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CHEREMSHYNA / ЧЕРЕМШИНА "Bird Cherry" music by Vasyl Mykhailyuk (1929-2003) lyrics by Mykola Yuriychuk (1937-1997) performed by contralto Vira Slywotzky + pianist Dina Pruzhansky illustrated by Calvin Laliberte A popular Ukrainian song from 1965. With the world in bloom again, romance is surely in the air.

SUMMER OPERA EXTRAVAGANZA a word from Andy Anderson... June ended with a bang at St. John’s in the Village on Tuesday night! Vira + Friends had its Summer Opera Extravaganza at 7:30pm, ending the night with a celebration of vocal excellence and community. The concert started with fireworks. Soprano Brooke Schooley greeted the audience with an explosive cadenza, kicking off into audience-favorite "Chacun le Sait" from Donizetti’s La fille du regiment. Packed with high notes an

SUMMER OPERA EXTRAVAGANZA will take place a week from today on Tuesday, June 30th at 7:30pm at Saint John's in the Village. CLICK FOR TICKETS In the spirit of extravaganza, festive opera attire is encouraged. SUMMER OPERA EXTRAVAGANZA a concert of extraordinary moments of musical drama Come along on a grand melodic adventure. Let soprano Brooke Schooley, contralto Vira Slywotzky, bass Isaiah Musik-Ayala and pianist David Sytkowski be your guides on a journey through the tr

Today I'm thrilled to introduce bass Isaiah Musik-Ayala who will be joining Vira + Friends for the closing performance of the 2025-2026 season: SUMMER OPERA EXTRAVAGANZA Tuesday, June 5 at 7:30pm Saint John's in the Village. CLICK FOR TICKETS With a voice that the New York Times has described as “burly and resonant,” and the San Francisco Classical Voice has called “commanding and compelling,” bass Isaiah Musik-Ayala has been gaining recognition as a performer to watch.

Monumental thanks to all who contributed to In the Blue of the Sky! To the audience, volunteers, donors and sponsors who joined Ukrainian Music Initiative and Common Man for Ukraine in enjoying the live performance of Ukrainian classical music and fundraising to support the children of Ukraine. With donations still coming in, we are approaching our goal of collecting the $40,000 needed to allow Common Man for Ukraine to host 35 children who have lost immediate family members

Today I am immensely proud to share the Vira + Friends 2025 Annual Report, our first ever. CLICK HERE TO VIEW I hope you will take a moment to peruse this document and celebrate the vital part you play in what we do - THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS!

Enjoy a piece of Mahler's for the final Hailey's Corner. Having Hailey on the team has been a wonderful gift and great fun. Thank you, Hailey, for all of your work behind the scenes and for treating us to so much beautiful listening! Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5, First movement My friend, a bassist in a local youth orchestra, introduced me to this piece, one of her favorites. Her favorite part, starting at 6:30, is the most dramatic. It reminds me of dramatic, intense momen

Ukrainian Music Initiative IN THE BLUE OF THE SKY Friday, June 5th at 7:30pm Pavlo Gintov, Margarita Rovenskaya, Vira Slywotzky Follen Church 755 Massachusetts Avenue Lexington, MA 02420 CLICK FOR TICKETS *in support of the work of Common Man For Ukraine* Ukrainian Music Initiative has crafted a unique concert program for its first collaboration with Common Man for Ukraine. An unusual selection of performers - two pianists and vocalist - allows for a satisfying exploration

HAILEY'S CORNER Salut d'Amour, Opus 12 by Edward Elgar As the story goes, Elgar’s future wife, Alice Roberts, gave him a poem, "Love’s Grace," before he went on holiday. So touched by her gesture, Elgar decided to reciprocate by composing this piece. It is evident that love wrote this piece. Every phrase is angelic. My favorite part is the end, played almost entirely on the D & G strings after phrases centered around the A & E.

Ukrainian Music Initiative and Common Man for Ukraine partner to present In the Blue of the Sky on June 5th at Follen Church in Lexington, MA. CLICK FOR TICKETS This concert will celebrate the legacy of Ukrainian composers and serve as an opportunity to fundraise for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Today I'm thrilled to introduce Common Man for Ukraine. The organization's four extraordinary founders, Susan Mathison, Lisa Mure, Steve Rand and Alex Ray, will be in attendance on Ju

Johann Sebastian Bach Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068 II. “Air on the G String” This piece sounds heavenly. It’s slow and melodic—all legato and no staccato. There is a sense of anticipation, like the music is waiting for a beat drop or a change in tempo that never comes. It sounds like the night after the last day of school, when memories of and regret for the end of the year are rampant but so is the anticipation of the three months of freedom ahead.

I'm pleased to announce that Summer Opera Extravaganza on June 30th at Saint John's in the Village will close out the Vira + Friends 2025-2026 season. Summer Opera Extravaganza a concert of extraordinary moments of musical drama Isaiah Musik-Ayala, Brooke Schooley, Vira Slywotzky, David Sytkowski Tuesday, June 30th at 7:30pm Saint John's in the Village 218 West 11th Street New York, NY 10014 CLICK FOR TICKETS

This week on Hailey's Corner... 3rd Movement of Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Major Op. 13 by Friedrich Seitz My favorite part of this piece is the double stops. They are so fun to play! The music switches from upbeat to troubled to smooth and drawn-out. I remember during performances feeling grateful for the long piano breaks because they gave my tired arms and sweaty hands a break. This composition reminds me of autumn days that vacillate between hopeful and gloomy.

AT THE MOVIES a cabaret of songs from the silver screen Saturday, May 9th at 7pm Vira Slywotzky + David Sytkowski PANGEA 178 2nd Avenue New York, NY 10003 CLICK FOR TICKETS Hailey is treating us to superb music at the movies trivia questions and answers on Instagram and Facebook. Here's a question that can't be answered until Saturday, but I look forward to receiving your guesses! Which of these Academy Award-winning songs will be performed as part of At The Movies?  The W

Clara Schumann Nocturne Op. 6 No. 2 Clara Schumann was a German pianist and composer, one of the most respected of the Romantic era. The piece waves back and forth between subdued and angry. It sounds like the main character of a movie obsessively replaying past memories in their head, wishing they went differently. This is my favorite work of Schumann's because of its mood swings.

AT THE MOVIES a cabaret of songs from the silver screen Vira Slywotzky + David Sytkowski Saturday, May 9th at 7pm PANGEA 178 2nd Avenue New York, NY 10003 CLICK FOR TICKETS Sunday, May 17th The Loft at Hermit Woods Winery 72 Main Street Meredith, NH 03253 CLICK FOR TICKETS David and I are having an absolute blast cooking up this show for you! With selections from very nearly a century of cinema on tap, action, romance, comedy, Western, crime, drama and musical are just so

HAILEY'S CORNER Friedrich Seitz Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, Op. 15: II This is the second movement of the concerto featured last week. No longer reflecting a young middle school student, this movement sounds like the bittersweet nostalgia of recalling times long gone. The repetition of the first phrase mirrors one’s constant reminiscing of the same joys in their life. I actually learned this piece before the first movement. Perhaps there is symbolism to be found there,

I'm pleased to announce that At The Movies a cabaret of songs from the silver screen will travel to The Loft at Hermit Woods in Meredith, NH after the May 9th performance at PANGEA in NYC. AT THE MOVIES a cabaret of songs from the silver screen Sunday, May 17th Vira Slywotzky + David Sytkowski The Loft at Hermit Woods Winery 72 Main Street Meredith, NH 03253   CLICK FOR TICKETS

HAILEY'S CORNER #2 1st Movement of 4th Student Concerto by Friedrich Seitz (1848-1918) This song is upbeat and playful, full of trills, double stops, and varying rhythms. To me, the song sounds like the joys of tweenhood, when you are old enough to care about the latest rumors floating down the halls of middle school but not old enough to know what nostalgia is. Learning to play this song was definitely a feat, but the exhilaration of finally mastering a section matched that

Hailey's Corner: Humoresque by Antonín Dvořák A popular classic, this is a song that I learned in Suzuki Book 3 that has stuck with me throughout the years. Playing this song was pure fun. I loved the pauses between each note in the beginning and the long, emotional strides of the bow later. The orchestra in this video does the song justice in a way that my eight-year-old hands never could have. Even if you’ve heard this song many times before, I highly recommend listenin