The Applause Concert Committee at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church has announced its next free concert will be Friday, Jan. 31, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will feature talented Russian musicians Elena Lebedeva Millar (piano) and Nikita Burakovsky (violin).
The concert is free and open to the public. No tickets are required. A free-will offering will be taken. There will also be a reception at the church after the concert where attendees can meet the performers. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church is located at 600 S. 12th St in Lebanon.
LebTown spoke with Lee Moyer, co-chairman of the church concert committee, who explained that St. Andrews offers three free concerts every year as a way to share something positive with the community. And, he added, “it’s good publicity for the church”.
Moyer, himself a local music icon and former owner of Marty’s Music Store, said he became aware of the Russian Duet through another musical affiliation, the Harmonia Music Association. Moyer is the current president of the HMA and Elena and Nikita performed for them at another church concert in 2018.
According to their official biography, Elena was born in Moldova and her love affair with the piano began at age nine. Classically trained, she earned degrees including a Masters Degree from Rachmaninov College of Music. She won many awards in local and foreign competitions. Since moving to this country, she has performed numerous concerts, solo and with others, including performances with the Hershey Symphony Orchestra and on WITF. She lives in Palmyra where she also teaches music.
Nikita, also lives in Palmyra and performs regularly, both solo and with other musicians. He also teaches music privately. His roots go back to Kazakhstan and he’s also a classically-schooled performer earning top honors including a Masters degree from Musical College N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov in St. Petersburg. He has performed all across Russia and with many well-known Russian orchestras.
As the Russian Duet, Elena and Nikita even recorded a CD of their collaboration in 2018.
The St. Andrews website calls it “an evening of beautiful music to soothe your soul.”
The next free concert at the church will be in April and will feature the popular Lebanon Big Swing Band.