Mandolin/fiddle player Peter Ostroushko to appear in concert

WVU Parkersburg to present mandolin/fiddle performer Peter Ostroushko in concert Oct. 10, 2007.

CONTACT: Debbie Richards, special assistant to the president, 304-424-8201.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

One of the finest mandolin and fiddle players in acoustic music will appear in concert at 7 p.m., Wednesday (Oct. 10) in the College Activities Center at West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

Peter Ostroushko has spent more than 25 years as a frequent performer on “A Prairie Home Companion." For several seasons, he was also music director for the popular radio show. He’s also appeared on “Austin City Limits,” Late Night with David Letterman,” and “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

His tours have taken him to the stages of clubs, performing arts centers, music festivals and theatres across North America and Europe as he earned an international reputation as a versatile and dazzling master of instrumentation and composition.

He has produced a number of recordings, including "Down the Streets of My Old Neighborhood," "Slüz Düz Music," and the three albums that make up his Heartland Trilogy: "Heart of the Heartland," "Pilgrims of the Heartroad" and "Sacred Heart."

Growing up in the Ukrainian community of northeast Minneapolis, Ostroushko heard mandolin, balalaika and bandura tunes played by his father and family friends at get-togethers in their home and in church. It is the music that provides the basis for many of his compositions.

The concert is sponsored by the college’s Social Justice Committee and is part of the institution’s observance of “Celebrate Community ~ Honor Diversity Week,” which features a series of events and activities.

Tickets are available in the college business office for $10, adults, and $5, students. WVU Parkersburg students and employees can purchase discounted tickets in advance.