Papa Duke to Play at Performing Arts Center Friday

The South Bay Community Concert Association to present Papa Duke — Ukrainian violin virtuoso Vasyl Popadiuk and his Gypsy music band — at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Friday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Popadiuk started his successful music career at age 7 at Kiev's Lysenko Music School for Gifted Children. By the time he turned 18, Popadiuk was composing and arranging most of his material. Graduated from Ukraine's National Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music, he has toured with Ukraine's Hopak National Ensemble, Kiev's Gypsy Music Theatre Company, and the Nazarov Music Theatre Company of Moscow. He was asked to accompany then Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife as part of the cultural entourage during a state visit to Spain where he performed for Queen Sofia.

Together with a band of four talented musicians (Stan Fomin, Sasha Boychouk, David West and Rosendo "Chendy" Leon), Popadiuk formed Papa Duke. Their passionate and fiery, yet luminescent music is often described as "Gypsy World Fusion." The band's name is a play on Popadiuk's last name and the fact that he is considered by many to be the "duke" of Gypsy violin. 

The South Bay Community Concert Association is a subscription-based organization. Subscriptions are opened each year in the March - April time period, with priority being given to existing members, followed by those who have placed their name and address on the waiting list. Membership ($40 for adults, $20 for students, 18 years old and younger) includes tickets to all the SBCCA annual season concerts and access to many of the reciprocity concerts.

For more information, contact SBCCA at howarddale64@msn.com, (310) 373-2442 or RBPAC at (310) 937-6607.