Israeli-Lebanese duo to perform classical, international music

Daniel Bolshoy, an Israeli, and Julie Nesrallah, Canadian-born with Lebanese roots, try to inspire others to live peacefully through their work. The duo wants to make an example of their relationship and show that peace can be achieved between dueling cultures. \n"It sounds strange," Bolshoy said, "but we hope to inspire those two countries (Israel and Lebanon) to get along."\nThe Nesrallah-Bolshoy duo will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Bloomington's John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium. Nesrallah, a mezzo-soprano and Bolshoy, a classical guitarist, will play 27 classical songs infused with many international influences.\n"The music is nonstandard classical," Bolshoy explained. "The songs have to do with popular or folk music from different South American countries." \nThe concert will also feature five songs inspired by various Emily Dickinson writings. \n"It will be an incredibly unique program," said Mark Bisesi, president of the Bloomington Classical Guitar Society. "The songs will be performed in an intimate setting, and the combination of vocal and instrumental should be quite a treat. Both are magnificent performers, and it's a real privilege to have them in our community."\nThe Bloomington Area Arts Council and the Bloomington Classical Guitar Society both sponsor the concert as part of a performance series for the BAAC.\nJocelyn Robertson, director of performance and special events for the BAAC, said this partnership is common.\n"We usually work with the Bloomington Classical Guitar Society for a section of the series," she said. \nBolshoy first became involved with the Bloomington Classical Guitar Society while earning his doctoral degree at IU, beginning in the fall of 2002. He and Nesrallah have already performed two concerts together in Bloomington, along with several other individual performances. \nThe couple first met and performed together at a musical festival in Ottawa, Canada, in 2001 and have been touring together and dating ever since. They reside in Canada but continually tour and perform worldwide as a duo and individually.\nBolshoy currently teaches guitar classes at Concordia University in Montreal and has performed at many prestigious festivals and concerts internationally. Bolshoy will record a CD in the spring and next year will tour the West Coast. He is also planning a 40-concert tour in Canada for next year.\nNesrallah is an opera singer who has performed with many opera companies across the country. In 2004, she was invited to sing for Princess Haya of Jordan for a benefit to help impoverished girls study music in Canada. She recorded an album with harpist Caroline Léonardelli in September and will star as the title role in "Carmen" for the Syracuse Opera in Syracuse, N.Y. She completed all of her classical training in Ottawa and Montreal.\nTickets for the concert are available online at www.bloomingtonarts.info or at the John Waldron Arts Center the night of the show. Prices are $15 for the general public, $12 for students and seniors and $10 for guitar society members.