MILFORD, PA — Violinist Mikhail Kopelman and cellist Yosif Feigelson will perform a variety of Ukrainian and other music on Saturday, August 19 at 5:30 p.m. at Grey Towers National Historic Site. This is the third concert in Kindred Spirits Arts Program’s 2023 Summer Concert Series and will be held under an open-air canopy at the site’s pool pavilion. 

The musicians will be joined by Kopelman's former student, violinist Olga Tourkina, in a string trio by Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912). 

The concert will also feature violin and cello duets by the Kiev-born Reinhard Gliére (1875-1955). Both composers represent the Romantic style in classical music.

Mikhail Kopelman graduated from the Moscow Conservatory. A former member of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and concertmaster of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kopelman was appointed first violin of the legendary Borodin String Quartet in 1976, and played with the ensemble for two decades.

From 1980-1993, Kopelman was on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory, teaching both solo violin and string quartet. 

He immigrated to the United States in 1993 to become a first violinist of the illustrious Tokyo Quartet. He has received many awards and played in festivals around the world. He has taught and served on juried competitions worldwide and has numerous recordings. 

Since 2002, he has been a professor of violin at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music.

Olga Tourkina graduated from Eastman School of Music for violin. She grew up in a musical family in Mexico where she started to play violin when she was eight years old. Her family originated in the Sumy region of Ukraine. By the time she was 12, she performed as a soloist with multiple orchestras. 

Based currently in New York City, she is an active concert violinist, teacher and member of various orchestras throughout the tri-state area and Pennsylvania. Besides classical music, Olga and her husband Philipp—an acclaimed Bulgarian pianist—enjoy playing various musical genres, including rock. 

She will join Kopelman and Feigelson in the “String Trio” by Mykola Lysenko. 

“I am delighted to bring a rarely performed Lysenko’s music to Milford. I am humbled to honor this major Ukrainian composer particularly as the nation endures the devastating war,” Feigelson said. 

Born in 1842, Lysenko, a descendant of an aristocratic Cossack family, learned to play piano from his mother and developed a love of Ukrainian music and folklore from his grandparents. 

After graduating from university with a degree in natural sciences, he decided to study Ukrainian music and opened his own music school in 1904. He worked as a composer, conductor, pianist, teacher and community figure, cultivating a network of patriotic Ukrainians. His compositions include folk songs, sonatas, theater music and choral works.

In 1885, he composed the patriotic hymn “Prayer for Ukraine” during a period when Ukrainian culture and language were suppressed by the government of Imperial Russia. The song became the regular closing hymn in church services and gained national significance when it was performed by mass choirs during the Ukrainian War of Independence in 1917-1920. It is considered the spiritual anthem of Ukraine and is performed at major national functions and around the world in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“What’s truly special about Lysenko’s trio is it allows the performers to decide the instruments. It can be played by a group consisting of a violin, a viola and a cello; or two violins and viola; or in our case, two violins and a cello,” said Feigelson. 

Tickets and other information

Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased in advance at kindredspiritsarts.org/#content, at Eventbrite.com and at the door. Space is limited, so buy tickets early. 

For an entire year's schedule, visit www.kindredspiritsarts.org/schedule.

About Kindred Spirits

Kindred Spirits Arts Programs (KSAP), the producer of this series, is a nonprofit organization of volunteers that brings performing artists to Northeast Pennsylvania. KSAP also arranges educational enrichment programs for area students. 

To learn more and support KSAP, visit www.kindredspiritsarts.org, email  kindredspir@yahoo.com or call 570/390 8699.