Once known as the “Pearl of Asia”, Phnom Penh was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina in the 1920s.

On April 17, 1975, two decades after the end of French colonial rule, the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh, and the city became a ghost town, and the people were forced into provincial labour camps. The regime killed a quarter of the population, including intellectuals, musicians and artists in Cambodia.

Today, Cambodia is recovering and focusing on the future. Chiara Angkor Music Production aims to introduce world-class musicians to Cambodia and supports the rebuilding of Cambodia through the influence of the performing arts.

Presented by Chiara Angkor Music Productions and the Music Executive Committee of Cambodia, Catch a Cambodian Star, is a benefit gala concert to raise funds for music scholarships for talented Cambodian musicians to pursue their dreams.

Boris Slutsky, world-renowned Russian-American pianist, along with Igor Yuzefovich, Hong Kong Philharmonic concertmaster violinist, will be performing at the charity concert this Saturday beginning at 6pm at the InterContinental Hotel in Phnom Penh.

Slutsky, famous for his exquisite tonal beauty and artistry, received his training at Moscow’s Gnessin School for Gifted Children as a student of Anna Kantor. He later completed his formal studies at the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. Slutsky has travelled all over the world, and has performed at many top venues: the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Kaufmann Concert Hall, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Performing Arts Center in Seoul and Teatro Colon in Bogota. In 1993, he joined the Peabody Conservatory, where he currently serves as chairman of the piano department.

Yuzefovich began his violin studies at the age of five, and was accepted into the Gnessin Music School. In 1991, he continued his studies in the US, earning degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Yuzefovich has performed in Egypt, at the Cairo Opera House, in New York at Carnegie Hall, as well as concert halls in the Southern Hemisphere and the Far East. Yuzefovich recently was appointed concertmaster of Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, having previously served as concertmaster for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra.

“Music is a universal language that transcends words, and as a performing artist we are given a unique platform to connect and express. As a pianist, I believe it is also one’s social obligation to help others in need as music exudes a powerful element that can offer peace to people’s lives especially in moments of struggle and bring us all together. Igor and I are very much looking forward to performing in Cambodia,” stated Slutsky.

Catch a Cambodian Star Benefit Gala Concert tickets are $20 each. For ticket information, please contact: 016-892-377, 077-552-922, 017-517-870.

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