Last Event of the Cultural Festival

This Sunday, singers Ole Hass and Ingrid Cowan will be gracing us with a rare vocal recital in the Alexander Twilight Theater at three o'clock.

"We are bringing quite a variety of pieces to Lyndonville. While all of them deal with very real human thoughts, emotions and desires, they range from the very serious to the downright silly," Hass told.

Hass and Cowan, a married couple who has been singing together for 21 years, will be singing with the accompaniment of esteemed pianist, Susan Ricci Rogel.

Hass sings in tenor and Cowan sings in mezzo-soprano.

Being globally renowned singers, Hass and Cowan do not commonly perform for college students. Hass told, "It's not something we get to do a lot, and I think it's a great opportunity. Often we see a lot of white hair in the audience, as the regular concert attendance is often expensive and might not fit the busy schedule of younger people. As parents of young children, we know how hard it is to get away at night, so the middle generation often doesn't show up either. We are very much looking forward to this performance; I think audiences of all ages (except maybe young children) will connect with the program."

Hass and Cowan were specially invited to perform by their friend, Professor Alexandre Strokanov. Strokanov, who has previously organized their performance in the Moscow State Conservatory, is absolutely delighted that Hass and Cowan will be sharing their music with us. "It will be a change in musical sound, something we've never seen or heard before." In describing their style, Strokanov told, "They exemplify art of the highest class of this country."

The story of Abraham and Isaac will be told in song, as well as several shorter lyrics and classical pieces.

"Our idea is to have an all-English language program of mostly 'classical' and 'serious' music. These terms often sounds elitist, but it really just means that the pieces have passed the test of time and that the composers were less interested in entertaining the audience than in expressing something close to their hearts or their ideals," Hass said.

In Sunday's performance of Saints, Sinners and Sweethearts, the final event before the curtain falls on our Cultural Festival, our community will get to watch and listen to a show like no other, and a show that we most likely have never, and will never see anything like again.