The 15th festival held in Russia last May was our largest and most ambitious venture measured by the number of participants, events, venues, new contacts, and the outpourings of appreciation. More than two hundred people participated in the Festival, and more than twenty events took place over a period of sixteen days. Continuing our long standing tradition of involving former festival participants in new collaborative initiatives, we are most proud of the fact that a number of these participants who had met at previous festivals, met again. Young American composers Matt Van Brink and Ramon Castillo hosted young composers from St. Petersburg back in 2001. Now no longer students but teachers and recognized composers, they were reunited with their Russian counterparts. As in past years, Americans shared the concert stage with Russians, and American professors worked with the students of St Petersburg.

International collaboration in culture and education is the mission of the Educational Bridge Project which was first established in 1997 by Professor Ludmilla Leibman to foster the exchange of music and musicians between Boston and St. Petersburg. Fifteen festivals have brought together more than 500 musicians, artists and educators to collaborate in performances, share ideas in discussions, and learn about new teaching methods in composition and interpretation. Through these initiatives the Project has contributed to building artistic, educational and humanitarian bridges between the United States and Russia. Their performances have delighted audiences of music lovers of both countries, from schoolchildren to college students to community groups.

This fall the Educational Bridge Project’s sixteenth Russian-American festival will begin on Tuesday, October 27th and continues through Thursday, November 12th in Boston. The festival plans to feature representatives of the prestigious artistic and educational institutions of St. Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, and includes collaborative concerts, lectures, and multi-media presentations.

Selected events:

November 3, 5 p.m. Elena Kiyko’s presentation on the history of the St. Petersburg Radio (Boston University, College of Arts and Sciences, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, room 224)

November 10, 5 p.m. “The Russian School of Literary Translation” - presentation by St. Petersburg University Professor Nina Zonina (Boston University, College of Arts and Sciences, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, room 224)

November 11, 7 p.m. "Conversations on Russian Music" – talk by Ludmilla Leibman on Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and performance of the masterpiece by St. Petersburg pianist Igor Uryash (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Elizabeth Parks Killian Hall, Rm. 14W-111, Hayden Library Bldg, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge)

November 12, 7 p.m. Piano recital by Maestro Uryash – Rachmaninov “Variations on Corelli’s Theme” and “Variation on Chopin’s Theme” and Mussorgsky “Pictures at an Exhibition.”  Pre-concert talk by Professor Margarita Ufimtseva, author of the book, “St. Petersburg Pianist Igor Uryash” (Harvard Musical Association, 57A Chestnut St., Beacon Hill)

The list of American institutions which have participated in the Educational Bridge Project’s festivals includes Boston University, Harvard University, Brandeis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Tufts University, the New England and Boston Conservatories. Among their Russian counterparts are the St. Petersburg and Moscow Conservatories, St. Petersburg University, the Mariinsky Theater, the Hermitage Museum, and the Moscow Cultural Foundation. All programs of the Festival are free and open to the public.

For an updated schedule of events and concerts visit:
www.educationalbridgeproject.org/current festival

Ludmilla Leibman
Executive Director

The Educational Bridge Project
65 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215
Ludmilla.leibman@gmail.com