The idea of the project is to choose between inner personal values and those affected by the external aspects, such as the media, the Internet and social stereotypes.
How to deal with values conflict in modern world? What kind of controversial values do people face? What are the moral dilemmas they solve?
The Program is divided into two parts:
The first part involves getting acquainted with Russian culture. This part includes lectures, excursions and special activities in a format of talk aimed to reflect on cultural immersion.
The second part includes the curriculum consisting of intensive courses and master classes.
The final part is creation of an artwork on the suggested topic.
Professor of the Cello, Harp, Double Bass and Quartet Department. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. Actively performs as a conductor and cellist, holds master classes in Russia and abroad, a member of the jury of music competitions.
Dean of the vocal and stage directing faculty, head of the department chamber singing, PHD of Arts, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.
Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, holder of the letter of Appreciation from the Governor of Saint Petersburg "For many years of service and distinguished contribution to arts and culture".
Laureate of the Prize of the Governor of St. Petersburg in the field of art, laureate of international and all-Russian competitions.
Laureate of the International Johann Ventzel Stamitz Prize, multiple winner of the scholarship of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in the category "Master", holder of the scholarship of the Russian Authors' Society.
Conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg State Philharmonic named after D.D. Shostakovich, Honored Artist of Russia, Commander of the Order of Friendship.
Laureate of international and all-Russian composer competitions, director of the St. Petersburg branch of the Union of Russian Composers, musical director of the theater “LDM. New stage".
Winner of international competitions, member of the Union of Composers of Russia.
Laureate of the St. Petersburg Government's Prize for achievements in the field of composing art, laureate of all-Russian competitions, board member of the St. Petersburg Composers' Union.
Chief Conductor of the Thuringian Youth Orchestra and the Ensemble of Contemporary Music in Weimar, permanent guest conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg, the Symphony Orchestra of the Thuringian Philharmonic, head of productions in theaters in Weimar, Erfurt, Hanover, Brandenburg, Putbus.
Aníbal obtained his Composition Bachelor degree in the Conservatory of Zaragoza, where he was taught by such outstanding Spanish composers and conductors as José María Sánchez-Verdú, Agustín Charles, Nacho de Paz and Borja Quintas. Our participant is fascinated by Korsakov's masterpieces and would like to create a musical work based on the "Russian Easter Festival Overture". To do this, he is going to actively seek inspiration in the cultural capital of Russia, attend all the classes and create more and more...
During the last years Anton has grown a special interest in Russian music and culture. Now he can explore our musical traditions right in Saint Petersburg! Having studied Orchestral and Opera Conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, he already had contact with lots of Russian music. Now Anton is an assistant of Vladimir Kiradjiev, Professor for Opera Conducting at this university. The conductor worked on multiple productions throughout Europe as assistant, répétiteur and also musical director. Since the beginning of the year he is also a part of the Opera Studio as a voluntary member of the Viennese State Opera.
Emilia is a fifth year student of singing at the University of Zagreb Academy of Music. She has always been trying to participate in as many international masterclasses and summer schools as possible and she even took part in two projects of cooperation between Switzerland and Croatia. Emilia’s goal is to be a singer of great quality, who will have enough knowledge and experience in order to pass her passion for music onto others. Among her most notable performances there are performing the role of Dorabella in W. A. Mozart’s opera “Così fan tutte” at the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb, performing the role of Le Prince Charmant in J. Massenet's opera “Cendrillon”, and this year she will debut as Madame de la Haltière in the same opera. Since this year, she has also been a member of the "Giorgio Surian" opera studio in Croatian National Theater Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka and an external associate in Croatian National Theater in Zagreb as well.
Ethan is currently in his third year at California State University, Northridge, studying classical composition, a field that he has been studying for only 3 years by now. Though his musical experience started relatively late, composer’s abilities do not reflect this, as Ethan has spent every available minute on his craft, and has the desire to establish more experience and find more cultural and creative avenues as a means of expression. During his university years, Ethan has had multiple pieces submitted and performed by local new music groups, including a piano/clarinet duet and a flute/violoncello/percussion trio. Additionally, he successfully got into the soundSCAPE festival in Cesena, Italy, and a new music compositional program in Vienna in 2020, but was unable to attend either due to restrictions from COVID-19. Ethan has always been fascinated by the cultural connotations and semantics of music. He is very familiar with the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, having studied his orchestration book and scores as a beginning orchestrator a few years ago.
Jose is 27 years old, and currently lives, works and studies in Stuttgart. He is a lyrical tenor and is completing a Master's degree in vocal studies at the Hochschule für Musik Stuttgart. He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and moved to Calgary, Canada, with his parents when he was six years old. He has been living in Germany since 2015. José really likes to sing and perform Russian music and is determined to expand his knowledge in this field. For this and much more, he came to St. Petersburg! By the way, as José himself admits, despite the lack of an obvious connection with Russia, for some reason he feels a strong bond with our country.
José was trained as a musician, worked with various instrumental ensembles and performed in a choir. He is greatly inspired by all kinds of folklore, from Spanish to Russian one. He's particularly fascinated by all Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's creative work. As a musician, he's greatly impressed by the kind of music Rimsky-Korsakov wrote and his principles of instrumental orchestration. No wonder José chose this particular composer as the source of ideas for his future music! But José adores not only Russian composers, but also Russia itself and especially St. Petersburg!
Lobel is a a first year student Bass in the Music Academy in Zagreb. Since childhood he has always been surrounded and astonished with music. Throughout the years the singer has performed with a lot of choirs on various festivals and concerts all over the world. For a long time he has been approaching music only as a hobby, but last year Lobel decided to give it all he had. So he ended his studies in physics and computer science to fulfill his dream of being a professional singer. Lobel has already performed the role of Le Surintendant les plaisirs in J. Massenet's opera “Cendrillon” at the Academy of Music in Zagreb and got the role of Moses, tame raven, in the “Animal Farm” opera by Igor Kuljerić scheduled for 2021. Lobel also plays the guitar perfectly and adores klapa, which is traditional Croatian acapella singing.
This year Lubov is finishing her Master studies in Lied and Oratorio at the well-known University Mozarteum in Salzburg. She got an incredible chance to study with Barbara Bonney and Wolfgang Holzmair, and this experience has become incredibly valuable for her as an artist. Although the singer has American citizenship and has lived in many European Union countries, she has never neglected her Russian heritage. Lubov has participated in a considerable number of projects dedicated to Russian culture, such as “100 years N. Rimsky-Korsakov” solo concert with Herman Braun foundation, Mussorgsky “Nursery” for the chamber music evening at JVLMA and “Russian album” lecture in Latvian National Library.
Natasha Frank is composer from London with a BA in philosophy and theology from Oxford University. During her time at Oxford, she continuously composed music for student films and theater productions and after graduation Natasha has worked as a professional composer, choir conductor and music teacher. Since then she has been composing and won several competitions. She has also been awarded a large scholarship to study for a Master's degree in Technology and Applied Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and another one from BAFTA! She has long admired Russia and the Russian language, culture and art. In 2020, she recorded a new ballet adaptation of The Snow Queen and realized that she was very attracted to ballet scores that came from Russian composers, such as Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky. In addition, Natasha also adores Russian literature, particularly Dostoevsky.
Nikolina Hrkać is an opera singer from Croatia. She has acquired a vast experience of participating in musical events. Nikolina is a finalist of the Lions Grand Prix Competition 2017 in Rijeka. She participated in the project of the Music Academy G. Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn directed by Mathias Behrends and embodied the role of Bastien in Mozart's opera "Bastien and Bastienne" at the Croatian National Theater. In childhood Nikolina was always fascinated by music, especially opera. She could even sing several fragments from popular arias! She believes that the most important thing for the work of an opera singer is hard and purposeful work, and of course, talent.
Pablo graduated from the Music Conservatory of Bahia Blanca studying violin as a main instrument and then he became one of the best students majoring in Composition at the National University of La Plata. Composer has participated in a number of competitions and has been awarded in some of them, like the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award. He also has some producing experience and is engaged in teaching activities as an Assistant Professor of Contemporary Chamber Music, Orchestral Excerpts Professor at Argentinean universities and a private tutor as well. Last year Pablo participated in the VII St. Petersburg International New Music Festival, in which, in addition to some very musically enriching activities, he experienced a cultural connection with the Russian colleagues and got acquainted with their way of thinking about music. The composer is the author of about 40 musical works currently.
In 2015 Szymon graduated in Symphonic and Opera Conducting from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice under the guidance of Michał Klauza, a Polish student of Ilya Musin. The fact that his mentor's path is closely related to Saint Petersburg musical traditions is an important reason why the conductor has decided to participate in Innopraktika and Russian Seasons School. Szymon improved his conducting skills as the youngest participant of The First International Conducting Academy in Toulouse, founded by Tugan Sokhiev. Later he conducted several orchestras such as the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra and has received a number of prestigious awards for his artistic achievements. Szymon is also involved in music theory and composition. He is finalizing his PhD in music theory at his Alma Mater where he is also serving as a junior lecturer in Music analysis.
Gloria loves Russia, Russian culture, and its music, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. She was particularly impressed by Lyudmila Razumovskaya's play "Home!" to which she and her fellow students at Handong University created a production. Gloria's passion for performance did not go unnoticed, and she received several prestigious awards for the piece. Now Gloria is studying for a Master's degree at the Korean National University of Arts as an opera vocalist. So here she is, ready to explore St. Petersburg and enjoy our culture. And not only that, as part of the Music Session Gloria, will receive intensive training and improve her professional skills.
She studied Orchestra Conducting at the Athens Conservatoire with Lukas Karytinos, as well as violin and piano. Eleni has applied to our Music session, as she felt it to be the right step for her musical aspiration for a career in conducting. She has already been working as a conductor and assistant conductor in various productions with the Athens Municipality Orchestra and 'Carmen' for the National Greek Opera. Eleni has conducted both professional and youth orchestras in various settings and was involved with the work of conductors, as a student and an assistant for years. She made her conducting debut in a production of 'The Merry Widow' in 2019.