The Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra, featuring professional soloists and students from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (March 6) in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Submitted photo
OXFORD, Miss. – Traditional Russian folk music comes to the University of Mississippi Tuesday (March 6), when the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts hosts the Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra for a 7:30 p.m. performance.
Folk instrument orchestras have been part of Russian culture for more than 150 years. In recent decades, instruments such as the accordion, flute and oboe have been added to ensembles to create a unique sound.
The Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra, led by conductor Boris Varon, combines professional soloists with students from Moscow’s prestigious Gnessin Russian Academy of Music. The concert will feature popular selections and traditional Russian folk music, appealing to a broad variety to musical tastes.
“The Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra’s performance is an opportunity for our audiences to engage in other cultural traditions,” said Julia Aubrey, Ford Center director. “I believe it will appeal to arts enthusiasts of all ages.”
Tickets for the performance are available at the UM Box Office, inside the Ford Center, or online at https://olemissboxoffice.com/. They are $20 for orchestra/parterre and tier 1 box levels, $15 for mezzanine and tier 2 box levels and $12 for the balcony level. A 20 percent discount is available for UM faculty, staff and retirees when tickets are purchased at the box office. All UM student tickets are $7.
The performance, originally slated for last fall, is made possible thanks to a generous gift of $20,000 from Dr. Billy and Rebecca Long of Madison.
The gift established the FCPA Russian Folk Instrument Orchestra Fund. In 2016, the Longs traveled to Russia to attend several opera, ballet and symphony performances in Moscow and St. Petersburg and wanted to provide a way to bring these performers to the United States.
“We are excited about the future offerings at the Ford Center, and the intention to promote the performing arts to a wider audience,” Long said. “The Ford Center is an essential part of the university’s outreach to Oxford and the surrounding area, but also to our college students who wish to develop an appreciation for the performing arts, and even become a performer themselves.”
For more information, visit http://fordcenter.org/.