Anima e Grazia Presents a Mother’s Day Recital The W&L faculty duo will perform at 3 p.m. on May 10 in Wilson Concert Hall.

By Abby Harlan
April 28, 2026

The Department of Music at Washington and Lee University presents a performance by Anima e Grazia to celebrate Mother’s Day at 3 p.m. on May 10 in Wilson Concert Hall in the Lenfest Center of the Arts.

The performance is free and open to the public. The event will be streamed online.

The local duo Anima e Grazia, featuring cellist Julia Goudimova and pianist Anna Billias, will host a special Mother’s Day recital highlighting a range of cherished musical selections. Designed as a meaningful tribute, the performance will offer a memorable and intimate experience, celebrating mothers through rich, expressive arrangements. Accompanying the music, Niloofar Gholamrezaei, visiting assistant professor of art, will present evocative digital visuals, creating a dynamic and immersive dialogue between image and sound.

Billias, a lecturer in music at W&L, studied as a concert pianist at the Prokofiev State Academy of Music in Donetsk, Ukraine, where she obtained advanced degrees in both piano performance and teaching. She has appeared in venues worldwide and is a member of the Marlbrook Chamber Players, a prominent ensemble in the broader Rockbridge County area.

A native of Moscow, Goudimova began studying the cello at 7 years old and later graduated from the Belarus Academy of Music. Following the completion of her higher education, Goudimova went on to perform with ensembles across Belarus, Moldova, South Korea, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. She now serves as a lecturer in music at W&L and remains active in symphony orchestras and chamber music throughout southwestern Virginia, including as a member of the Saturn String Quartet and the Marlbrook Chamber Players.

For a full list of events, visit the Department of Music’s website.

The Lenfest Center for the Arts, home of the Department of Theater, Dance and Film Studies, the Department of Music and the Department of Art and Art History is a multi-use facility designed and equipped to accommodate a broad spectrum of the performing arts, including theater, musical theater, opera and operetta, choral and band music, dance and performance art in one energizing complex.