Sunday: Music of Eastern Europe and Japan at Church of Beethoven

Church of Beethoven favorites Olya Prohorova (violin) and Erina Koyasu (flute) return to Open Door Theater Sunday, July 17 with their delightful repertoire and performance.

Focusing on bridging Japanese, Eastern European, and Classical Western music into a tasteful compilation, the Hanauta Duo was formed in 2014 in Chicago at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. The duo is based on the friendship of two young musicians, Olya Prohorova and Erina Koyasu. The Hanauta Duo performs from baroque to modern compositions, transcribing tunes from their motherlands into duo of their unique instrumentation, violin and flute.

The duo will perform music of CPE Bach and Telemann, as well as arrangements of traditional melodies from Eastern Europe and Japan.

Tickets cost $10 and the performance begins at 10:30 a.m. at Open Door Theater, 902 Ridgeland Ave., Oak Park.

Both classically trained, Olya Prohorova (violin) and Erina Koyasu (flute) enjoy a versatile performing career locally and internationally. Olya Prohorova, a Moldovan native, traveled to the US to continue her violin studies with Mark Lakirovich at Roosevelt University. She is a prizewinner of numerous international competitions in Europe and recipient of several Chicago artist scholarships. Ms. Prohorova has served as concertmaster of CCPA Symphony and performed with a number of different orchestras in North America (Orchestre de la Francophonie, Peoria Symphony, Chicago Summer Opera), Europe (CEI Youth Orchestra, Chisinau Youth Orchestra) and Japan(Toho Gakuen Music Academy). Olya also performs in two local Chicago bands as a rock/folk and country fiddler - Pet Peeve and the Senn Alan Band.

Erina Koyasu was born in Japan and started playing the flute at the age of ten. In 2004, Ms Koyasu won the Student Music concours of Japan in Nagoya City in Japan. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, where she was awarded the first prize and many performance opportunities as a young musician while studying with Tomio Nakao (Principal flutist at NHK Symphony Orchestra.) She has participated in several masterclasses with world class flutists throughout Europe and Asia, such as Emmanuel Pahud (Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra,) Davide Formisano (La Scala, Milano) Vincent Lucas (Paris Philharmonic Orchestra,) Claude Lefebvre (L'opera de Paris,) and Philippe Pierlot (French National Orchestra). In 2013, Ms. Koyasu won the Third Prize at Chicago Flute Club Solo Artist Competition. At Roosevelt University, Ms. Koyasu has been studying with Mathieu Dufour, Dionne Jackson, Marie Tachouet.

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 "family friendly" 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 Illinois on Harrison St..

The original Church of Beethoven was founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico by Oak Park native and classical cellist Felix Wurman in a repurposed gas station on historic U. S. Route 66. The Albuquerque Church grew out of its humble beginnings and moved into The Kosmos, a larger arts space. Felix Wurman died of cancer in 2009, but the Church of Beethoven lives on in Albuquerque and has sprouted new branches in Durham, North Carolina, San Diego, Calif., Tucson Arizona and here in Oak Park, Illinois.

Tickets available here: http://www.churchofbeethoven-oakpark.com/buy-tickets.html