Duo piano concert Nov. 15 at Gail Borden library

Gail Borden Public Library's Sunday Afternoon Concert Series will present a special experience for music lovers - a duo piano performance.

The EStrella Piano Duo will perform original compositions and transcribed masterpieces for piano from three centuries, concluding with Gershwin's ever-popular "Rhapsody in Blue." The concert will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, at the main library, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin. Free tickets for the performance are available at the main library and the Rakow Branch. Visit gailborden.info.

The EStrella Piano Duo is composed of Elena Doubovitskaya and Svetlana Belsky, accomplished soloists and chamber musicians who share a Russian heritage and training, as well as an enthusiasm for playing together. They have performed at Carnegie (Weill) Hall, Kiev Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakoff Museum, Baptist University of Hong Kong, and the Tanglewood Music Festival.

A native of Russia, Elena Doubovitskaya has performed in the United States, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Russia. Her accomplishments include awards from Artists International Presentations, the Seattle International Piano Competition and the Ibla Grand Prize Competition. She received her undergraduate degree from the Ural State "Mussorgsky" Conservatory in Ekaterinburg, Russia, followed by a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music under Solomon Mikowsky and a doctoral degree in piano performance from Northwestern University under Ursula Oppens. She is a member of the piano and chamber music faculty at the Merit School of Music in Chicago.

Svetlana Belsky has appeared in the Ukraine, Russia, Poland, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and throughout the United States. She has received awards for her performances in international piano competitions and for her advocacy of new American music. Her recordings have been heard on radio stations worldwide. Following emigration from the Soviet Union, Belsky studied with Emilio Del Rosario in Chicago. She earned her bachelor of music summa cum laude and master's degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music studying with Ann Schein. Later, she earned her doctorate in performance at the Manhattan School of Music working with Nina Svetlanova. She is the coordinator of piano studies at the University of Chicago.

To learn more about the duo, visit www.facebook.com/EStrellaPianoDuo.