Walnut Creek Journal , weekly supplement to Contra Costa Times           August 19,1999

An uplifting performance By Catherine D. Jacobson Staff writer       An opportunity for children to exhibit their talents - boosting their self-esteem and further gaining confidence about themselves and their abilities - is just one plus of a public performance.       The other is that it is fun.       Students in Avgusta Abidor's piano and voice studio recently had the opportunity to feel good about what they have learned with a concert at the Contra Costa Jewish Community Center in Walnut Creek.       "The person singing has to explore himself," she says, adding that the public also needs to see how much performers' abilities have improved over time.       One of Abidor's older students, 17-year-old Steve Limones, has been taking singing lessons for one-and-a-half years, and says he has learned how to sing and enjoy performing before an audience.       "I'd encourage kids to get involved in some type of music," he says. "It really does matter in other parts of our lives. It's uplifting."       Though his teacher is a classically trained opera singer, Steve had suggested that the audience would probably enjoy familiar Broadway melodies, and Abidor agreed, noting that everyone likes the songs.       "The misic is so great," she says. "It's easy to open up the kid's voices.       The recent recital, with students of ages 8 to 17, featured solo and duet performances of songs from such Broadway musicals as "West Side Story", "Fiddler On The Roof" and "Les Miserables," as well as some classical selections by Taccani and Arditi.       Abidor, who has been teaching for five years, immigrated from Russia seven years ago. Proceeds from the recent performance benefit the Russian literature section of the Walnut Creek library and the "BMECTE", which means "together" in Russian, newspaper.