Aria & Ivory
Olga Miliuta, Soprano and Kevin Koehler, Pianist
FREE Admission
Saturday, November 16, 2024
7:00 p.m.
Valley Keyboards
(956) 686-4863
Miller Recital Hall
900 Harvey - McAllen, TX
Olga Miliuta , Soprano
European born, American opera, and classic pop singer. Master of Music.
Miliuta has several degrees as choir director, piano teacher, as well as opera and concert singer. She graduated from the Belarusian State Conservatory and studied opera’s art at Elena Obraztsova School in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
1st place Winner and Grand Prix winner of multiple operas and operettas. International competitions in Italy, France, Germany, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and USA.
On theatricality, she performed opera parts such as:
Queen of the Night op. “The Magic Flute”, W. A. Mozart
Brigitt and Iolanta op. “Iolanta”, P. Tchaikovsky
Mimi and Musetta op. “La Boheme”, G. Puccini
Violetta op. “La Traviata”, G. Verdi
For many years Miliuta was guest soloist in the German International Symphony Orchestra in Cologne and Munich Germany.
In 2023 she was a guest soloist for the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra in a concert program: “Home for the holidays”.
In January of 2023 she produced her first CD with Polish-American composer and pianist Konrad Binienda entitled, “Songs of Divine Mercy”.
On the theater’s stages Miliuta has performed the operas of Verdi, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Puccini and many other operas all over Europe. Her repertoire includes arias and songs from 16 different languages.
Miliuta is also the founder and owner of Belcanto music school in Corpus Christi, Texas where she teaches piano and voice lessons. Her students successfully perform on European and American stages.
Kevin Koehler, Pianist
Kevin Koehler was born and raised in Wisconsin several decades ago. He started piano lessons at age 9. During school, Kevin accompanied soloists and choirs, played at weddings, funerals and churches, and was pianist for several theater productions. At UW-Madison he triple-majored in Computer Science, Spanish and Piano Performance.
After college, Kevin was an Information Systems Developer and Database Administrator. When his wife, Shannon, graduated from Medical School, they moved to Hawaii for her Residency, back to Wisconsin for her Fellowship, and finally to Texas where she is a Pediatric Surgeon at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. Along the way, they had three kids (16, 13, 8) to which Kevin has been a stay-at-home dad.
Kevin also volunteers in several organizations, including the Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Guild, the Nueces County Medical Society Alliance, the Texas Medical Association Alliance, the American Medical Association Alliance, the Driscoll Auxiliary, the Chopin Society, and his Homeowners Association. In the last few years, he has been playing piano at various concerts and events, sharing his love of music with the community. He recently self-produced an album titled “Allure” and hopes to record many more.
Kevin mostly enjoys playing romantic piano and New Age music, but also loves classical music from the Romantic Period (Chopin, Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Liszt). Among his other interests are foreign languages, ballroom dancing, photography, and bodybuilding.
The Program
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I Dreamed a Dream (from "Les Misérables") C. Schönberg
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Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes) Schönberg J. Kosma
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Nuit d'étoiles (Starry Night) C. Debussy
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6 Romances, Op. 4, No. 4, "Ne poy, krasavitsa" S. Rachmaninov
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Piano Solos:
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Broken Vow L. Fabian
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You Raise Me Up R. Lovland
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Time to Say Goodbye F. Sartori
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Xerxes: "Ombra mai fù" G. F. Handel
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Romeo & Juliet: Juliet's Waltz Ch. Gounod
Intermission
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Gianni Schicchi: "O mio babbino caro" G. Puccini
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La Bohème: "Quando m'en vo" G. Puccini
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Die Fledermaus: "Klänge der Heimat (Csardas)" J. Strauss
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Piano Solos:
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Le Onde L. Einaudi
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Nefeli L. Einaudi
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Theme from New York, New York J. Kander
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Por una Cabeza (from "Scent ofa Woman") C. Gardel
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Turandot: "Nessun dorma" G. Puccini