Photos are kindly provided by the Russian Music Center (Sharjah)
The issue of cultural and aesthetic development of a child worries sooner or later all parents. Many residents of the UAE, who recently moved to this country, are too busy settling in a new place and are concerned about the process of family assimilation in the new society, forgetting that their children do not have enough only general school education.
Among the areas of activity of the Russian Music Center (RMC), opened in September 2006 in Sharjah, priority are the provision of assistance to gifted youth, the aesthetic education of children and adolescents, and assistance in harmonizing international relations.
Why not just a school, but the Russian Music Center? Because the school is crowded. And out-of-class communication for children is no less valuable than the lesson itself. So there were ideas of holding contests, concerts, festivals, exhibitions, which became possible only thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of adults. The best professionals in their field work at the Center, and their students take leading prizes at various international competitions. But first things first…
The first step towards art
The director of the RMC, its founder and mastermind, a piano teacher who raised many students, Svetlana Grantovna Tarakanova says: “I started working at a Dubai private Russian school, recruited several students and, within a year, I was fully equipped with a class of people who wanted to make music. The idea was supported by two more teachers - pianist Olga Kovalenko and theorist Olga Vorobyova. " Step by step, relying on the voluntary support of people interested in the development of musical education, Svetlana Tarakanova achieved the opening of a full-fledged Russian Music Center.
Today it is difficult to believe that once in these rooms classes of sports sections were held and there were commercial offices. In cozy classrooms, polished pianos gleam with height-adjustable chairs, a huge mirror reflects a music stand in the violin class, and a concert grand piano is located in the assembly hall. In the neighborhood, in bright rooms it smells of paints, canvases, easels and bright palettes are everywhere - future artists of all ages are engaged here. And the next room is specially designed for young dancers and ballerinas: a special floor covering, a ballet machine and a mirror near the side wall, racks for pointe shoes and mats for stretching. Everything here breathes art, saturated with music, light and color.
Having achieved official status, our enthusiasts did not stop there, did not calm down and did not sit behind the closed walls of the school. In every possible way they try to be in sight in order to demonstrate the achievements of their pupils, the success of their students, promoting the “Russian school” and the prestige of Russian culture in the eyes of the local population.
Steps and Frontiers
Today, the Russian Music Center takes an active part in the cultural life of the UAE, organizing concerts, conducting festivals and solo performances of its pupils. In particular, in March 2007, students of the Russian Music Center took part in a competition of young musicians in Dubai, and in May of the same year, in the concert “Young Talents of Dubai”. In January 2008, RMC held a music festival in the Lamcy Plaza shopping center, and in May the festival arrived in Sharjah, in the Mega Mall.
In concert and festival programs, along with young talents, teachers of the Center also take part. In addition, RMC regularly holds lectures on the history of art for children and adults, academic concerts of students with the performance of ancient, classical Russian and Arabic music. A special concert is being prepared for International Women's Day on March 8, when only the Center’s male team performs on stage, and the smallest talents shine as part of the Spring Votes program. At the end of the school year, the Big Concert is traditionally given with demonstrations by all students. This is a great celebration for both children, teachers, and parents.
The publication
Not wanting to remain within a single country, the Russian Music Center is entering the international arena. In February 2009, the young pianists of the Center took part in a musical project in the city of Zwickau (Germany), where they performed the music of Russian classics, visited the world's most famous museums and concert halls, and even recorded an audio disc in a professional recording studio. The highlight of the spring of this year was the First Open Competition for Young Pianists "Step to Success".
The event was held under the patronage of the wife of the ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Javahir Al Kassimi and with the support of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in the UAE, in the concert hall of the Cultural Palace (Sharjah). 150 musicians from all over the country took part in the qualifying audition, 92 pianists from 24 nationalities of different age categories were selected for the competition. The competition was a great celebration for listeners and performers, attracted the attention of wide circles of the public and the media.
Following the results of this competition, the following performers became winners: the title of “Star of the Competition” was awarded to a pupil of the RMC, a student of Svetlana Tarakanova, Yaroslav Kolinko (16 years old, Kazakhstan), who performed works by Frederic Chopin “Nocturne” and Sergey Rakhmaninov “Prelude No. 5, op. 23 "
The prize 1st place was shared by: Bernadette Lorna Sylvia Diaz (16 years old, Pakistan) - RMC, class of Olga Kovalenko, with the works of Chopin "Nocturne" and Khachaturian "Tokkata"; Katerina Seriekh (12 years old, Russia, Jordan) - RMC, class of Svetlana Tarakanova (Glinka "Nocturne" and Grieg "March of the Dwarves"); Leo Itssuki FourdKelsey (8 years old, United Kingdom) - Elite Music Institute, class of Marina Zamfir (Tchaikovsky "Children's Album, Mazurka" and Burgmüller "La Chevalesque").
2nd place: Daria Korotkikh (15 years old, Russia) - RMC, Olga Kovalenko's class, with the works of Schumann "Arabesques" and Rachmaninov "Elegy"; Alim-Akhma Lakhyalov (15 years old, Russia) - RMC, Olga Kovalenko's class (Giulio Caccini "Ave Maria", Rachmaninov "Prelude"); Kimberly Ann Tulia Kota (13 years old, India) - Sing and Swing School, Marina Borsuk's class (Millward, Tchaikovsky's “The Seasons, Barcarolla”); Diana Velichko (11 years old, Russia) - RMC, class of Svetlana Tarakanova (Vollengaupt "Scherzo", Shostakovich "Lyrical Waltz"); Tarek Al Shaher Belhadad (9 years old, Syria) - RMC, Tatyana Tarakanova's class (Schumann "Santa Claus", Gayane Chebotaryan "Prelude"); Nikolai Glazyrin (10 years old, Russia), class of Evgenia Orlova (Kabalevsky “Rondo-Toccata”, Grieg “Puck”).
The honorable third place was taken by: Nadezhda Polonova (12 years old, Russia) - RMC, class of Svetlana Tarakanova (Klara-Josefina Vic “Polonaise”, Amirov “Lyrical Dance”); Daria Avdeeva (12 years old, Russia) - RMC, Olga Kovalenko's class (Melartin "Pastoral", Gurilev "Polka-Mazurka"); David Minai (12 years old, Iran) - RMC, Olga Kovalenko's class (Borodin "Little Suite. In the Monastery", Schumann); Vladislav Gordeev (10 years old, Russia) - RMC, Olga Kovalenko's class (Tchaikovsky "Children's Album. Mazurka", Frank "Piece"); Ruslan Khamidullin (9 years old, Russia) - RMC, Olga Kovalenko's class (Tchaikovsky "Children's Album. Sweet Dream", Grieg); Nursultan Musinov (9 years old, Kazakhstan) - RMC, Olga Kovalenko's class (Chopin Polonaise, Bistibaev).
The fruits of enlightenment
It is worth mentioning that one of the winners of the Step to Success contest - Tarek Al Shaher Belhadad - became the absolute leader in the international music competition in Syria and took first place.
And teachers set a worthy example to their students. For services to the Fatherland in the education of the younger generation, teachers of the Russian Music Center, graduates of the Ural State Conservatory named after M.P. Musorgsky (Yekaterinburg, Russia), Svetlana Tarakanova, Olga Kovalenko and Olga Vorobyova on April 30, 2008 were awarded Russian Orders "For Contribution to education".
It remains to add that everything that we invest in our children from childhood, they continue to carry with them through life. And what a blessing, when a teacher appears next to your child, which is called "from God", capable of revealing all the secret talents in your pet and plunging into his soul that "rational, kind, eternal" that will allow him to embark on the path of creation and enlightenment . The guys who live today in the UAE are really lucky. Here is the Russian Music Center, in which they serve, giving themselves completely to this service, just such teachers. They go through this life together with their students and sometimes give them something that parents simply do not have enough time for in the everyday rush. Good luck, RMC! We will closely monitor the success of your pets.
The teaching staff of the RMC
Piano class: • Svetlana Tarakanova (director) • Kovalenko Olga (head teacher) • Tatyana Tarakanova • Olga Konovalova • Natalya Schmidt
Violin class: • Andrey Schmidt • Alla Velichko (violin and choral lessons)
Theory of solfeggio and music literature: • Olga Vorobyova
Guitar class: • Sabina Afridi (marketing manager)
Synthesizer: • Anatoly Okolelov
Painting class: • Vasilisa Eliseeva
Ballet: • Elena Al Khuri
Folk dances: • Victoria Provkina
Concert plan for the 2009-2010 academic year:
• October 1, 2009 - International Day of Music. Concert of school teachers.
• November 27, 2009 - From Minuet to Waltz. Concert of young musicians.
• December 17, 2009 - Christmas concerts. Solo. Foreign classics.
• December 18, 2009 - Christmas concerts. Tutti. Performances of ensembles.
• February 5, 2010 - Music of Russian and Arab composers.
• February 26, 2010 "Musical Mosaic". Music from cartoons and movies.
• March 5, 2010 - "Only boys are on stage."
• March 26, 2010 - The Debutant. Performers are students of the 1st year of study.
• April 9, 2010 - "Fairyland". Violin music.
• May 9, 2010 - "Memory". In honor of Victory Day.
