Returning to Perry for a second annual performance, the choral group LYRA will be in concert Tuesday, April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Perry Performing Arts Center in the Perry Fine Arts concert series.
LYRA’s a capella program consists of sacred music of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian folk music, with a sprinkling of witty English commentary between songs.
The quintet is led by its manager and baritone vocalist Sergey Tupitsyn, who is joined by soprano Anna Makarenko, tenor Denis Patsiuk, mezzo-soprano Olga Turkina and and bass Jury Gerasimov, all postgraduate scholars at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Russia’s premier musical academy and the equivalent of the Juilliard School in New York City.
LYRA formed in 1994, according to Tupitsyn, and is composed of 15 to 20 members. The group’s overseas tours usually include four to six members. They also regularly perform in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Great Britain, Ireland and Sweden.
This will be the choral ensemble’s second visit to Perry.
The singers don formal evening wear for the sacred selections and then wear traditional peasant costumes for the second part of the performance, when Russian folk songs fill the air.
Honors have accumulated around the LYRA. The ensemble was awarded the Montreux (Switzerland) international choral festival diploma in 2001, and in 2005 LYRA was a winner of Coleraine International Choral Festival (Northern Ireland).
Cathy Clark, director of the Perry Fine Arts programs, said LYRA offers Perry-area people a chance to “enjoy an evening of beautiful music and learn a little about the Russian culture as well.”
The next event in the Perry Fine Arts calendar is the 41st annual Musical Extravaganza and Ice Cream Social, July 4 at the First United Methodist Church in Perry.
Perry Fine Arts concerts are free and open to the public. In order to maintain the high quality of the Perry Fine Arts concerts, the non-profit organization depends on tax-deductible donations. For more information, contact Cathy Clark, cecat49@msn.com.
More people need to attend these fine concerts. For a community our size, it is disappointing that more people do not attend. Many communities wish they had concerts and programs like the Perry Fine Arts presents. Please attend.