Friday, November 15, 2019, The Harvard Club of Boston

Guest of Honor: Peter Rand, Founding Chairman

Enjoy a feast for all the senses and help support the BRAI's mission of creative exchange and understanding in the arts between the US and post-Soviet countries! Download the invitation

Auction Items

Paris Blues, limited-edition print of painting by artist Oana Lauric featured on Revel invitation (value $1200, starting bid: $600). Custom 36" x 36" canvas print, finished by the artist, ready to hang. Oana Lauric is a Boston-based painter originally from Roumania who has lived and studied in Paris.

The Porcelain Girl, fine art photograph from the Venetian Carnival by Arkady Lvov (value $1200, starting bid: $600). Signed Artist's Proof of photograph exhibited in solo show at Mimi Ferzt Gallery in New York in 2013 and Italy in 2014. Framed size 20"x"30". Arkady Lvov is a photographer and leading platinum printer originally from Ukraine and based in New York.



Dessert Tasting Experience for 10 amidst Mid Century Modern Art and Design Collection (value $750, starting bid: $400) Enjoy old-world baking and elegant hospitality courtesy of Christina Gamota, whose homes have been featured in Glamour and Boston Magazine. Taste your way through a variety of beautifully presented scratch-made desserts and other delicacies, with wine and tea/coffee, set in stunning interiors.



Whisky Tasting Experience for 6 in Contemporary Art Collection (value $500, starting bid $250) Enjoy a selection of whiskies from different parts of Scotland and of different age (lineup determined with the host, BRAI's Anna Winestein) in different glassware, to discover entirely new taste experiences. Light food pairings and an eclectic interior featuring contemporary art, as well as antiques and porcelain, complete the experience.

Vintage Wine Gift Set: (value $350, starting bid $200) 2 Magnums (1.5 L each) of rare Peter Merriam Miktos Sonoma County Bordeaux Blend (single bottles of recent vintages sell for $65), from 2009 and 2008, a fine wine Aerator, and two Vinum XL Riedel glasses. Only 125 cases produced of this wine, which is made only in the best years. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet France and Petit Verdot carefully chosen from select Merriam properties,


Boston Ballet Tickets (2) (Orchestra section) for any performance Feb.-May 2020 (value $250) Experience a magical night of ballet at the beautifully renovated Boston Opera House, with top notch seats. 2020 productions include rEvolution (Balanchine, Robbins, Forsythe); Swan Lake; Carmen (Elo, Balanchine, Pickett) and Off the Charts (Kylian, Forsythe, Galloway). Choose the date and production you want, and you will receive the best available seats in the Orchestra section.



Behind the Scenes tour of Museum of Russian Icons with Vodka Toast for 10 (value $200, starting bid $100) Enjoy a guided visit through the galleries as well as the hidden nooks and crannies of the Museum of Russian Icons with its Curator Kent dur Russell. Learn about the traditions, techniques and cultural context of icon painting and how they are preserved and restored, take in the temporary exhibitions and conclude with a Vodka Toast in the basement of the old Clinton jail, now the Tea Room of the Museum.


The Ballets Russes And the Art of Design (value $200, starting bid $100) A rare mint-condition copy of this popular and influential coffee-table volume, put together by BRAI and published by Random House's Monacelli Press in 2009. Out of print now, it is prized by collectors and brand new copies have sold for as much as $300 through Amazon and rare book sellers. The book was co-edited by Peter Rand and Anna Winestein, and can be signed by them to you if you wish.

Program

6:00 pm Cocktail
6:30 pm Performances: Rimsky-Korsakov Quartet, Ann Assarsson, Chris Brenne
7:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm Performances: Alexei Tsiganov, Paulius Pancekauskas, Zhanna Alkhazova
8:00 pm Dessert (Cash Bar begins)
8:30 pm Performances: Zhanna Alkhazova, Paulius Pancekauskas, Rimsky-Korsakov Quartet
9:00 pm Peter Rand honored
9:15 pm Dancing. Live music by Ann Assarsson, Chris Brenne, Tom Curatolo, Greg de Guiglelmo, Alexei Tsiganov and recorded music interludes.
11:00 pm Event Ends

Performances by

Zhanna Alkhazova - Operatic Soprano, www.zhannaalkhazova.com

Ann Assarsson - Vocalist www.annassarsson.com

Chris Brenne - Guitar www.chrisbrenne.com/cb/

Tom Curatolo - Bass;     Paulius Pancekauskas - Classical Pianist

Greg de Guiglelmo - Drums www.gregdegug.com/

Rimsky-Korsakov Quartethttp://en.rkq.spb.ru

Alexei Tsiganov - Jazz Pianist www.alexeitsiganov.com/

Dress code: Creative Black Tie

Table seating is reserved for Dining ticket-holders. Tables are arranged cabaret-style, to allow you to enjoy performances both during and after dinner. Each table will accommodate 5 or 6 guests. Limited VIP tables of 6 or 8 are available. Open Bar during the Cocktail and Dinner.
Dancing ticket holders are invited to enter beginning at 8 pm. Standing cocktail tables as well as seating without tables behind the dinner seating will be available. Cash Bar beginning at 8 pm.

The Harvard Club is at 374 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston 02116
Limited parking in the Club lot (415 Newbury St) for $36, or park at the Hynes Auditorium Garage, 50 Dalton St.

Honoring Peter Rand
Author, philanthropist & co-founder, Ballets Russes Arts Initiative.
The board of Ballets Russes Arts Initiative has chosen to honor Peter Rand for his commitment and contributions to the cross-cultural relationship between the United States and Eastern Europe, and his deep appreciation of the art and history of the region. Since co-founding BRAI with Anna Winestein in 2009, Rand has served on its board of directors, including nine years as its President, with foresight, inspiration, and unending support. Before that he developed, also together with Ms. Winestein, the Ballets Russes 2009 festival, which celebrated the centenary of the Diaghilev company throughout Boston in May 2009. Peter Rand is the author of numerous books of fiction and non-fiction including, most recently, Conspiracy of One: Tyler Kent's Secret Plot Against FDR, Churchill, and the Allied War Effort. A long-time Lecturer at Boston University, and before that at Harvard, Columbia and NYU, Peter retired from teaching in 2018.