ALMATY – Fourth-year student of the Pyotr Tchaikovsky Musical College in Almaty Alina Molchanova won first prize at a prestigious international competition for young performers in Pskov, Russia, and her classmate Aigerim Umutbayeva won third prize.
It is significant that the two youths won a singing contest in Russia, which, along with Armenia, Latvia and Lithuania are known for their singers. The contest’s lead judge, singer Nadezhda Yermigina, remarked on the young singers’ wonderful voices and Kazakhstan’s robust pool of vocal talent. Both winning contestants are students of Honoured Artist of Kazakhstan Lyubov Adilova. Larissa Kovalevskaya was the contest’s concertmaster. Director of Almaty Musical College Aya Kaliyeva said that generous state support has allowed the students to represent their national culture on the global stage.
“Over the past four short months, 37 of our students have won various competitions. They are young talents that represent well their country’s values and comprehend the depth of thought of President Nursultan Nazarbayev who said that ‘patriotism in Kazakhstan is intimately connected with the equality of all citizens and their overall responsibility to honour the motherland,’” said Kaliyeva.
Today, there are 560 students in the college from all corners of Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, China and South Korea, who represent 20 ethnicities. All students, including those from abroad, gladly partake in traditional festivals celebrating the languages of Kazakhstan’s people. They sing songs and perform the folk music of different ethnic groups. The teachers believe that such traditions strengthen young people’s sense of patriotism and teach them to respect the cultures of other nations.
The legendary school is proud of its artistic teams: its Alatau youth choir, symphonic and chamber orchestras, big band, the Akhmet Zhubanov Orchestra of Kazakh Folk Instruments, the Russian Folk Orchestra and Kazakhstan’s only Uyghur Orchestra of Folk Instruments. Their performances are always met with a warm response from the public because the distinctive beauty of every nation’s music is an inexhaustible source of love and positive human emotion.
