On April 5 the ceremony hall of SSU Bldg. X was uniquely decorated to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Institute of Arts. The event was attended by not only SSU professors, students, and administration but the university numerous graduates – school and lyceum teachers and principals, pre-school music teachers, heads of dancing and drama groups, arts school teachers, leading singers of philharmonics, actors of theatres, and even Merited Artists of the Russian Federation. Thus, the arts elite of the Saratov Region gathered at the concert.
The event programme was special because all performances had been prepared by bright, cheerful, and gifted people! The hosts were a 1994 graduate Elena Shevchenko and a 1st-year master degree student, a leading singer of the Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre Aleksei Smirnov.
And it was a high-professional concert! As the viewers joked lately, the tickets should have been sold because there was hardly a vacant seat in the hall.
At first, the audience was inspired by the Institute of Arts Choir who sang a famous song by Isaak Dunayevsky, and after that the event guests were welcomed by Director of the Institute of Arts and its 1979 graduate I.E. Rakhimbayeva.
The director reminded about the institute history and that it started 60 years ago when the Faculty of Music Pedagogy was established in Pedagogy Institute. I.E. Rakhimbayeva recalled the people who developed the institute, and O.A. Apraksina, a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, was the first to be noted because she suggested finding the faculty for music school teachers. Her idea was implemented in 1959, and it marked the birth of the Institute of Arts. More than 1,500 people graduated from the institute since then.
The colleagues were congratulated by SSU Rector, Professor A.N. Chumachenko. He thanked them for their input to the arts, for their work, and for their graduates who have become real professionals and glorified Saratov University not only in the region but in the country and the world.
SSU President, Professor L.Yu. Kossovich joined the rector’s congratulations. He reminded that the Faculty of Arts and Arts Education of Pedagogy Institute became the Institute of Arts in 2011. The president was astonished by the concert, and after his speech Associate Professor of the Department of Theory, History and Pedagogy of the Arts E.G. Tsarkova sang a beautiful song by Rudolph Friml.
While the choir was singing the song How Young We Were, the audience was shown the photos of the institute academic staff. Then the singers gave flowers to pedagogues-veterans, and the viewers applauded loudly.
The Institute of Arts professors were awarded with letters of appreciation which were given by Rector A.N. Chumachenko, Head of Culture Division of the “Saratov City” Municipal Structure M.V. Makurov, and SSU Vice-Rector of Youth Policy and Organisational Work A.V. Golovchenko.
The guests were addressed by Deputy of the Saratov Region Duma Yu.M. Litnevskaya. Children’s Ombudsman in the Saratov Region T.N. Zagorodnyaya attended the concert, and she also graduated from the institute. G.G. Kiselyeva, a 1982 graduate, had arrived from Moscow. She is a prize winner of international contests and the leading specialist of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation.
The institute staff had received many congratulatory addresses, including video messages from their colleagues from the Schnittke Moscow State Institute of Music and musicians A.B. Geniush and S.M. Geniush.
Deans and directors of other SSU faculties and institutes also congratulated the Institute of Arts on its anniversary.
On behalf of the Volzhskii District, Saratov the institute was congratulated by Head of Education Department of the Administrative Office L.N. Toporkova and the Saratov school of choreography “Antre” headed by one more graduate I.A. Perepelkin who works as Deputy Director of the Institute of Arts.
Many graduates and students are members of different singing, dancing, etc. groups of the Saratov Region. The event guests enjoyed the performances of the “Village Fence” singing ensemble from the “Star” Culture House, the “Smile” dancing ensemble, and a prize winner of international contests, a bayan player Yevgenii Razzhivin.
The “Art-Mix” modern dancing ensemble headed by A.A. Timofeyev enchanted the audience with unusual music and dancing. The viewers were astonished by the “Orchid” dancing and sports club consisted of three students of the Institute of Arts. The students Viktoria Kovsharova and Emin Aliyev brilliantly sang a popular song for the audience.
The institute friends and colleagues also congratulated, e.g. representatives of the Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, the “ROSIZO” Museum Gallery, and the Saratov Arts School named after A.P. Bogolyubov. The institute staff was also congratulated by Vice-Rector of the Saratov State Conservatoire I.V. Polozova. The audience loudly applauded to one more outstanding graduate – Merited Artist of the Russian Federation, Professor of the Department of Folk Instruments (the Saratov State Conservatoire), an artful accordion player Boris Aron.
Today there are many courses in the institute – in music, arts history, choreography, drama, and variety show. And all of these genres were included into the event programme, however, 60 years ago there was only one course – in teaching music and singing. Therefore, at the end of the concert the event guests enjoyed singing of the choir of the Institute of Arts headed by D.N. Vasilyeva.
And the audience sang together with them.
