Dean of the Faculty: Vladimir Korolchuk
Phone: +375 17 355 69 50
E-mail: fni_dekan@bgam.by
Specialist: Viktoria Zanimonets
Phone: +375 17 360 99 51
E-mail: fni@bgam.by
Location: 9 Kommunisticheskaya Street, office 205
The activities of the Folk Instruments Faculty of the Belarusian State Conservatory began in 1937, when a class of folk instruments was opened, which initially included several students in the specialties of cymbals, bayan, domra and balalaika.
In 1949, the Folk Instruments Department was organized, headed by the outstanding virtuoso cymbal player, founder of the Belarusian professional cymbal school, Artistic Director and Conductor of the BSSR State Folk Orchestra Iosif Zhinovich, who was subsequently awarded the honorary title People’s Artist of the USSR, the academic title of Professor and the State Prize of the BSSR. Gifted graduates were invited to pedagogical work at the Department: Georgy Zhikharev (balalaika, domra), Elfrida Azarevich (bayan), Samuil Ratner (conducting). After I.Zhinovich, the Department was talentedly and fruitfully led by such famous musicians as Associate Professor G.Zhikharev and Honored Worker of Culture of the BSSR, Professor Mikhail Solopov (bayan). In the late 1960s, an accordion class was opened, in 1977 – a guitar class, in 2005 – a mandoline class.
The performing traditions laid down by previous generations and constantly developing over the years became even more active after the division of the Folk Instruments Department in 1980 into the Bayan and Accordion Department (the Head of the Department is Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus, Professor Nikolai Sevryukov) and the Department of String Folk Instruments (the Head of the Department – People’s Artist of Belarus, Professor Evgeny Gladkov).
Since 2018, the Social and Humanitarian Department has become part of the Folk Instruments Faculty.
