Symphony, choral from Ukraine to perform Thursday

It’s difficult to believe that Western classical music was a no-no in the days of the Soviet Union.

For some seven decades the people of Kiev, in the Ukraine, were denied many masterpieces, despite being the homeland of Horowitz, Prokofiev and Isaac Stern.

That situation changed in 1992, when American Roger McMurrin established the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus — at first at the behest of a local Episcopal priest who wanted his parishioners to hear Handel’s Messiah.

That inaugural performance was met with such an enthusiastic response that the McMurrins moved to the former Soviet country and began a musical ministry. The group has grown to be the largest privately funded orchestra-choral group in Ukraine, debuting 53 Christian classics to its home audience, many televised throughout its homeland, and embarking on six tours of the United States. The group has performed more than 200 concerts and recorded 14 compact discs.

Thursday the 165-piece group performs its second concert in Spokane at Spokane Valley Nazarene Church, 20th Avenue and Sullivan Road.

“They were here in 2001 and they performed downtown,” coordinator Steve Kirk said.

The group, made up of a 100-voice chorus and a 65-piece orchestra, maintains its own Web site: www.musicmissionkiev.org as part of its Christian mission work.

Thursday’s concert will include “Roman Carnival” by Hector Berlioz, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” selections from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” Benny Goodman’s jazz classic “Sing, Sing, Sing,” and conclude with “America the Beautiful.”

The concert is free to the public, but a good-will offering will be taken during the concert.

The orchestra will be housed by local families after the concert, and Kirk said he is looking for hosts willing to house the musicians Thursday night and provide breakfast and a sack lunch Friday. Interested parties can contact the church at 926-1545.