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Plans are underway for the Merging Musical Worlds Concert Tour in the spring. KSMU's Michele Skalicky has the story.

Next spring, a large group of musicians and others, many from Southwest Missouri, will head to Russia.
The Merging Musical Worlds Concert Tour of Russia is presented by International Arts Management, a subsidiary of the Messiah Project, which is based in Springfield.
They’ll begin with a major concert in St. Petersburg and will present other concerts along the way.
But the thing that most excites Lindsey Robison, president of the Messiah Project, is a performance at Moscow’s State Kremlin Palace Theatre. It took several months to gain permission to perform there but permission was finally granted last May, and Robison traveled to Moscow over the summer to finalize and sign the contract. It will be first time the Messiah has ever been performed at the Kremlin Theatre.
He says it’s an extraordinary opportunity...

"When I talked to the directors of the Baptist Union, they are just thrilled that something like this could happen in the seat of power of the Communist Party.  It'll be very significant that we will be able to be there."

The Messiah Project is organizing more than 150 singers to join more than 100 Russian singers and instrumentalists for the concerts. A ballet company from Jackson, Mississippi will be part of the tour as well.
Auditions will be held in Springfield Saturday (11/14) from 2 to 4 at the Credo Arts Center, 931 S. Kickapoo…

"We are looking for upper-level choral people--if you've sung in upper-level choirs in high school or university, of course if you sing chamber music, you would be qualified."

Auditions are also planned in St. Louis and Kansas City.
But you don’t have to be able to sing or dance to join the tour…

"In a group of 100 or a couple of hundred performers, you really need a lot of helpers, and so we're hoping to have people help with the robes and help with the costumes and most of all, before the performance, we want our people in the foyer, greeting people, shaking hands, maybe passing out programs."

Robison hopes the Merging Musical Worlds tour will build an economic and cultural bridge between the people of Russia and the United States…

"This could be really a boost to Missouri economic influence in Russia.  They're very open.  Some people say there are more in Moscow now than any city in the world, and we should be there.  Missouri should be there with its art."

The tour is planned for May 18th thru June 1st. If you plan to audition or if you’d like more information about the tour, visit messiahproject.org or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

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