United World International Fund Sponsors First Annual "Black Sea Music Fest" from June 13-18 at Odessa's Philharmonic Hall

ODESSA, Ukraine, June 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Odessa, Ukraine is the site of the first-annual "Black Sea Music Fest," an international music festival dedicated to the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff and sponsored by the United World International Fund. Held from June 13-18 at Odessa's Philharmonic Hall, the event is performed by Odessa's Philharmonic Orchestra under the artistic direction of Hobart Earle.

On June 13, Earle conducted a performance of the opera "Aleko" with the choir of the Odessa Academy of Music (chorusmasters Halyna Shpak and Valery Regrut) and four young singers from Odessa: Alla Gavrilina, Viktor Melnik, Andrey Harlamov and Igor Tsarkov, who are all previous prize winners in international competitions. On June 15, the program consisted of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances and Second Piano Concerto (soloist Rustam Muradov).  Mikhail Pletnev will conduct the June 18 performance of Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony and Third Piano Concerto (soloist Konstantin Lapshin).  In addition to United World International Fund's sponsorship, the event is under the patronage of Ukraine Rada member Serhiy Hrinevetsky and Ukraine's Ministry of Culture.

"Amid the ongoing tumult in Ukraine, United World International Fund is honored to sponsor the Black Sea Music Fest, an event that will help unite the community in Odessa with the music of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, performed by the immensely talented Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra," said Eduard Prutnik, United World International Fund Chairman of the Board.  "Thanks to Ukrainian Rada member Serhiy Hrinevetsky and Ukraine's Ministry of Culture, the Black Sea Music Fest is a strong symbol of the tolerance and reconciliation that Odessa has always represented.  Odessa's Philharmonic Orchestra, performing under the direction of both a Russian and American conductor, gives Ukraine hope that shared culture can be a first step to help bridge divides between east and west in the future."

About United World International Fund

United World International Fund was founded in April 2008 at the initiative of Eduard Prutnik. The Fund focuses on:

• Targeted help to create a more healthy, strong, independent and developed Ukrainian community;
• Assisting in the further integration of Ukraine into the world and searching for a proper place for Ukraine in social, political, economic and cultural spheres;
• Cooperating with authorities in keeping and developing national culture as well as support for innovations, leading to cultural renaissance; and
• Assistance for talented youth as the most perspective resource of Ukrainian society.

For more information, visit United World International's Web site at http://www.uniworld.org.ua/en/about/

SOURCE United World International Fund