Richie Freedman and Yuri Lotakov perform on March 26 in Clubhouse 4

LIVE IN CONCERT

Richie Freedman and Yuri Lotakov will perform in concert Sunday, March 26, at 2 p.m. in Clubhouse 4.

Residents may remember Yuri Lotakov from his wonderful standing-room-only Chopin concert last October. Lotakov will be joined by Richie Freedman. Freedman was musically talented at a very young age and began his music studies at age 8. He was performing professionally in New York by the age of 12. By the time he enrolled at UCLA, he was already performing with Della Reese, The Impressions, and Ike and Tina Turner. But after attending undergraduate and graduate schools, he went in a completely different direction: law enforcement, and did that for 35 years. After retiring, he went back to music, performing as a jazz trumpeter for several big bands and performing with several major-name artists.

Lotakov achieved very early success in the Ukraine, beginning his training in piano at the age of 5 and playing his first public performance at the age of 9. He graduated from the prestigious Kiev Conservatory with a Ph.D in 1971 and started performing with major orchestras in Ukraine, Russia and Eastern Europe.

In 1976, Lotakov tried to get out of the Soviet Union, but it wasn’t easy. When he applied for permission to leave, he was punished by losing his teaching position plus having all his music appearances cancelled. This went on for two years but finally he was free. He started performing in Europe, South Africa, and the United States. Now Lotakov and his wife, Luba, are happy members of the Leisure World community.

Just six months ago, Freedman met Lotakov at the LW Bicycle Club. Realizing they both had a love of music, Freedman asked Lotakov to play Hummel’s trumpet concerto together and viola, they decided to prepare for a full concert. LW residents will be the lucky listeners of their musical connection in March.

—Jan Friedland