“25 Together” Reception Commemorates a 25 Year Friendship of Art and Collaboration

“25 Together” was a reception held in honor of a 25 year friendship between Greenville Symphony Orchestra Conductor, Edvard Tchivzhel, and International Ballet Executive Director & Founder, Lena Forster, and their respective families, which began with the dramatic defection of Tchivzhel and his family thanks to the aid of Forster and her family.  While the (truly dramatic) story of this defection has been well documented and has been recently featured by Greenville area publications as part of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra’s 25th anniversary concert and reception (both titled The Great Escape), 25 Together simply celebrated the outcome of that event: a bond that has spanned the time since then between the figureheads and family members involved.

Thanks to the unique experience together (the Tchivzhel family lived with Forster and her family in their Simpsonville residence for a period of time after the defection), the two can count current collaborations, such as the Greenville Symphony Orchestra’s live accompaniment of the International Ballet’s Nutcracker, or the International Ballet’s annual appearance in the Greenville Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday at Peace production, among some of the artistic benefits of the longtime connection.

Guests of honor included Edvard and Luba Tchivzhel, their son, Arvid, Lena Forster, Nick Jankowsky, their daughter Tanya Jankowsky and her son Jake Vicars, along with Margaret Hobson, daughter of the late Larry Estridge, close friend of Tchivzhel and Forster, who was the lawyer representing and providing guidance during the defection.