15.08 Holland's Ricciotti Ensemble Embarks on Packed Russian Tour

MOSCOW, August 15, RIA Novosti � The Dutch Ricciotti Ensemble street symphony orchestra is arriving in Russia for a tour that will include performances in Moscow and other cities across the country. During the tour on Aug. 18-24, the ensemble will give three concerts per day, performing in parks and public gardens, on downtown streets and in clubs, as well as at hospitals and other social institutions, the organizers told RIA Novosti.

"The Ricciotti Ensemble is a street orchestra that performs for all kinds of audiences in some highly unusual venues," the organizers said. "The group normally tours its native Netherlands three times a year, as well as going on one concert tour abroad. This year, its foreign tour will be in Russia as part of the joint Russia-Netherlands Year."

In Moscow, concerts will be held at Hospice No. 1 and the oncology department of the Russian Children's Hospital (Aug. 19), in the GUM department store and in the VVTs exhibition center's Culture Pavilion (Aug. 20), and on Arbat Street and in Gorky Park (Aug. 24), to name just a few venues.

The ensemble will also travel to the cities of Tver (Aug. 21) and Veliky Novgorod (Aug. 22), as well as to Valdai (Aug. 23). In the town of Valdai, the musicians will perform for local penitentiary colony inmates and for monks at the Iversky Monastery.

According to the organizers, the orchestra makes a point of making its performances free of charge, with the idea being to make quality music accessible to audiences from all walks of life.

The orchestra's repertoire is diverse and spans various genres and styles. The program of each concert is tailor-made to each audience. In Russia, the Ricciotti Ensemble will perform classical Russian music and Russian folk song arrangements, as well as film music highlights, popular miniatures, and operetta excerpts. The ensemble will also be joined on stage by Russian operatic singer and accordion player Elnara Shafigullina.

The Ricciotti Ensemble is the world's most mobile orchestra, listed in the Guinness Book of Records for having given 13 concerts in 11 cities in just one day. Its lineup features 40 young musicians, most of whom are conservatory students. The group is renowned for its ability to find new audiences in the most unusual places. It often plays for the residents of retirement homes, children's homes and refugee camps, as well as for prison inmates and people from secluded rural communities.