Orchestras

The Orchestra’s history begins in the early 1950s, when it gathered for special concert occasions. One of the first conductors was Zinovy ​​Tanklevsky. Since 1965, Wind Orchestra has been a compulsory subject, its main task being participation in the final exams of students in conducting. The Orchestra’s artistic directors and conductors over the years have included Boris Chudakov, Arkady Berin, Viktor Babarikin, Mikhail Bersan, Yuri Galyas, Alexey Frolov, and Maxim Rassokha.

The orchestra has won several festival and competition awards:

• Grand Prix at the International Brass Band Competition (Luxembourg, 1998);
• Second Prize Laureate at the IV All-Russian Open Brass Band Festival-Competition “Vivat, Student!” (Moscow, 2018);
• Diploma of participation in the IV International Easter Festival (Minsk, 2021);
• Grand Prix at the International Festival-Competition “Nordic Fest” (Helsinki, 2021).

Participant in:

• a concert tour of Belarusian cities as part of the creative project “Music Heritage of the Country” to commemorate the 90^th anniversary of the birth of People’s Artist of the USSR and BSSR, Professor E.Glebov and the Year of the Small Homeland, implemented with a grant from the Special Fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus for the Support of Talented Youth (2019);
• the music project “Images of War and Peace in the Works of Belarusian Composers” implemented with a grant from the President of the Republic of Belarus (2020);
• the children’s television competition “Talent of the Country” as an invited guest (Minsk, 2018-2019).

Music works written for wind orchestra, particularly works by national composers, play a significant role in the orchestra’s repertoire. The ensemble has performed several world premieres of works by Belarusian composers, including Viktor Voitik’s Sinfonietta for wind orchestra and Suite for full wind orchestra “Comedy in Episodes and Characters”, and Sergei Yankovich’s Suite for wind orchestra “Zhavaronapki”.

The Orchestra has toured Europe numerous times. Two compact discs have been released to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich and the 75^th anniversary of Belarusian State Academy of Music.

The Orchestra actively performs both at the institution and beyond, participating in significant public events in the city and across the country.

Currently, the Orchestra is led by Pavel Kazak.