Sandra Hughes
Special to the Sun

Room G at Cerro Coso Community College, normally a utilitarian room with grey floors and bare walls, was transformed into an artistic performance space with the aid of some clever lighting and décor. The Saturday evening transformation was in honor of Sierra Performing Art’s performance, “Recital of Russian Music.”

Around 75 guests of all ages attended the performance which featured Helen Smoot on the piano and vocalizing by Allison Stutsman. The guests were treated to an array of well-known music from famous Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff. Although the Russian names may sound daunting, most of the songs were actually familiar. Helen Smoot explained that she prefers to pick songs that most people will recognize, such as the Russian dance from “The Nutcracker Suite” by Tchaikovsky, and the march from, “Peter and the Wolf,” by Prokofiev.

(Use arrows above to view more photos)

Helen Smoot’s playing was not only technically perfect, but also extremely evocative. It is clear that she is an artist who pours a great deal of herself into her music and shares not only sound but emotion with the audience. During the song, “Etude in C# Minor,” the audience felt overwhelmingly melancholy, but during the next song, “17th and 18th Variation on a Theme of Paganini,” their spirits were uplifted again. Smoot was not only a pleasure to listen to, but wonderful to watch as well. She wore a long, glittery purple shawl and played with such passion that watching her fingers travel over the keys was entertainment in and of itself.

Allison Stutsman also gave a lovely performance. This was her first performance at a Saturday evening concert, but she is by no means new to performing with SPA. Allison recently played the part of Peachy Jam in SPA’s 2009 Melodrama, “The Masked Canary.” In 2008, she played the part of Melody Plunkett in “Way Out West in a Dress.” For the “Recital of Russian Music,” she sang three Russian songs which highlighted her pure, clear soprano voice. She wore a custom-made costume by Sherri Ogden. According to Ogden, the costume was meant to indicate a young, well-to-do Russian girl’s “debut” or, coming out, into society. It was pure white with sequined and beaded detail work and it fit perfectly with the Russian songs. Stutsman gave a sweet, soulful performance. Her dramatic training was evident in the way that she sang her words with meaning and cast shy half-smiles to the audience. After the performance, a beaming Stutsman stated, “At first I was nervous, but once I got comfortable, I had a great time.”

SPA holds Saturday Evening Concerts once every few months as a chance for local artists to display their talents and to bring fine art to our valley.

Upcoming SPA performances include a theatre performance next September. SPA members will be putting on two short plays, a classic comedy, “The Marriage proposal,” by Anton Chekov, and a modern play, “The Audition is Over,” by John Kirkpatrick. All of SPA’s performances and auditions are advertised in the Kern Valley Sun. For more information, look at the Sierra Performing Arts website, at www.sierraarts.net.