Pinkall, is topping the music charts around the world.  Following his success as artistic director of the production of the 2014 Olympic Opening Ceremony the award-winning assistant professor of music at Kansas State University performs on the recording of Rachmaninoff’s “All-Night Vigil” with two Grammy-winning ensembles.  Since its release on March 10, the album has reached No. 1 on iTunes, Amazon, and on Thursday it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Classical Albums and Traditional Classical music charts.
“All-Night Vigil” features conductor Charles Bruffy, his two Grammy award-winning professional choirs, the Kansas City Chorale  of which Pinkall is a member  and the Phoenix Chorale, and several soloists including Pinkall.
“Recording this piece was a very emotional experience for me, Pinkall said. “I am honored that so many people from around the world are also finding meaning and joy from this music, but to top the Billboard Charts, I cant believe it.”
The album was released on March 10, the 100th anniversary of the first performance of Rachmaninoffs masterpiece and was only the second classical music album ever selected for iTunes Radio First Play. It is available for purchase at http://www.iTunes.com/AllNightVigil.
Pinkall teaches studio voice and Italian diction at Kansas State University. He performs across the United States as a soloist in many early music and baroque ensembles and has performed leading roles in operas and has been regularly featured as a soloist with the Kansas City Symphony.  He helped to produce the 2014 Olympic Opening Ceremony in Sochi and is helping to produce the scholarship benefit concert K-State Rhapsody, at the Kauffman Center (www.kauffmancenter.org) in Kansas City on May 10.
“The beautiful thing about this album for me is that whether you are a classical music fan or not, you will know that we are singing from our hearts,”  Pinkall said.  “I’m very thankful to Chandos, Naxos, iTunes, and everyone who made this possible so we could share it with the world.”