More than 200 music school pupils and teachers have taken part in this year’s “Where Art is Born” festival, held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Omsk, and other cities throughout the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, with People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Yuri Rozum holding masterclasses for young musicians together with teachers from Moscow’s leading institutions of the performing arts. A musical “art-mediation” laboratory in Omsk — designed specifically to identify and reveal creative potential — formed part of a new format for the 2021 festival, with participants mastering acting skills and working through musical excerpts, while also exploring the urban environment, over the course of the week, ultimately making their debuts as composers, producing their own pieces.
The “Where Art is Born” festival has been held by the Yuri Rozum International Foundation since 2007. It has been supported by the Gazprom Neft “Home Towns” corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme since 2017, helping to develop music-school education in the regions, with teachers improving their qualifications and their pupils receiving lessons in professional skills from Russia’s leading teachers.
“This festival has an ongoing educational impact on developing musical culture in the regions, identifying talent in those taking their first steps in the performing arts and developing their teachers’ skills and competencies. This approach is consistent with the logic behind our social investments, in complementing exiting initiatives in supporting education. The programme is adapted in line with specific cities, every year, while also experimenting with new formats for developing creative potential.”
Alexander Dybal Deputy CEO for Corporate Communications and Member of the Management Board, Gazprom Neft
“The development of teaching skills — pedagogy — and the creative arts is, at the moment, concentrated mainly in the big cities. Our job is to make sure that talented young people in the regions also have the opportunity to develop and realise their potential. This festival is a kind of creative workshop, allowing teachers from any corner of Russia to get highly professional methodological and practical help — motivating their students to perform better.”
Yuri Rozum People’s Artist of the Russian Federation and Professor, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music
THE RUSSIAN “WHERE ART IS BORN” FESTIVAL
The “Where Art Is Born” festival — aimed at providing creative and methodological support for teachers at regional art schools and musical institutions, preserving traditional Russian education in the arts, and providing professional guidance for gifted children and young people — has been held by the Yuri Rozum International Charitable Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation since 2007. The festival has supported Gazprom Neft’s “Home Towns” corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme since 2017.
Yuri Rozum International Charitable Foundation
The Yuri Rozum International Charitable Foundation was established in 2005 with the support of friends and supporters of Russian pianist and People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Yuri Rozum.
THE “HOME TOWNS” PROGRAMME
Gazprom Neft’s “Home Towns” corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, under implementation since 2012, is directed at improving living standards in those locations in which the company operates, in Russia and abroad, by supporting initiatives from local communities as well as the company’s own programmes in culture, education, sport and developing the creative industries. The programme also manages a number of long-term environmental initiatives.
