Goldstar Member Reviews

Toni

Wonderful concert of Russian-themed music played on traditional Russian musical instruments. There were featured numbers by outstanding special performers. The concert was long but every number was exciting.

Written on Jun 08 2009

report as inappropriate

• 0 Good To Know
• 0 I Like Your Writing
• 0 I Went And I Agree

More Information About Those Were the Days

Website

http://www.balalaika.org/balalaika___upcoming_converts_and_events.htm

Description

<p>Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra
Svetlana Nikonova - Conductor</p> <p>The Metropolitan Chorus
Barry S. Hemphill - Artistic Director</p> <p>Alexander Tsygankov - domra soloist
Andrei Savaliev - balalaika soloist</p> <p>In 1988, eight musicians met in a basement to form an ensemble playing Russian folk music on traditional instruments, including the balalaika, domra and gusli. Billed as the Washington Balalaika Society, their first concert was at a small club in Alexandria, The Birchmere. Twenty years later, they will return to Alexandria, this time at the outstanding Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center. The Washington Balalaika Society, having grown to a 65-member orchestra and led by a gifted conservatory-trained Russian conductor, has played at venues that include the Kennedy Center Concert Hall and Carnegie Hall, and has been acknowledged as the premier Russian folk orchestra in America. It has also been recognized for its excellence and contributions to the community by being the recipient of grants from the arts commissions of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The 20th Anniversary Concert will be a true celebratory festival of Russian and Eastern European folk and classical music. Consistent with the theme "Those Were the Days", the concert will feature some very special soloists and arrangements prepared especially by the conductor, Svetlana Nikonova. These include thrilling classical selections by composers such as Khachaturian, Gliere, and Borodin, and captivating domra and balalaika solos such as Dark Eyes and Two Guitars. A number of these pieces have been widely popular with our audiences over the years. In addition to the orchestra, you will enjoy the acclaimed 90-member Metropolitan Chorus of Arlington, under the direction of Barry Hemphill. They will join us in several rousing selections, including the exotic Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances". We think you will be amazed and enchanted by the virtuosity of our featured artists including the world's leading domra soloist, Alexander Tsygankov, and the masterful and emotional balalaika presentations of Andre Saveliev.

Other festivities include special lobby displays and performances by a WBS ensemble, unveiling of the orchestra's new costumes, and an introduction by Mayor of the City of Alexandria, William Euille.

More about the Conductor:
Artistic Director Svetlana Nikonova, who joined the WBS in 2003, has brought new depth of artistry and performance to the Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra.  A graduate of one of Russia's preeminent postgraduate conservatories with a degree in conducting as well as a former professional orchestra musican herself, she understands the individual needs of the orchestra's members and has a keen appreciation for the preparation and presentation of our repertoire to the Washington area's discerning audiences.

Svetlana is also an experienced and gifted orchestral arranger, able to adapt musical selections from folk to classical to the specific strengths of our musicians and sections.  As one of our players commented, "Svetlana makes great music easy for us to play."  That she can do this without sacrificing in any respect the quality of the music in performance is indeed a tribute to her craftsmanship and dedication.  Most of the arrangements played in concert by the WBS today are Svetlana's, and our audiences are consistent in their praise both for the quality of the repertoire and its presentation.

Ms. Nikonova is also a professional domra soloist, performing with her husband, bayanist Vladimir Zakharevich, and contrabass balalaikist  Andrei Saveliev as The St. Petersburg Trio. She also performs with The Washington Balalaikas, a sextet for which she prepares original arrangements, featuring Andrei Saveliev as prima balalaka soloist.</p>

About the Ticket Supplier: Washington Balalaika Society

The Washington Balalaika Society was founded in 1988 by a group of Washington-area musicians interested in studying and performing the music of Russia, Ukraine and eastern Europe on traditional Russian folk instruments -- the balalaika, domra, bayan and related folk wind and percussion instruments.