The Chamber Orchestra of the Belarusian State Academy of Music was organized in 1969. The name of the Orchestra “Gradus ad Parnassum” (“Step to Parnassus”) emphasizes the desire for ideal quality. Every new program, every concert in the life of this young creative team is a kind of ascent to professional artistic mastery and artistic perfection. Constantly being updated with new musicians from among the students entering the Academy for training, the Orchestra maintains a high professional performing level.
The first director of the Orchestra was Professor Vyacheslav Zelenin. In the 1990s, the Orchestra was led by Valery Soroko, and since 1999, it was headed by a talented representative of the Belarusian conducting school, Head of the Orchestral Conducting Department, Associate Professor Petr Vandilovsky. From 2003 to 2009, he was also the chief conductor and artistic director of the State Chamber Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus.
The Academy Chamber Orchestra is an educational group, but conducts constant concert activities, performing in different regions of Belarus and abroad, participating in many music festivals. This group is invited to perform at festive and government events; conducting master classes have been held on its basis in Italy. The team has successfully performed in the largest halls in Germany, Spain, Finland, Holland, and Belgium.
The group’s extensive concert repertoire includes works from different eras, schools and movements – from baroque to avant-garde. The Orchestra’s repertoire includes such complex works as “Serenade for String Orchestra” by P.Tchaikovsky, “Serenade” by A.Dvorak, Symphony No. 2 byA. Honegger, Six Brandenburg Concertos by J.S.Bach, the suite “Water Music” and the oratorio “Messiah” by G.F.Handel, “Great Mass” by W.A.Mozart, etc. The Orchestra’s performance is characterized by a desire for stylistic precision, dynamic expressiveness, and technical perfection. The Orchestra has its own records in the Belteleradiocompany, and has recorded CDs with works by J.S.Bach, F.Hofmeister, W.A.Mozart, S.Rachmaninov and others.
From 2020 to 2022, the Orchestra was led by the young conductor V.Larin. Today the Director of the Orchestra is N.Teran.
