The two performances will be held Wednesday, May 11 at 8:00 pm at St. Joseph’s Church (371 Sixth Avenue between Waverly Place and Washington Place) and Sunday, May 15 at 3:00 pm at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church (921 Madison Avenue at E. 73rd Street).
The Russian Chamber Chorus of New York (Nikolai Kachanov, Artistic Director and Conductor) will present the first concert of a new series, Russia and Beyond: Music from Former Soviet Republics. Acclaimed for its performances of well-known and rarely-performed Russian choral works, RCCNY displays its broader scope, with music from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—as well as New York premieres from Russia and Tuva — that helped keep local and regio-nal identities alive, despite the Communist regime.

From Estonia, RCCNY presents “Livonian Heritage,” a cycle from "Forgotten Peoples" by Veljo Tormis (b. 1930). Tormis is considered by many to be one of the most important choral music composers in the last half of the 20th century, and “Forgotten Peoples” is his effort to rescue six Baltic cultures from oblite-ration. From Latvia, RCCNY performs “Three Songs of the Sea” by the imaginative composer Pauls Dambis (b. 1936). Blending contemporary  techniques with folk music, the songs paint a tragic picture from Latvia's seafaring history.
From Lithuania comes "The Great Mystery" by Feliksas Bajoras (b. 1934), a powerful and haunting choral gem, inspired by a poem by Lithuanian priest Jonas Zukauskas and rooted in ancient Lithuanian music.
Tickets are $25 ($15 for students and seniors 65+) at the door. For additional information, visit http://rccny.org or call (212) 928-1402.