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Five extraordinarily gifted young musicians from the former Soviet Union are coming to Canada this April to join young Canadian counterparts in the breathtaking YOUNG STARS OF THE YOUNG CENTURY: The Fourth Annual International Gala Concert. The concert is presented by Show One Productions,The event - featuring virtuoso players and singers 7-20 years in age - takes place Saturday, April 26, 2008, 7 p.m. at the George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge Street. Tickets, $30-$50, are available from Ticketmaster, 416-870-8000 or www.ticketmaster.ca, or from the Toronto Centre for the Arts box office. For information and group rates, visit www.ShowOneProductions.ca or phone 416-737-6785.

Coming from the far corners of the former U.S.S.R. are five gifted artists, all winners of national and international competitions, and chosen by the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation. They are violinist Lena Prosolupova (Ryazan, Russia, 1994), pianist Arseny Aristov (Habarovsk, Russia, 1990), clarinetist Narek Arutyunyan (Gumri, Armenia, 1992), and accordionist Iosif Purits (Moscow, Russia, 1988). Evgeny Skolchenkov (Bryansk, Russia, 1992) returns after his sensational 2006 Young Stars     Joining them in an evening of dazzling performances are three outstanding young Canadian musicians.     Nine-year-old pianist Anastasia Rizikov won the 2006 Vladimir Horowitz Competition in Kiev, Ukraine. Violinist Julia Mirzoev, 11, won the Most Promising Performer prize in the Golden Menorah Competition, last year in Berlin. Moscow-born bass-baritone Anton Mamine (born 1987), who now lives in Toronto, just captured first prize in Grand Opera for the second year in a row at the Kiwanis Music Festival.

Two youthful musical companies will be special guests. Conducted by Gregory Burton, the Mississauga Youth Orchestra comprises some of the most talented young musicians, age 10-21, west of Toronto.

TC3, the inspiring and energetic Toronto Children's Concert Choir & Performing Arts Company, blends African and Caribbean rhythms in an infectious mix from spirituals to hip-hop, under its founder and conductor, Rev. Denise Gillard.

With 65 young orchestral players on stage together with the 50 singers of TC3, and the Russian and Canadian soloists, the Young Stars Gala will leave the George Weston Recital Hall - and audience memories - vibrating for a long time to come!

Toronto's Show One Productions first presented Young Stars of the Young Century in February 2005. It was a spectacular sell-out, as were the second edition in March 2006 and the third in May 2007. Impresario Svetlana Dvoretskaia, who represents the Vladimir Spivakov Foundation in North America, expects the fourth annual Gala, on May 4, to be just as thrilling.

"Orchestras and opera companies throughout the world are creating special programs to attract the next generation," says Show One's Ms. Dvoretskaia. "We are proud to be part of this very important mission. Young Stars is a spectacular demonstration of great talent, discipline and achievement, together with a lot of humor and limitless energy. No matter how long it may run, the audience never wants to leave!

The Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation (www.spivakov.ru -> English) was established in 1994 and is headed by celebrated Russian violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov, conductor of the famed Moscow Virtuosi and the National Philharmonic of Russia. The Foundation participates in the UNESCO project "In Support of the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence." Since its inception, it has granted scholarships to more than 800 young talents.

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