WITH war ongoing between Ukraine and Russia, one of Melbourne\u2019s premiere choirs will be visiting to share a simple message.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, 9 July, the Melbourne Bach Choir will take to Ballarat Central Uniting Church to perform A Concert for Peace, celebrating music of 20th century Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n
The event\u2019s director and conductor Rick Prakhoff is of Ukrainian descent, and said the concert will serve as \u201ca statement of support.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s happening in Ukraine is absolutely awful, and this is in support of those that are suffering,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve selected music by two Ukrainian composers to open the program, and many of the pieces were written during significant wartime strife in those regions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s also a Russian connection because during the Soviet Union, there wasn\u2019t really a distinction between the two, so both countries almost own these pieces as much as the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s celebrating the music, not the politics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prakhoff will conduct a choir of over 30, accompanied by chamber strings and Ballarat expat Calvin Bowman on organ.<\/p>\n
The concert will feature works by notable Eastern European composers like Mykola Lysenko and Valentin Silvestrov, alongside pieces like Samuel Barber\u2019s Adagio.<\/p>\n
Prakhoff arranged the program, and the piece he\u2019s most excited about is Zolt\u00e1n Kod\u00e1ly\u2019s Missa Brevis, written in the Budapest Opera House\u2019s cellar during World War Two when Prakhoff\u2019s father fled Ukraine.<\/p>\n
He said the choir is a \u201cluxury casting\u201d for both himself and Ballarat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to share this inspiring music with the people of Ballarat with both organ and a string ensemble at the same time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think these are very rewarding pieces to listen and the theme of peace is a universal one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickets are $40, concession $35 and students and children are $20, To book visit bit.ly\/38PCQtN.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WITH war ongoing between Ukraine and Russia, one of Melbourne\u2019s premiere choirs will be visiting to share a simple message. On Saturday, 9 July, the Melbourne Bach Choir will take to Ballarat Central Uniting Church to perform A Concert for Peace, celebrating music of 20th century Eastern Europe. The event\u2019s director and conductor Rick Prakhoff […]<\/p>\n