Looks will be deceiving at Helen Haddad Hall on May 1, as pianist Tatiana Lokhina sees it.
She will perform as part of a trio at two in-person and virtual performances of “A Mother’s Day Tribute to Brahms” — even though it’s a slightly early salute to mothers. Still, Lokhina swears that violinist Grigory Kalinovsky and his son, cellist Serge Kalinovsky, and her will sound for all the world like far more than a threesome at some segments of their show.
She referred especially to Brahms’ final movement of his third violin sonata on the program. Each concert includes two Brahms sonatas each.
“There will be a few moments when it will sound like a duet of sorts of human voices,” Lokhina said, speaking from her home in Bloomington, where she is completing a doctorate at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. “But there will be times when there is a movement that is huge.
“And it really feels and sounds like an entire symphony orchestra.”
Granny Connection founder and group facilitator Ann Jones conceived the idea for the concert. One motivator was simple.
“I was so pleased with the (Columbus Indiana) Philharmonic’s contribution of (the new venue) to the community,” Jones said of its completion last summer. “And I wanted us to find a way to use it.”
The 35-year-old Russian-born Lokhina and her cohorts will be featured in the virus-limited, half-capacity venue (with masks required) as the Granny Connection aims to raise money for the Zambia-based Power of Love Foundation. The Granny Connection is a local group caring for children orphaned by AIDS in African nations and elsewhere. The foundation funds and runs projects in Zambia and India targeted toward helping women and children infected and/or affected with HIV and AIDS.
Lokhina likes the idea that the shows also are tied in with an early Mother’s Day celebration — so much so that she is dedicating her performances to her mother in Russia, which she left seven years ago. And she loves collaborating with Grigory Kalinovsky, an IU violin professor who has performed at some of the world’s major venues such as Carnegie Hall.
“I feel like we connect very well,” Lokhina said.
Lokhina’s background includes stints with IU opera and others while playing her second instrument, the harpsichord. In fact, with IU opera, she has played piano during production stagings, and harpsichord during actual performances.
She also just finished performing on harpsichord with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra chamber group for its recorded baroque series that is currently streaming.
“That was very important for them, especially since it was the first time in a year they were able to do anything on their stage,” Lokhina said.
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What: "A Mother’s Day Tribute to Brahms," featuring a trio of veteran musicians from Bloomington. They are: violinist Grigory Kalinovsky, pianist Tatiana Lokhina, and cellist Serge Kalinovsky.
When: 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. May 1.
Where: Helen Haddad Hall, 315 Franklin St. in downtown Columbus.
Tickets: $15 for the streaming version of the concert, and $20 for the in-person version.
Information: grannyconnection.org
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