The Alphens Cossacks Choir gave their anniversary concert on Sunday 8 October in Theater Castellum in Alphen aan den Rijn. An almost full hall with 600 visitors enjoyed a varied
concert with the a capella sung Byzantine and Orthodox music to the romantic and cheerful
Cossack songs.
Accompanied by Ensemble Samovar with authentic instruments such as the domra, babalalaika and the bajan, the Alphen Cossacks made the most of their musical ability to captivate the audience. Conductor Arkadi Gankin was praised in several speeches that he managed to achieve this in 10 years. Mayor Spies was also surprised to have such a choir in Alphen aan den Rijn. She had experienced the choir invitation as a gift.
Chairman Hans van den Berg stated in his speech that he should have invited 18 mayors because the singers come from many different municipalities such as Hendrik Ido Ambacht, Utrecht, Zoetermeer, Leiderdorp, Wassenaar and of course a number of surrounding municipalities and Alphen aan den Rijn. All members are passionate about Russian music and enjoy it during the many concerts that the choir gives.The soloist of the anniversary concert, mezzo-soprano Viktoria Pankratova, from St. Petersburg, now also living in the Netherlands, managed to captivate the audience again in her own way.
Lady speaker Nathaliya Staravoit announced the songs in a charming way with a Belarusian accent and told a few things about the content of the songs.
Afterwards, the choir received a lot of nice and spontaneous reactions from the visitors and it was therefore very busy during the follow-up that was held in the foyer and café. The Castellum employees had to roll up their sleeves to provide the many visitors with a drink. For the audience and certainly for the choir members a nice moment to go through this concert together.
The Alphens Cossacks Choir was very satisfied with the almost full, large hall of the theater. The anniversary year ended so beautifully. The five Cossacks of the jubilee committee can look back with satisfaction on a year with many highlights, including the concert tour through Belarus. Sundays concert was the icing on the cake for them too. Board, members and now also the mayor agree on one motto: “Alphens Cossacks Choir, we can be proud of that”.