Wind instruments and orchestral conducting department
In 2024, due to the changes in the organizational structure of Belarusian State Academy of Music, the Woodwind Instruments Department, the Brass and Percussion Instruments Department and the Orchestral Conducting Department were reorganized into the Wind Instruments and Orchestral Conducting Department. Vladimir Skorokhodov, Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus, PhD in Philosophy, Doctor of Culture History, Professor, was appointed to the position of the Head of the Department.
We present the history of the reorganized departments, which made a huge contribution to the training of highly qualified musicians.
History of the Woodwind Instruments Department
The Woodwind Instruments Department was founded in 1989 after the splitting of the Brass and Percussion Instruments Department into two: the Woodwind Instruments Department and the Brass and Percussion Instruments Department. From 1991 the Department was headed by Honored Artist of BSSR, PhD in Art History of the Republic of Belarus, Doctor of Art History of the Russian Federation, Professor B.Nichkov. In September 2014 Honored Art Worker of the Republic of Belarus, PhD in Philosophical Sciences, Doctor of Culture Studies of the Russian Federation, Professor V.Skorokhodov became the Head of the Department. From 2022 to 2024, the Department was headed by the Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus, Associate Professor Larisa Lasotskaya.
The Woodwind Instruments Department has become one of the elite in the Academy of Music, both in terms of the professionalism of its teaching staff, and the performance and teaching level of its graduates.
In the post-war years, the history of the Department was shaped by highly professional musicians who laid the foundation of the development of domestic woodwind instruments performance. Among them: V. Kharitonov (flute); Yu. Temkin (oboe); I. Bakun (clarinet); A. Kondrashov (bassoon); A. Rachev (flute). In the 60-80s, the baton was taken up by their talented students, graduates of Belarusian State Conservatory named after Lunacharsky. Among them: Ya. Losev (clarinet); V. Skorokhodov (clarinet); N. Avramenko (flute); G. Gedylter (flute); S. Ozhigin (bassoon); O. Novikov (bassoon); V. Budkevich (bassoon).
Currently, the full-time teachers of the Department include: Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus, Professor V. Budkevich (bassoon); Associate Professor I. Brichikov (clarinet); Associate Professor G. Kozodoy (saxophone); Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus, PhD in Philosophy, Doctor of Culture History, Professor V. Skorokhodov (clarinet). The recruitment and expansion of the Department’s staff occurred mainly due to its most talented graduates of the Academy of Music: T. Karmazinova (flute), N. Petrov (saxophone), D. Bobko (saxophone). A. Nemirsky (flute), V. Sorokin (oboe), E. Mashkovskaya (flute).
For the last 35 years the Department graduated more than 500 specialists including laureates of national and international competitions, soloists of leading creative groups of the Republic of Belarus.
Belarusian Brass Performance School made its name on international arena not only by participating and winning at performance competitions. Best graduates of the Department were worthy competitors in competitions for orchestral where they won a number of prestigious selections for the positions of soloists of Symphony Orchestras in Austria, Brazil, Germany, Holland, Morocco, the USA, Poland, the Czech Republic.
Scientific-research and scientific-methodological work is held at the department. Among the most valuable works are:
Monographs of B.Nichkov “Brass Instrumental Culture of Belarus” (1993); “My teachers are outstanding oboists I.Dansker, I.Pushechnikov. A.Petrov” (2006); “Belarusian woodwind instruments musicians-performers” (2010); “Performance on woodwind instruments in Belarus of the second half of XIX-XX century” (2012); “Belarusian musicians – Brass and Percussion Instruments Performers” (2014); “Piano Accompanists of the Woodwind, Brass and Percussion Instruments Department (1970-2015)”.
Monographs of V.Skorokhodov: “Art culture in the dynamics of social obtaining” (1994); “Social dynamic of modern Belarusian culture” (2003); “Leisure time and culture” (2008); “Advice for my students” (2009, “Clarinetist mastery: Teacher’s advices” (2012); “Master-class of Professor Skorokhodov” (2014); “Methods of teaching clarinet performance” (2022).
Scientific articles and music repertoire collections are published annually; the authors are N. Avramenko, A. Frolov, G. Kozodoy, V. Grigoriev, M. Rassokha, V. Skorokhodov, E. Mashkovskaya.
Teachers of the Department constantly perform at various scientific-practical conferences, symposiums, seminars, hold master-classes in Belarus and abroad, they are jury members of national and international competitions.
Concert activity is widely represented at the Department. For more than 25 years there is ensemble “Syrinx”, its one and only leader is N.Avramenko. The professional mastery of the ensemble is recognized not only by Belarusian listeners, but also by foreigners (France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland). Interesting creative work is demonstrated by student groups: clarinetist quartet (class of V. Skorokhodov), brass quintet (class of Professor V. Budkevich), saxophonist ensemble (class of Associate Professor G. Kozodoy), flutist ensemble “Nymphs” (class of Associate Professor L. Lasotskaya).
The Department’s piano accompanists made a great contribution to the training of specialists: Galina Nekrasova, Anastasia Dubovskaya, Nadezhda Motornaya, Olga Domoratskaya, Sergei Turgel, Vadim Sidorov, Anna Brileva, Natalia Malnach, Ekaterina Nikolaeva, Yulia Belkevich.
History of the Brass And Percussion Instruments Department
From 1932 and till 1989 in the structure of Belarusian State Conservatory successfully functioned the Brass and Percussion Instruments Department. When Belarusian State Conservatory was turned into Belarusian State Academy of Music the Department was separated into two: the Woodwind Instruments Department and the Brass and Percussion Instruments Department. The Brass and Percussion Instruments Department was headed by Honored Art Worker of the Republic of Belarus, PhD in Art History, Professor N.Volkov. The wins of his students are well-known: A.Kovalinsky became laureate of 9 international competitions including VII international competition named after M.Andre in Paris and in Bad-Sakingen in Germany; E.Liatte became laureate of 3 international competitions and D.Makarevich won at International Delphic Games (Moscow, 2000) etc. The success of the Department is a result of hard work of many generations of teachers. In the history of the Department there are names of highly professional musicians which laid the foundation of the development of domestic brass and percussion instruments performance. Among them: Ya. Stsegenny, Yu. Loginov, Ch. Yushkevich (horn), P. Denisov, V. Volkov (trumpet), I. Rybkin, Ya. Rubanchik, R. Lagonda (trombone, tuba), S. Markovsky, M. Minenkova (percussion instruments).
Currently, horn class is held by Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus, Associate Professor V.Tarashkevich; trumpet class is held by senior teacher S.Tolstonozhenko, Associate Professor M.Shkulepa, senior teacher D.Chekhovsky; trombone class is held by Associate Professor S.Protsenko and teacher A.Mikhalevich; tuba class is held by Associate Professor P.Dudarenko; percussion instruments class is held by Professor L.Klindukhova, Associate Professor A.Beknazarian.. Since May 2018, the Department is headed by L.Klindukhova.
Significant contribution in specialists training was made by the piano accompanists of the Department – pianists T.Tarutina, O.Sizko-Gabrielian, N.Zubakova, L.Biryukova, T.Samoilova, E.Rakut, E.Gruzdeva, A.Zhuk, A.Brileva etc.
History of the Orchestral Conducting and Instrumentation Department
The Orchestral Conducting and Instrumentation Department was formed in 1968, but before its foundation opera and symphony conducting classes were organized within the Folk Instruments Department: in 1937-1938 by I.Musin, in 1945 by O.Bron, then by R.Rubinstein, in 1950th by I.Gitgraz, M.Shneiderman, S.Ratner, V.Dubrovsky, in 1960th by V.Kataev. Art, pedagogic and organizational ideas of this outstanding conductors formed activities of the Department which was headed by talented musicians, Associate Professors: I.Bukreev (1968-1975), S.Kofanov (1975-1986), A.Berin (1986-1997), P.Vandilovsky (1997-2020), Professor, Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus, owner of the F.Skoryna medal V.Kuznetsov (2020-2023). Associate Professor S.Yankovich (2023-2024).
The Department went through big way of professional foundation and reorganizing update. From conducting classes providing developing education for Folk Department students, it became a complex structure of interfaculty type. In 1974 was opened Probation Assistantship. The graduates of the Orchestral Conducting and Instrumentation Department: I.Abramis, Yu.Vasilevsky, L.Ivanov, M.Kozinets, A.Lapunov, L.Liakh, G.Soroka, M.Finberg, as well as N.Aldanov, A.Berin, T.Belkova, V.Bormtov, P.Vandilovsky, A.Galanov, G.Ermochenkov, V.Malykh, V.Chernukho, Z.Shatilo, V.Babarikin, G.Bogomolov, O.Lesun, A.Ivanov, I.Kostiakhin, A.Vysotsky, Yu.Galias, N.Makarevich, V.Ovodiuk, Yu.Karaev made a significant contribution into the development of culture of our country.
For many years students of the specialities “conductor of opera-symphony orchestra”, “conductor of chamber orchestra”, “conductor of folk instruments orchestra”, “conductor of wind instruments orchestra” studied at the Department. The department provided the needs of professional orchestras with highly qualified conductors, staffing educational institutions of Belarus at all levels with conducting and teaching staff. Many of the Department graduates are well-known abroad as touring conductors and leaders of professional orchestras.
These successes became possible thanks to the rich pedagogical potential of the Department, where outstanding specialists worked at different times – People’s Artist of the Republic of Belarus, Professor B.Penchuk, People’s Artist of the Republic of Belarus, Professor L.Muranov, People’s Artist of the Republic of Belarus, Professor G.Provatorov, Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus,Associate Professor B.Chudakov, Associate Professors P.Vandilovsky, G.Ermochenkov, S.Kofanov, senior teacher V.Miniaev, main conductor of Belarusian State Academic Musical Theatre Yu.Galias, main conductor of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company Orchestra A. Vysotsky, etc.
Today in the work of the Department participate: main conductor of State Academic Symphony Orchestra, People’s Artist of the Republic of Belarus A.Anisimov, People’s Artist of the Republic of Belarus M.Bersan, main conductor of symphony orchestra of Brest Drama Theatre, Associate Professor A.Sosnovsky, leader of Russian People’s Orchestra of Belarusian State Academy of Music, senior teacher E.Takhirova, leader of the Brass Orchestra of Belarusian State Academy of Music, senior teacher A. Andreev, leader of Wind Orchestra of Belarusian State Academy of Music, senior teacher N.Teran, leader of the Accordion Orchestra of Belarusian State Academy of Music, senior teacher A. Shatov, leader of the Belarusian Folk Instruments Orchestra of Belarusian State Academy of Music, teacher S. Salnik, leader of the Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra of Belarusian State Academy of Music, teacher D. Titov.
Since September 1, 2017 The Orchestral Conducting Department became The Orchestral Conducting and Instrumentation Department. The teachers of the Department included Belarusian composers: Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus, laureate of the State Prize, owner of F.Skoryna medal, Professor V.Kuznetsov, N.Litvin, S.Yankovich.
Before the unity, the Instrumentation Department existed as separate interfaculty department (1989-1998 – the head V.Dorokhin, 1998-2015 – the head V.Kuznetsov). During different periods of time famous Belarusian composers and conductors worked at the Department – I.Archangelsky, E.Degtiarik, A.Domoratsky, V.Soltan, V.Ivanov, E.Larionov, etc.
In August 2015 the Department was united with the Composition Department (the head – G.Gorelova), since September 1, 2017 it became the Orchestral Conducting and Instrumentation Department (the head – P.Vandilovsky (2017-2020). From June 2020 till April 2023 the Department was headed by V.Kuznetsov. From May 2023 till September 2024 the Department was headed by S.Yankovich. The unification strengthened the positions of the Department and turned it into authoritative scientific-methodological center in the sphere of conducting and instrumentation art.
There are seven educational orchestras at the Department – symphony, chamber, wind, Russian folk, Belarusian folk, bayan and accordion, mandolin and guitar. Orchestral teams and teachers hold active concert and creative activities that meet up all philharmonic professional standards. The Department is an initiator and organizer of holding regular competitions and festivals of orchestral teams among secondary special educational institutions in Belarus. There is a competition of orchestral conductors, competitions on the best arrangement of folk topics and best instrumentation at the Department.
The Wind Instruments and Orchestral Conducting Department trains specialists with higher education in the following specialties (areas of specialties): 7-07-0215-04 “Musical and instrumental art (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, tuba, trombone, trumpet, baritone, saxophone, percussion instruments)”, 1-16 01 02-01 “Conducting (opera and symphony)”, 1-16 01 06-01 “Wind instruments (flute)”, 1-16 01 06-02 “Wind instruments (oboe)”, 1-16 01 06-03 “Wind instruments (clarinet)”, 1-16 01 06-04 “Wind instruments (bassoon)”, 1-16 01 06-05 “Wind instruments (horn)”, 1-16 01 06-06 “Wind instruments (tuba)”, 1-16 01 06-07 “Wind instruments (trombone)”, 1-16 01 06-08 “Wind instruments (trumpet)”, 1-16 01 06-09 “Wind instruments (baritone)”, 1-16 01 06-10 “Wind instruments (saxophone)”, 1-16 01 07 “Percussion instruments”.
На базе кафедры струнных народных инструментов функционирует три оркестровых коллектива: Оркестр русских народных инструментов (худ.рук. и дир. Э.Б. Тахирова), Оркестр белорусских народных инструментов (худ.рук. и дир. А.Д. Анисович), Мандолинно-гитарный оркестр (худ.рук. и дир. Я.А. Волосюк) и два больших ансамбля: ансамбль цимбалистов «Лилея» под руководством Е.П. Гладкова и ансамбль народных инструментов под руководством Л.И. Черняка.
The Stringed Folk Instruments Department has three orchestral groups: the Russian Folk Instruments Orchestra (art director and conductor E. Takhirova), the Belarusian Folk Instruments Orchestra (artistic director and conductor A. Anisovich), the Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra (artistic director and conductor Ya. Volosyuk) and two large ensembles: cimbalom ensemble “Lileya” under the direction of E. Gladkov and the folk instruments ensemble under the direction of L. Chernyak.
