The Cleveland area-based and internationally acclaimed Russian Duo will perform the inaugural concert of the Ironton Council for the Arts 2023-24 subscription concert series. The concert will be held at the Ohio University Southern Riffe Center Mains Rotunda on Sunday, October 8 at 3:00 p.m. Admission is $15, season tickets to all six concerts are $50 and tickets may be purchased at the door. Students of all ages and children are admitted free. Ohio University Southern is handicap accessible.

The Russian Duo is an international project founded in 2007 by Oleg Kruglyakov, a Russian balalaika virtuoso, and Terry Boyarsky, who is an American concert pianist, ethnomusicologist, and is a Dalcroze and Orff Schulwerk specialist, both of which emphasize creative, developmental, and experiential approaches to music education. Oleg is one of two recipients of the prestigious Ohio Arts Council 2023 Heritage Fellowship. This is a lifetime achievement award which celebrates the vitality of Ohio’s folk and traditional arts by recognizing traditional master artists who demonstrate and reflect Ohio’s living cultural heritage.

They celebrate cross-cultural creativity, exploring the range of possibilities for balalaika (an indigenous Russian string folk instrument), voice and piano. Their repertoire includes humorous pieces, virtuoso variations, pulsating dance music, rhythmic folk songs, and lyrical romances. The Russian Duo also performs music of Ukrainian composers, tango, bluegrass, Soviet film music, and their own arrangements.