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For Immediate Release

A group of four Russian musicians, members of a folk-fusion ELEON Ensemble, will visit New Orleans December 3rd through 17th on a residency at the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans. Their trip, facilitated by New York-based CEC ArtsLink, is part of the Open World Cultural Leaders Program, an initiative designed to facilitate cross-cultural communication through the arts supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Open World Leadership Center.

The ELEON Ensemble, a group of professional vocal musicians based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, combines the traditional sound of Russian folk music with a classical approach and contemporary influences. The group’s repertoire includes church music, music by early and contemporary composers, and experimental performances. In addition to these works, ELEON Ensemble performs regularly with theater groups in Saint Petersburg, including holiday repertoires. The ensemble has over twelve contributing members in Russia including musicians, ethnomusicologists, and choral directors; four core members, Nataliya Atroshchenko, Galina Denisova, Andrey Fofonov, and Anna Vishnyakova will participate in this residency.

ELEON will perform a specially prepared concert with the Yellow Dog Prophet Choir on Tuesday, December 16th at Trinity Episcopal Church at 6:00pm-8:00pm. On Saturday, December 13th, from noon to 2:00pm, ELEON will perform as part of the Preservation Resource Center’s Holiday Home Tour at various historic houses in the Lower Garden District. The group will also make a radio appearance on WWOZ, Sunday December 14th at 11am, and conduct workshops and performances at local schools.

Spontaneous artistic collaboration and sharing each other’s cultural traditions are the most stimulating and important aspects of the program. Jeff Zielinski, local musician and cultural manager, who coordinates the residency, points out: “Since Katrina in 2005, New Orleans has been in a rebuilding process. From its buildings, organizations, and population, New Orleans has seen many changes and continues to move forward in a similar, yet new direction. I have personally been involved in ensuring its success within the performing arts. I have been inspired to host and encourage artists to visit New Orleans to see our progress and experience the most vibrant artistic community in the USA. The upcoming residency of the Eleon Ensemble is an opportunity for the city of New Orleans to show them our multi-faceted arts community and broaden each others minds, cultural perspectives, and hearts. With great anticipation do we await the unfolding of this residency.”
While in New Orleans, the group will also visit the Prospect 1 Visual Art Exhibition, tour the historic regions of the city, visit Piety Street Recording Studio, take in a show at Preservation Hall, and meet with local musicians from a variety of backgrounds.

The visiting musicians, two of whom are staff members at the Sovremennik Children’s Cultural Center in Saint Petersburg, will tour the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, and discuss with its staff the differences and similarities in youth arts programs in the US and Russia.

Finally, the group will spend two days visiting Bay St. Louis and learning about the devastating affect that Hurricane Katrina had on the region, and the community’s inspiring efforts to rebuild this beautiful historic town.

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The Russian musicians are in the United States for a two-week residency hosted by CEC ArtsLink in partnership with the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans. Their visit is part of a professional exchange program sponsored by the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress. Open World is a unique, nonpartisan initiative of the U.S. Congress. Open World’s Cultural Leaders Program aims to forge better understanding between the United States and Russia by enabling emerging Russian leaders in the arts to experience America’s cultural and community life, and to work with their American counterparts. Over 13,000 Open World participants have been hosted in all 50 U.S. states since the program's inception in 1999. Support for the cultural program is provided through partnership and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts; the Open World Leadership Center funds the administrative portion of the program.

CEC ArtsLink, through a multi-faceted program of cultural exchange, serves to create and sustain constructive, mutually beneficial relationships in the arts between the United States and Eastern and Central Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. Working with artists, arts organizations and community-based groups, CEC ArtsLink provides an

The Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans is a multi-disciplinary arts center, financially stable and professionally managed, which is dedicated to the presentation, production and promotion of art of our time. It has accomplished these goals by organizing curated exhibitions, performances and programs; enlarging audiences; and encouraging collaboration among diverse artists, institutions, communities and supporters. Since 1976, the Contemporary Arts Center has been home to artists’ bold experiments in painting, theater, photography, performance art, dance, music, video, education, and sculpture.

For more information, please contact Masha Pyshkina, Open World Program Director, CEC ArtsLink, at (212) 643-1985 x14 or mpyshkina@cecartslink.org or, Jeff Zielinski, Residency Facilitator, CAC New Orleans, at (504) 655-5908. To learn more about opportunities for artists and arts organizations administered by CEC ArtsLink, please visithttp://www.cecartslink.org.
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