After the Great Kantō earthquake of September 1 , 1923 , severely damaged the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo , the then Archbishop Sergius often visited Harbin to obtain support for restoring the Cathedral . Amongst his activities , Sergius was looking for a capable leader for the choir at the cathedral . Among the candidates that the archbishop interviewed he liked the music of Victor Pokrovsky who was directing the choir at the Holy Theotokos Church in Harbin . Invited by the archbishop , Victor moved to Japan in 1924 to form a full-scale choir at the Holy Resurrection Cathedral and to introduce the new Russian masterpieces , such as those by Arkhangelsky and Kastalsky
Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
Victor Pokrovsky