Members of a prestigious Russian girls choir and boys quartet will stop by Sequim on a two-week tour of the Puget Sound area.

Young men and women from the Vladimir Girls Choir and Young Men's Quartet will arrive here on Oct. 28 and spend the morning meeting with Sequim High School choral classes, who will have an opportunity to sing with the Russian singers.

After meeting with the

Sequim students, the Russian youths will visit the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Center, where they will be able to dance and sing with members.

"We will do our welcome song for them and a few other songs," said Vickie Carroll, cultural coordinator for the tribe.

After a beading demonstration, a totem tour and a chance to listen to two tribal storytellers, the group will return to the high school for a dinner and concert for the public.

The Vladimir Girls Choir and Young Men's Quartet are part of the Choral Music Centre of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus, which began in 1974 in the city of Vladimir, about 115 miles northeast of Moscow. The center includes an adult chamber choir, a youth chorus, a professional symphony orchestra, a boys choir and a music school. The group began coming to Sequim in 2001. It won the grand prize at an international competition in Bulgaria.

The Russian singers have a repertoire of classical and folk songs from their home country as well as American jazz and rock and roll. While about half of the youngsters are studying English in school, this is the first trip to the United States for all.

Sequim is the group's first stop on its Washington tour, followed by Port Townsend, Freeland, Seattle, Bellevue, Puyallup and University Place. The tour is sponsored by the Seattle Girls Choir and Tacoma Youth Chorus.

The concert will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, at Sequim High School, 601 N. Sequim Ave. A donation of $10 is suggested to help cover tour expenses but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.