Classical guitar and flute on a Sunday morning

Church of Beethoven, Oak Park’s casual Sunday morning classical concert series, will present sublime classical guitar mastery and flute performed by Chicago artists Zhivko Nikolov and Scott Douglas as ‘Duo 617.’ The program includes music of Scarlatti, Bach and Chopin, as well as a ‘History of Tango’ by Piazzola.

The program takes place Sunday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. at Open Door Theater, 902 Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Park.

After studying classical guitar in his native Bulgaria, Zhivko Nikolov came to Chicago in 2007 to the Music Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University. He has won awards at solo guitar competitions around the country and teaches at Forest Park’s Gasse School of music. He also performs world music with a clarinet-guitar duo.

Scott Douglas is a Chicago ­based chamber and orchestral musician. He was the first piccoloist to win the Chicago College of Performing Arts Solo Competition and will perform Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto in C major, RV 443, with the Baroque Orchestra in September. Scott performed as principal flute of the Northwest Chicago Symphony’s “Richard Strauss Festival” and the Cobalt Opera’s inaugural production of Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” He has recorded on Chicago’s Cedille records and has performed on WFMT.

The Church of Beethoven is “...a ‘church’ with no preaching, just uplifting music, poetry and two minutes of silence in an all-too-busy world.” The goal of the Church of Beethoven is to build a sense of community around the arts, by removing the typically formal atmosphere of classical music, by breaking down the proverbial “fourth wall” between the audience and the performers. Featuring intimate Sunday morning performances by professional poets and musicians, it is located in the Arts District of Oak Park.

www.churchofbeethoven-oakpark.com