National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine Comes Harris Center, 3/19

Considered to be one of the finest symphony orchestras in Eastern Europe, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (NSOU) was entrusted with the premier performances of works by Prokofiev and Shostakovich, and joined by soloists like Artur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, and many more.

Their Folsom performance features award-winning conductor Theodore Kuchar. He is the most recorded conductor of his generation with over 100 compact discs, "an extremely exciting and talented conductor, and his take-no-prisoners approach works very well in this colorful music" (ClassicsToday.com). Of the featured soloist, The Times notes Ukraine-born violinist "Dima Tkachenko's articulation of ungovernable passions was properly breathtaking... Tkachenko brought timbral variation and lyrical charm."

Program includes: Giuseppe Verdi: Overture to La Forza del Destino; Yevhen Stankovych: Violin Concerto No. 2; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: "Pathetique" Symphony No. 6.

The performance by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine takes place on Sunday, March 19, 2017 at 2 pm. Tickets are $34-$59; Premium $64; children and Students with ID $25. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street. Media Sponsor for the lecture is Capital Public Radio.

Formed by the Council of Ministers of Ukraine in November of 1918, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine is considered to be one of the finest symphony orchestras in Eastern Europe. Its first conductor was Oleksander Horilyj. Natan Rachlin was the Artistic Director of the Orchestra from 1937 until 1962. Stefan Turchak, Volodymyr Kozhuchar, Fedir Hlushchenko, Igor Blazhkov and Theodore Kuchar consequently conducted the Orchestra as its Principal Conductors. Other conductors who worked with the NSOU include Leopold Stokowski, Igor Markevitch, Kurt Sanderling, Evgeny Mravinsky, Kiril Kondrashin, Evgeny Svetlanov, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Soloists who performed with the NSOU include Artur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Emil Gilels, Leonid Kogan, Gidon Kremer, OlehKrysa, Monserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, and Juan Diego Flores.

The NSOU was entrusted with the premier performances of the works of the following composers: Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Aram Khatchaturian, Boris Lyatoshynsky, Valentyn Silvestrov, Myroslav Skoryk, and Evgen Stankovych.

The Orchestra has gained international recognition over a remarkably short period of time. After an appearance in Moscow, Dmitri Shostakovich commented: "This orchestra has as distinguished a group of performers as one would be likely to find anywhere. The ensemble of the orchestra is of the highest level. In addition, the various soloists and instrumental groups within the Orchestra play exceptionally and complement each other beautifully - as would the greatest of the world's symphony orchestras."

Since 1993, the NSOU has released more than 100 sound recordings which include both Ukrainian and international repertoires. Most of these recordings have received the highest international acclaim.

THEODORE KUCHAR, Conductor Laureate

The multiple award-winning conductor Theodore Kuchar is the most recorded conductor of his generation and appears on over 100 compact discs for the Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Ondine and Marco Polo labels. For the past 20 years, he has served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of two of Europe's leading orchestras, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly the Czech Radio Orchestra) and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine In the 2011-12 season he commenced his tenure as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela.

Highlights of the past several seasons have included a four-week, 20 concert tour of the USA with the Czech Symphony Orchestra and guest conducting engagements including the BBC Symphony, BBC National Symphony Orchestra of Wales (filling in on one day's notice to conduct Josef Suk's epic Asrael Symphony), Berlin Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, and Munich Philharmonic.

He has collaborated with major artists including James Galway, Shlomo Mintz, Jessye Norman, Lynn Harrell, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Chang, Mstislav Rostropovich, Joshua Bell and Frederica von Stade, among others.

DIMA TKACHENKO, violin

"Tkachenko's articulation of ungovernable passions was properly breathtaking...

... Tkachenko brought timbral variation and lyrical charm." (The Times)

Ukraine-born violinist Dima Tkachenko started playing the violin and piano before the age of 6. He studied at the Lysenko Music School in Kyiv, graduating to the National Music Academy of Ukraine (former Kyiv Conservatoire) studying under Bogodar Kotorovych and Jaroslava Rivniak. Later, he was awarded the Guildhall School Concert Recital Diploma (Premier Prix) and was a prize-winner at several international violin competitions including the Carl Nielsen Competition (Odense, Denmark), the Lysenko Competition (Kyiv, Ukraine) and the Wronski Solo Violin Competition (Warsaw, Poland).

He has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas and has been broadcast on Ukrainian Radio and TV, ORT and Kultura Russian TV, Danish Radio, Polish Radio and TV and on BBC Radio 3 in the UK. He performed at such venues as London's Wigmore Hall, Barbican and Cadogan Hall, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Cologne Philharmonie, Moscow's Great Hall of the Conservatoire, Liszt Academy Hall in Budapest, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Megaron in Athens, Palau de Musica in Barcelona and Auditorio Nacional in Madrid.

This Year Marks Six Seasons of Great Shows. Up Close. In Folsom!

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences featuring the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts over 400 events attracting more than 150,000 annually.

(Photo Credit: Harris Center)

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