Russian Choir looking for Venues in MD/DC/VA/NJ (early April) to replace two venue cancelations

New Announcement

Russian Choir looking for Venues in MD/DC/VA/NJ (early April) to replace two venue cancelations

Date: March 23, 2013

by Daniel Abraham

Views: 725

Location: Maryland, USA

Dear ACDA Colleagues (particularly MD/DC/NoVA/NJ):

I've been in contact with the director of a Choir from Ural region of Russia -- Vita in Canto, a women's choir from the Ural State University of Economics in Yekaterinburg. They will be touring the eastern US in early April. Two of their tour stop have recently fallen through and they are looking to try to replace them. As you all know, tours can be such a puzzle and one or two missing pieces make for something rather incomplete!

They are happy to present a full evening performance, something mid-day, or a program and exchange with a school. Below are the dates they are looking to program. Also attached are bios and their tour program (a pretty diverse and interesting selection of works including world music, Russian art and folk music, and some selections by US composers). Their director, Yuly Kopkin, received his masters last year under Geoffrey Boers at the University of Washington.

I hope that someone in these areas can provide a venue for this group during their travels and host a program.

Dates they are looking to replace:

DC/NoVA/MD: Friday, April 5 or Tuesday, April 9
Atlantic City, NJ area: Wednesday, April 10 or Thursday, April 11

Please pass this along to others who may have an interest. Yuly's direct email address is: yulyk@uw.edu (and feel free to CC me: dabraham@american.edu)

If someone is interested, I am sure Yuly can provide audio and additional publicity materials immedaitely.

Many thanks!
Dan Abraham

American University (Washington, DC)

VITA IN CANTO

CELEBRATION
of Hope, Light and Joy

Bern Herbolsheimer, b.1948 (USA): “BLESSED”

WORLD
Hinewehi Mohi, b.1964 (New Zealand), Jaz Coleman, b.1960 (UK):“KIHI KIHI” (Cicada), a contemporary piece based on a Maori chant; arr. Ella Buchanan Hanify
Stanislaw Moniuszko, 1819-72 (Poland): “GRADUALE” (from Sacred Mass)
David Brunner, b.1953 (USA): “YO LE CANTO TODO EL DIA” (I Sing to You All Day Long)
Jussi Chydenius, b.1972 (Finland): “KUN SAISIN MITA SANELEN” (I Got All That I Dreamt of)

RUSSIA
Elena Samarina, b.1955: “CHETYRE VETRA” (The Four Winds), based on a Russian folk song
Alexandra Pakhmutova, b.1929: “OY KUPALO” (Midsummer Night)
Russian folk song “NA GORKE” (On the Hill), arr. Natalia Levi
Russian folk song “BELY SNEG VYPADAL” (Snow Was Falling), arr. Vladislav Grebyonkin
Peter Tchaikovsky, 1840-93: “PRIRODA I LUBOV” (Celebration of Nature and Love)
Andrey Eshpai, b.1925: “VOSPOMINANIYA” (Memories), arr. Yuly Kopkin and Elena Boldyreva
David Tukhmanov, b.1940: “KAK PREKRASEN ETOT MIR!” (How Beautiful This World Is!), arr. Yuly Kopkin, Elena Boldyreva and Stanislav Sitnikov

USA
Allen Pote, b.1945: “GOD IS OUR REFUGE”, arr. Yuly Kopkin and Elena Boldyreva
Robert Lowry, 1826-99: “HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING?”, arr. Robert Hugh
African-American Spiritual “MUSIC DOWN IN MY SOUL”, arr. Moses Hogan

The choir VITA IN CANTO was formed at the Ural State University of Economics (USUE) in March 2003. The participants of the choir are current and former students of the university as well as members of the thriving musical community of the city of Ekaterinburg, Russia. Known primarily for its unique location by the border of Europe and Asia, Ekaterinburg is also an important center of arts, culture, industry, and commerce.

The USUE was founded in 1967 and is now one of the largest public universities in Ekaterinburg. VITA IN CANTO is the first choral ensemble in the history of the school.

It did not take the choir long to become one of the leading university choirs in Ekaterinburg and to receive international recognition. VITA IN CANTO is a prize-winner of a number of international festivals and competitions, including:
* 30th Tampere Vocal Music Festival; Tampere, Finland, 2005: Silver award
* 5th Martinu International Choir Competition; Pardubice, Czech Republic, 2007: Silver award
* Christmas in Russia; Ekaterinburg, Russia, 2009: Golden award
* Musical Spring; Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2009: First place award
* Eurasia Cantat; Ekaterinburg, Russia, 2011: First place award

The choir’s diverse repertoire includes Black Gospel, African American spirituals, popular songs, sacred works by US and European composers, world music, works by contemporary composers.

Yuly Kopkin – founder and director of the choir. He studied choral conducting at Tchaikovsky Regional College of Music and the Ural State Mussorgsky Conservatory, both in Ekaterinburg. He earned a degree of Master of Music at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA) on a Fulbright fellowship in 2012. His conducting work has been acknowledged with awards at a number of national and international choir competitions. In 2007, he initiated the annual festival of choral music at the USUE with joint performance opportunities for the university choirs of Ekaterinburg. The first festival was dedicated to the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia and endorsed by the members of the US diplomatic community in Ekaterinburg.