Brown County Civic Music Association depends on dedicated volunteers for continuing to make these priceless cultural assets part of the framework of life in Green Bay. We have volunteer opportunities in numerous areas to match your talents and interests, including advertising, history/archives, hosting artists backstage, membership campaign, publicity & marketing, ushers/greeters, talent selection, fundraising and technical. We also are looking for a new president to assume leadership of the association beginning in June. We invite you to contact us at office@bccivicmusic.org or (920) 338-1801.
Day: November 15, 2015
We Need Your Support
Please remember the Brown County Civic Music Association in your end-of-year charitable giving. Your support is essential in helping us meet our mission of presenting an annual series of affordably priced concerts performed by outstanding professional artists and ensembles from around the world. We also invite you to remember Brown County Civic Music Association in your estate planning. The Brown County Civic Music Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We have been bringing world-renowned performers to Green Bay since 1927. To support BCCMA or learn more, see our Support page.
Other ways to support:
- AmazonSmile: Do your Amazon shopping via smile.amazon.com and designate Brown County Civic Music Association, Inc. as your charity to support and 0.5% of the purchase price will go to Civic Music. Find out more about AmazonSmile.
- Perkins Dine to Donate: Patronize Perkins West Green Bay (on the corner of Shawano and Military) 5-8p.m. on Wed., Nov. 18 and Wed., Dec. 16 and 10% of proceeds will go to Civic Music.
Season’s Greetings
Brown County Civic Music Association wishes you and your families a happy Thanksgiving, a joyous holiday season and a wonderful new year!
We look forward to seeing you in 2016 on:
- Saturday, March 19, with Quartetto Gelato
- Saturday, April 23, with Isthmus Brass Ensemble
- Saturday, May 21, with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
River Cities Concert Association
Use your Civic Music membership to attend a concert of your choice sponsored by the River Cities Concert Association at Blesch Auditorium in Menominee. Concerts in this series feature the Wolak-Donnelly Duo (Feb. 4) , and the Jive Aces (April 16). To arrange for tickets, contact the Civic Music office.
Post-Concert Reception
After the Accordion Virtuosi of Russia concert on Saturday, November 21, 2015, you’re invited to meet your concert-going friends at a reception at Titletown Brewing Company and nibble on complimentary snacks after the concert. A big thanks to the Titletown Brewing Company for supplying the space and the snacks.
Location: Titletown Brewing Company, 200 Dousman St, Green Bay, WI
Classics by Request
Every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on WPNE, 89.3, WPR Host Ruthanne Bessman plays listener’s classical requests on Classics by Request.
Although the WPR music library probably doesn’t include any recordings by the Accordion Virtuosi of Russia. It would work to request something on the program such as Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, the intermezzo from Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana,” Tchaikovsky’s trepak from “Nutcracker,” Bizet’s overture to “Carmen,” or Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance.”
Listeners can submit their requests online at http://www.wpr.org/classics-request or call in toll free during the show at 800-442-7106. This is a great chance to get the word out about Brown County Civic Music Association and hear the Accordion Virtuosi of Russia. Be sure to mention that they will be performing in Green Bay at the Ralph Holter Auditorium, West High School, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21.
Perkins: Dine to Donate
Perkins Restaurants will donate 10% of all sales between 5 and 8 pm to Brown County Civic Music Association at Perkins on the corner of Military and Shawano on the evenings of Wednesday, Nov. 18, and Dec. 16.
Accordion Virtuosi – Biography
Season Listing | Program | Biography
Pavel Smirnov founded the Accordion Virtuosi of Russia at St. Petersburg in 1943 in war-torn Russia. Within six months they were invited to record on state radio. Three generations of the Smirnov family have led Accordion Virtuosi of Russia: first Pavel, the founder, and now his sons Yuri and Vladimir, and his grandson Yaroslav.
Accordion Virtuosi of Russia has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Verona’s Arena, Olympia Hall in Paris, and the Great Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg.
The group has toured extensively in Germany, Italy, France, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Spain, Japan, Guinea, Angola, Sierra Leone, Congo, China and Canada. They were invited to be a part of the cultural program for the Olympic Games in Munich (1972), Montreal (1976), and Moscow (1980).
Accordion Virtuosi of Russia has won competitions in Russia such as “Musical Carousel” and “Peter-Pavel Assemblies.” Most recently, Accordion Virtuosi of Russia was included in the prestigious “Golden Book of St. Petersburg” for artistic achievements, and was named the “best accordion orchestra of Europe of 2013” by the orchestral society EU Musika in Frankfurt, Germany.
YURI SMIRNOV, Artistic Director and Conductor
Yuri Smirnov is the Accordion Virtuosi of Russia’s Artistic Director and has worked with the orchestra since 1967. He is a professor at the State University of the Arts and head of the “Union of the Arts Workers” in St. Petersburg, Russia. Most recently he received the title of “People’s Artist of the Russian Federation” from the Russian government. This prestigious honor is given to a very small number of artists each year for their outstanding work in the field of the Arts.
VLADIMIR SMIRNOV, Conductor
Vladimir Smirnov has been the Principal Conductor of the orchestra from 1978. He has taught several generations of the orchestra’s players and received the prestigious title of the “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation” for dedication in his work with the orchestra.
ALEXANDER YAKUSHEV, Electric violin
Alexander Yakushev (electric violin) has been a regular soloist with the Accordion Virtuosi of Russia since 1996. Mr. Yakushev has also performed extensively around the world in solo recital, and is a winner of several music competitions. He appears regularly on TV programs in Russia, and is in high demand for his unusual and capturing arrangements of popular tunes for his instrument.
ILYA YAKUSHEV, Piano
Ilya Yakushev, with many awards and honors, mesmerizes audiences on three continents. In the U.S., his performances of two Prokofiev concerti in the 2007 San Francisco “Prokofiev Festival” with Michael Tilson Thomas were included in the top ten classical music events of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle, and prompted a return there in 2009 with Maestro Tilson Thomas. In addition to many concerto and recital appearances in the U.S., Mr. Yakushev has appeared extensively in his native Russia, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. He is the Executive Director of the International Keyboard Institute and Festival at the Mannes School of Music in New York, where he studied with the legendary pianist Vladimir Feltsman.
Tour Management: ARTS MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC.,
130 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019
Accordion Virtuosi – Program
Season Listing | Program | Biography
FESTIVAL TOUR OF THE
A C C O R D I O N V I R T U O S I O F R U S S I A
Yuri Smirnov, Artistic Director and Conductor
Vladimir Smirnov, Conductor
Alexander Yakushev, electric violin
Ilya Yakushev, piano soloist
(Accordion Virtuosi of Russia founded by Pavel Smirnov)
Program I
Overture to the opera Russlan and Ludmilla GLINKA
March from The Love for Three Oranges PROKOFIEV
Intermezzo from the opera Cavalleria rusticana MASCAGNI
Trepak from the ballet Nutcracker TCHAIKOVSKY
Perpetuum Mobile, Op. 257 J. STRAUSS
Nocturne (Ilya Yakushev, soloist) ARNO BABADJANIAN
Overture to the opera Carmen BIZET
Czardas (Alexander Yakushev, soloist) VITTORIO MONTI
“Sabre Dance” from the ballet Gayane KHACHATURIAN
Intermission
Program II
Excerpts from West Side Story BERNSTEIN
“The Ragtime Dance” JOPLIN
Russian folk song “In the Valley” arr. MATVEEV
“Flurries” (Ilya Yakushev, soloist) ALEXANDER TSFASMAN
Improvisations on a theme “Lonely accordion” VLADIMIR CHERNIKOV
“Hoe-down” from the ballet Rodeo COPLAND (arr. Emerson)
“Over the Rainbow” (Alexander Yakushev, soloist) ARLEN
“Train to Odessa” (Alexander Yakushev, soloist) VLADIMIR SMIRNOV
Russian folk song “Barinya” arr. A. SEREBRYAKOV
Nov. 2015 E-Notes
The Accordion Virtuosi of Russia
Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015 • 7:30 p.m.
After a sensational start with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Ensemble we shift to far eastern Europe and a different musical style with the Accordion Virtuosi of Russia. We should be in for quite a treat with this 37-member group of 30 accordions, plus harp, guitar, piano, percussion, led by a violinist-conductor. Their program will bring to life a delightful mix of traditional Russian folk songs as well as familiar classical and American favorites.
Pavel Smirnov founded the Accordion Virtuosi of Russia at St. Petersburg in 1943 in war-torn Russia. Within six months they were invited to record on state radio. Three generations of the Smirnov family have led Accordion Virtuosi of Russia: first Pavel, the founder, and now his sons Yuri and Vladimir, and his grandson Yaroslav.
Accordion Virtuosi of Russia has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Verona’s Arena, Olympia Hall in Paris, and the Great Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg.
The group has toured extensively in Germany, Italy, France, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Spain, Japan, Guinea, Angola, Sierra Leone, Congo, China and Canada. They were invited to be a part of the cultural program for the Olympic Games in Munich (1972), Montreal (1976), and Moscow (1980).
Accordion Virtuosi of Russia has won competitions in Russia such as “Musical Carousel” and “Peter-Pavel Assemblies.” Most recently, Accordion Virtuosi of Russia was included in the prestigious “Golden Book of St. Petersburg” for artistic achievements, and was named the “best accordion orchestra of Europe of 2013” by the orchestral society EU Musika in Frankfurt, Germany. See the group’s biography.
Selections on our program will include music from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” the overture to Bizet’s “Carmen,” Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance,” excerpts from Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” “The Ragtime Dance” by Joplin, the Russian folk song “In the Valley,” “Hoe-down” from Copland’s “Rodeo” and Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow.”
