The Russian Folk Orchestra of the Belarusian State Academy of Music includes over forty students of the Folk Instruments Faculty – domrists, balalaika players, accordion players.
The official date of creation of the group is February 1954. The organizer and director of the Orchestra until 1973 was the famous musician Georgy Zhikharev, under whose direction in 1957 the Orchestra became a laureate of the World Festival of the Youth and Students in Moscow. In 1973-1974, the Orchestra was conducted by Nikolai Proshko, from 1974 to 2012, the conductor of the Orchestra was Associate Professor Sergei Kofanov. From 2012 to 2019 – Associate Professor Vladimir Chernikov. Currently, the Orchestra is led by senior teacher Elvira Takhirova.
The Russian Folk Orchestra of the Belarusian State Academy of Music is a full-fledged concert unit. Among the creative achievements of the Orchestra: VIII International Competition of Young Musicians-Performers “Musical Vladivostok 2014”.
1st prize in the category “Youth compositions” (April 1-8, 2014), XI International Competition-Festival “Winter Stars of Dresden 2021” – 1st degree laureate and gold medal winner (January 30-31, 2021), International Competition “People Play Music” – laureate of the 1st degree (April 26 – May 30, 2021), VIII International Competition of Performing Skills “St.Petersburg Assemblies of Arts 2021” (December 4-5, 2021) – laureate of the 1st degree, International Competition-Festival of Arts “Top of Talent” (July 19, 2023) – Grand Prix.
The creative life of the team is rich and intense. Its concert venues are the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society, concert halls, schools and cultural centers in the cities of Belarus.
The Orchestra’s repertoire is wide and varied, which includes works by Russian and Western European composers, original works for Orchestra, and arrangements of folk songs. The Orchestra’s works by N.Rimsky-Korsakov, A.Lyadov, A.Scryabin, G.Mahler, C.Debussy, B.Britten sound interesting, original and colorful. A significant place in the Orchestra’s repertoire is occupied by works by Belarusian composers – Dmitry Smolsky, Andrei Mdivani, Valery Ivanov, Viktor Malykh, Vyacheslav Kuznetsov, Viktor Voitik, Vladimir Korolchuk. Famous Belarusian singers and instrumentalists Evgeny Gladkov, Viktor Skorobogatov, Larisa Rydlevskaya, Nikolai Maretsky, Natalia Korsak, Vladislav Pligovka, Veronika Praded, Nina Sharubina, Marina Ilyina, Aleksei Buryakov (Russia), Ekaterina Mochalova (Russia) performed as soloists with the Orchestra.
The Orchestra and its Director maintain close creative contacts with leading folk groups of Russia, with composers and conductors.
