On January 27, 1923, at the building of the West Side Auditorium, a concert ball was given by the Union of the Russian organizations of the city of Chicago.

It was a festival because in that concert appeared for the first time in Chicago the baritone S. Borovsky, of the Moscow Opera, and the director of the well known "Maisonette Russe," and the famous double quartet of the male chorus of the Russian Opera, under the direction of the former assistant of the greatest Russian composer of sacred music, A. Arkhangelsky.

The concert was opened with the favorite folk-song, known to every Russian, "Vniz po Matushke po Volge" (Down the Mother Volga). The melody of that song and also the heart-felt rendition of it, caused the audience of the Auditorium to transfer their thoughts for a minute to far off Russia and the native banks of the mighty Volga, again to feel oneself a Russian. One had a feeling that between the chorus and the audience there are numberless, unseen threads of relationship. One minute of profound silence, and the audience broke out in stormy applause. And that is how the program of the concert started. All 2the following songs, masterly performed and well prepared, were folk-songs, sometimes sad, which aroused sad memories, or gay, which made the audience laugh heartily and in a healthy way. Of these songs, "To the Lord God We Pray" was especially well performed, with S. Stankievich as the soleist. "I Sit Behind the Bars," "Best Shoes," "Kudesnyk" (sorcerer), "Not the Hawks," from the opera "The Tsar's Bride," and the Ukrainian "Viter, viter kolo Khati" (Wind, wind, near the cottage), "Zakukla to Siva Zasulia" (The Gray Cuckoo Called). The soloist S. Borovsky, together with the chorus, sang the folk-song "Dubinushka" (The Cudgel). This singer has a beautiful, clear lyric baritone (voice), good training and diction. The songs "Hopak" (Russian Dance), "Kuzniets" (Blacksmith), by Petrov, earned long and incessant applause from the audience. The last song of S. Borovsky, "Korobeyniki" (The Peddler) gave the singer another thunder of applause. The success earned by the chorus and S. Borovsky can be explained by their performance of the best compositions of Russian art, mainly Russian folk-songs. Mr. Tatarov and Mr. Muievsky sang their songs beautifully. The violin soloist, Mr. I. Chapek, had the usual success. Mme. Sikora and Chapek beautifully accompanied the singers. The Russian opera chorus and S. Borovsky 3were a great acquisition to the Russian colony. And the audience expressed its heart-felt appreciation to both of them. The audience kept absolute silence during the performance. It is very desirable that these two artistic forces should remain as long as possible in Chicago and sing for the Russian colony.