(above) The Barynya Balalaika Duo will perform at the Cranford Community Center on Tuesday, October 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Barynya Balalaika Duo to perform October 8
The Barynya Balalaika Duo is part of Ensemble Barynya, one of the finest Russian folk ensembles outside of Russia. On Tuesday, October 8, 2019, at 7:00 p.m., join Mikhail Smirnov and Elina Karokhina for “From Russia with Love,” a concert at the Cranford Community Center sponsored by the Friends of the Cranford Public Library. Their dual balalaika performance will include Russian, Cossack, Ukrainian, Russian Gypsy and Russian Jewish traditional music, songs, and dances.
Mikhail Smirnov, artistic director and founder of Ensemble Barynya based in New York City, was born in Moscow. He is the author of many articles about traditional Russian dance, music and instruments in both English and Russian. As a child, he was a member of the Moscow Boys Chorus, one of the most prestigious all-male choirs in Russia. He received his Master’s degree from the Moscow State University of Culture and Arts. Before coming to the United States in 1991, Mikhail was a soloist in a several Russian folk dance and music groups, including the Moscow State Center for Russian Song under the direction of Nadezhda Babkina.
In January 2009, Mikhail and Ensemble Barynya dancers were featured on NBC’s Superstars of Dance, an international dance competition led by executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller (American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance). Mikhail Smirnov was one of eight judges who determined the winning nation.
Balalaika virtuoso Elina Karokhina was born in Leningrad and began her formal training at the Mussorgsky Music College of St. Petersburg. She continued her education at N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, earning a degree as an Orchestra Soloist. After a brief residency in Germany, she returned to her native St. Petersburg and completed her education, earning a Doctor of Musical Art degree in the Balalaika. Following her graduation, she began working as a musician, teacher and performer. She served in the Russian Army in the Military Ensemble in the Northwest Order of Red Stars.
As a balalaika soloist, Elina has toured the world. When she moved to the United States in 2009 she was hired as a musical director and soloist with Ensemble Barynya. In 2015, she was selected to play the balalaika with Mariinsky Theatre, directed by the famous Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, in Rodion Shchedrin’s opera The Enchanted Wanderer at the Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn. In 2016, she was hired to play six concerts at the Carnegie Hall in New York City as a part of the Orchestra Rocks international event, and returned to Carnegie Hall again as a part of Moscow Gypsy Army, representing the rich musical culture of Eastern European Roma people. In 2017, she was hired to play Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh” at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with the National Symphony Orchestra. Recently Elina was invited to perform as an Honored Guest Artist at the Balalaika and Domra Association of America’s 40th Jubilee Convention in Philadelphia.
No registration is required for this event. The Cranford Community Center is located at 220 Walnut Avenue, Cranford, NJ 07016, and is accessible to all. For information about the Cranford Public Library and the Friends of the Library, visit cranfordlibrary.org.
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