The Kiev (Ukraine) Symphony Chorus and Orchestra will perform this Friday night at 8 p.m. at Union Performing Arts Center, as part of their 2003 US tour. These talented musicians are a symbol of the resurgence of music, culture, and faith in the old Soviet Union.

The chorus was founded in 1992 by a visiting American musician, who organized the first Ukrainian performance of Handel's Messiah in over 70 years. The following year the chorus was expanded to 100 singers and an orchestra was added. Over time, a church of 600 members and ministries to widows and orphans emerged as part of a larger organization called Music Mission Kiev.

The link above will take you to their repertoire for this concert tour, which includes works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Mussorgsky. I am particularly looking forward to the selection of Slavic a capella pieces. As a member of Coventry Chorale, I had the privilege some years ago to sing selections from Rachmaninoff's Vespers, an a capella setting of ancient Orthodox chants. This music will give you goosebumps, and all the more when you know how the lyrics glorify Christ and exult in his incarnation and resurrection.

The link above will take you to the website of Christ Presbyterian Church (my home church), which is cosponsoring the concert with the TU music department and Reformed University Fellowship (a campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America). Tickets are $10, and most area Christian bookstores have them for sale.