Moscow, December 2, 1997-Ten years after Dave Brubeck and his quartet thrilled fans in Moscow with such jazz classics as Take Five and Blue Rondo a la Turk, he returned to the Russian capital to join the world-renowned Russian National Orchestra in the European premiere performance of his classical mass To Hope! A Celebration.
   The concert, held in the Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory, featured long-time quartet musicians Randy Jones on drums, Jack Six on acoustic bass and Bobby Militello on Saxophones and flute, as well as soprano Maria Maskhulia, tenor Marke Bleeke, bass-baritone Kevin Deas, conductor Russell Gloyd and Moscow's own Yurloff State Choir directed by Stanislav Gusev.

   To Hope is truly an extraordinary and daring composition, combining the religious musical traditions of early Christianity in Byzantium, Rome and Greece with the multi-cultural influences of America. To Hope first premiered in 1980 and has been performed throughout the United States. Most notably, sections were performed before thousands of people in San Francisco during an outdoor mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. Mr. Brubeck's inspiration for To Hope came as an expression of his own spiritual journey, kindled by his mother's deep interest in world religions and his own efforts to try coming to terms with the horrors of war as a frontline soldier during the second World War.

To order a DVD of the performance, click on www.lanceentertainment.com

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