Campanella Choir returns to Northbrook Library’s Parisian Salon series

On February 5, the Campanella Children’s Choir returned to the Northbrook Public Library to take part in an evening of Latin-American music and jazz.

Just like last year, the concert is part of the Parisian Salon concert series. Founded by Didier Lepauw, a former First Violinist of the Paris Symphony, the series was designed to evoke the Paris salons of the old, where composers played privately for select group of patrons. Originally hosted in Chicago, the concert series made its home in Northbrook Library for the past few years.

For the February 5 concert, we performed a selection of jazz pieces, pieces of from American musicals and Latin-American songs. Some of the selections were performed included music by George Gershwin, Harry Morgan and Mack Gordon, Heitor Villa-Lobs, Albert Hernandez, as well as original compositions by Chicago area musician Michael Sytchev.

The piano duet Natalia Kogan and Diana Kofman,.who have frequently collaborated with Campanella in the past, performed Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in blue". Sytchev performed pieces by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.

We are happy to say that we got an enthusiastic response. Dr. Patricia Scherer, head of the Rolling Meadows based International Center on Deafness and Art Through Education, said that she was impressed with the quality of the performance.

“Children performed so passionately and so melodically,” she said. “The music poured out from every performance. The kids’ singing was truly heartfelt and soulful.”

Campanella also got a nice e-mail from resident Jack Jalove. He wrote that he realized that our choir would be performing, but he was pleasantly surprised by what he heard.

“The youngsters were marvelously professional, and I took from them every bit the appreciation any "grown-up" could have presented, indeed.,” he wrote. “And I know just enough about piano to have been VERY impressed by the accompaniment contributed. Plus the classical guitarist was quite simply quite impressive as well. All in all, a quite unexpected treat, the only regret being I left early but the time spent til was as I say, a treat. Thank you and continued success teaching tomorrow's artists today.”

Spring Party at Campanella

`On Saturday, March 7, the Campanella Educational Center held a spring party filled with music, art and treats.

During the party, we put on a multimedia performance that has become our hallmark, pairing the music by Sergei Rachmaninoff with paintings by Mikhail Vrubel, Isaac Levitan and Pavel Fedotov. In doing so, we tried to show how the artists were informed by music and written word. Vrubel drew upon the Russian folklore and myths in general, while Fedotov gave a satiric take on the lives of Russia's early-19th century middle class. We also hoped that our event will help bring people together.

Each painting we displayed was paired with one of Rachmaninoff's pieces, which each piece chosen to match the mood of the painting. Vrubel's "Demons." for example, was paired  with a fragment from Rachmaninoff's "Six Moments."

During the performance, we also recreated "The Major's Marriage Proposal," one of Fedotov's most iconic paintings.

The Major's Marriage Proposal by Pavel Fedotov

Our recreation

After the performance ended, we had outselves some bliny - traditional Russian pancakes similar to crepes. Nicole Koutun, Sophia Korobov, Stella Golod, Talia Kasman made the bliny, while others brought stuffing. Alexandra Lodkin brought jam, Alice Kreston and Elli Fomin brought Nutella, Anna Starobinets, Alice Kapmar and Dorina Snezhkov brought fruits and berries, and Sonya Privin brought cake. And, for those who don't like bliny, we had plenty of other food

You can see more pictures of the event at our Facebook page.

Campanella Receives Young Singers Foundation Grant

Campanella Choir took part in last year's Festival of Gold

The Campanella Children's Choir received a $500 grant from the Young Singers Foundation.

The grant will be used to help the choir attend this year's Festival of Gold. The annual event brings together choirs from all over United States. Each choir gets one-on-one coaching and advice from renowned adjudicators and conductors. The choirs also get to perform at some of the most prestigious venues in the country. You can read about our experience at last year's festival here.

The Young SingersFoundation is a non-profit organization that works to help kids and teenagers participate in music programs. They believe that music is a vital part of education, allowing them to develop creativity, increase their self-worth and learn self-discipline and teamwork. They set up grants and a scholarship to give the talented kids opportunities to get musical education they would otherwise never get. Every year, hundreds of organizations from all across United States applied, but we're among the lucky ones to get it. We are proud and honored to be able to say that. 

While the grant will go a long way toward helping us attend the Festival of Gold, it won't cover everything. Join Young Singers Foundation in supporting Campanella's journey to the festival. If you are interested in donating to us – or if you know someone who might be able to donate to us – please don't hesitate to contact us.

Campanella Children’s Choir Brings Music, Poetry to Nortbrook Library

Campanella choristers sing at the Northbrook Library

There wasn’t a free seat in the house as Campanella Children’s Choir, the Chicago Trio and guitarist Mikhail Sytchev got ready for an Evening of Music and Poetry.

 

For poems, we drew upon the classical tradition as well, using poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and William Wordsworth. In a slightly more contemporary touch, we used Morning by Leonid Aronzon as a final poem.

Guitarist Mikhai Sytchev

Some pieces were performed entirely by the Chicago Trio (guitarist Natalya Chernysh, cellist Irene Schweizer and piaonist Diana Kofman). Sytchev performed some pieces solo. Some of the pieces featured individual choir members performing solo, while others had the choir perform together. And for some songs, all of the musicians and singers at the concert joined together to perform something beautiful.

The Chicago Trio

It was the notion of joining together that inspired Campanella Choir Artistic Director Marianna Kosaya and art historian Tanya Ilina to out together a concert that featured both music and poetry. Kosaya explained that poetry and music are intrinsically intertwined, informing and inspiring each other. Together, they could lead to something that’s greater than the sum of its parts.  

Parisian Salon Concert Series founder Didier Lapauw introduced Campanella Choir

The concert was part of the Parisian Salon Concerts series, which runs monthly at the Nortbrook Library. The series was founded by Didier Lepauw, a former first violinist at the Paris Symphony. Lepauw wanted to put together a concert series that took inspiration from the salons of old and showcased talented musicians from across Chicago area. The Campanella Choir was honored to be a part of it.

And, by the looks of things, the audience enjoyed it, too. There were so many people attending that some of them had to stand. And when the concert ended, the entire room erupted in thunderous applause.

Our Evening of Music and Poetry was a great event, and we have many more in store. Please visit our Facebook page to follow the latest information about our upcoming events.

Pushkin's Fairy Tales Concert (With Music By Rimsky-Korsakov) Celebrates the Power of Timeliness Stories

On December 20, the St. Giles Episcopal Church was transformed into a fairytale kingdom as Campanella Children's Choir's younger choristers performed to the music based on fairy tales written by acclaimed Russian poet and writer Alexander Pushkin.

Campanella Choir performs at Puskin's Fairy Tales concert

Pushkin is widely regarded as one of Russia's greatest poets and one of the founders of Russian literature. A writer since the age of 15, he wrote hundreds of poems and novels. Most Russian children grew up hearing their parents read Pushkin's fairy tales. But the distinguished author remains unknown to many Americans.

With the Puskin's Fairy Tales concert, Campanella Children's Choir set out to bring the beauty Pushkin's verse and share it with the community.

Campanella Choir Alumni Stop By, Inspire Current Students

A couple of Campanella Choir alumni stopped by for a visit last Saturday during rehearsals.

The Campanella Choir is always happy to have our former students stop by for a visit. The alumni attended our regular rehearsals, and they sang a bit for the kids.

"It was a great experience," said Marianna Kosaya, Campanella's Artistic Director. "Our kids were listening to them sing, and they were enthralled."

Campanella Educational Center to Host Open House

As we gear up for an exciting 2014-2015 school year, Campanella Educational Center is going to host an open house on Saturday, August 23.

The Open House will give the parents a chance to talk to our instructors and ask them any questions they might have. It will also give children a chance to try out some of our programs, just to see if they'll like them.

Our sample programs will include our Children's Choir program, as well as our Art, Art History, and Russian Language classes.  Each class will last 15 - 20 minutes and will be organized between two age groups. The first age group will be made up of kids ages 4-6, and our second group would be made up of ages 7-12.

 The Open House will take place at St Giles Church (3025 Walters Avenue, Northbrook, IL). Everyone who is interested in our programs is welcome to attend, but ask you to RSVP as soon as posssible.

You can RSVP by e-mail, or call us at (847) 361-7989

We are planning a fruitful, academically rich year, and we hope that you would be part of it. We hope to see you at the open house.