Russian Song Choir of the Vladimir Regional Music College
The Russian Song Choir of Vladimir Regional Music College named after A.P. Borodin (artistic director – O.A. Kozyreva) is one of the leading collectives in the field of music education and the popularization of traditional song folklore. Despite the youth of the team, the choir has a respectable age – just over 45 years – together with rich creative experience accumulated by several generations of performers and musical culture.
In 1973 the Department of the folk choir leaders was created in Vladimir Music College, being the third in the country. It was at that time that a student choir singing Russian folk songs was formed. Serious search and expedition work was started that was devoted to recording song folklore of the Vladimir region and performing its best samples.
From 1977 to 2013, N.N. Alekhina (1953-2013), Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, was the permanent leader of the Russian song choir. Under her leadership the choir has become one of the best in the field, with a solid baggage of creative achievements. The choir of the Russian song was awarded the title of "People's Collective". It became a laureate of the Regional Prize in the field of culture, art and literature, was awarded an Honorary Diploma of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The choir has repeatedly become the laureate and winner of the Grand Prix of All-Russian and international musical art competitions and the winner of the choirs of Russian secondary and higher educational institutions of art. The traditions of great research, educational and concert activity of the collective were continued by O.A. Kozyreva, a graduate of Gnesins Russian Academy of Music, who has led the choir since 2013.
The main field of the repertoire policy of the collective has always been and remains the propaganda of the Vladimir region song-ritual folklore best examples, as well as song-ritual folklore examples of other regions of Russia. They form the basis of the choir’s concert programs – "Russian Wedding", "Pictures of the Russian Calendar", "Songs of Cossacks of Russia", "Cabbage Party", "Rite of Spikelet Carrying", "Rite of Kozma and Demyan", etc. Fragments of rituals, songs in their original form, arrangements of songs recorded in different years on folklore expeditions, round dance elements are included in the programs.
The Russian Song Choir of the Vladimir Regional Music College is a participant of large city, regional and interregional concert events. It performed at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, at the Song Theater of the People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Nadezhda Kadysheva, in the concert hall of the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music, in the Svetlanov and Chamber Halls of the Moscow International House of Music. The choir invariably demonstrates a high vocal and performing level, musical taste, truly expressing the beauty and diversity of the Russian song culture.