The ‘Stars of the Albion’ Arts Competition and Festival

Over the past few weekends I’ve been adjudicating at various competitions. On several occasions I worked alone (as an adjudicator for the British and International Federation of Music Festivals), but this past weekend, I was one of a panel of judges for the ‘Stars of the Albion’ competition. Although I enjoy both challenges, working with others is not only more interesting and convivial, but it also shares the responsibility of selecting winners (which is never an easy task).
‘Stars of the Albion’ is an international performing arts festival and competition. It’s an annual event, uniting young talented musicians and dancers from across the world. The project forms a unique bridge connecting different cultures and in particular that of Russia and Great Britain. It aims to provide valuable opportunities for young emerging artists to perform, learn, communicate and develop.
Organised and promoted by Musica Nova Academy of Music, which was founded and is owned by Russian singer, pianist and educator Evgenia Terentieva. This bilingual establishment (situated just around the corner from King’s Cross station, on Crommer Street), combines the British and Russian principles of teaching. It’s held under the Patronage of the World Association of Performing Arts (WAPA) and is supported by the Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian cultural centre in the UK.
This is the fourth arts festival & competition. There are two rounds; the first one is based on video recordings (DVD and YouTube), and the second is open to the public and held at the concert hall of the Rossotrudnichestvo (situated just off Kensington High Street), and at the Musica Nova Academy. The Rudolf Steiner Theatre (also in London) plays host to the final awards ceremony and gala concert. Thirty international and twenty national soloists as well as five ensembles were selected to participate in the second round.
Participants hail from a large spectrum of nations including the UK, Russia, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Republic of Belarus, Bulgaria, Malta, Philippines, Latvia, Armenia, Ukraine, Ghana, and India.
I was one of four to judge the instrumental category at the Musica Nova Academy (with colleagues, Alexander Ioffe and Yuri Zhislin (both from Russia), and Natalia Varkentin (who is Latvian)). The awards were segregated into three age categories; 6 -10 years old, 11 – 15 years, and 16 years and over, and all competitors were either pianists or violinists. The standard was reasonably high; students were expected to play their programmes from memory (including the duet classes), and many performed fairly advanced pieces (particularly in the age category from 6 – 10 years).
I’m always fascinated by the repertoire chosen for such events; there was a diverse selection from a piano arrangement of the theme from Schindler’s List (John Williams) and Yiruma’s ubiquitous piano piece The River Flows In You (played by a six-year-old!), to the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 by Liszt. We heard several renditions of Tchaikovsky’s Melody in E Op. 42 No. 3 (for violin) as well as typical selections from the ABRSM Grade 8 repertoire.
The winners of each class perform in the final gala concert (which was held last night), and some of them also win cash prizes. Whilst we enjoyed the instrumental classes at the Musica Nova Academy, a much larger panel judged the singing classes at the Rossotrudnichestvo Cultural Centre (which were huge in comparison). I like the inclusion of multiple disciplines; there’s something for literally everyone (both amateur or professional), whether a classical performer, jazz player, pop singer, dancer, or folk musician. This flexibility will ensure that the ‘Stars of the Albion’ goes from strength to strength, and it will no doubt flourish and develop over the coming years.

Stars of the Albion Festival

The closing gala concert of the winners of the IVth International Performing Arts Festival and Contest Stars of the Albion, which took place at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre on February 19th, was a spectacular finale to a three-day celebration of talent. It united young and mature performers from all around the world: participants from Brazil, Portugal, Japan, Greece, Spain, Malta, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Latvia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom all gathered in London to demonstrate their various talents.
Never before had the festival welcomed such a great diversity of performers who enriched each other with the opportunity to explore the cultural traditions of different countries, expressed in the universal language of music and dance. The level of the performers was very high, as most of them were already winners of international competitions.
The festival was organised by the International Music Academy Musica Nova, under the patronage of the World Association of Performing Arts and with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Rossotrudnichestvo in UK. The programme of the festival, apart from the competition itself, consisted of excursions, discussions and concerts. The festival opened at Rossotrudnichestvo in UK on February 17th with a beautiful solo concert by the opera singer Alfia Karimova (Kazakhstan), Honoured Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan, and by the winner of international competitions Evgenia Terentieva (Great Britain).
The final gala concert of the winners at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre impressed the audience with its unique atmosphere, due to the unusual lighting with the use of projection and graphics and original music. The whole show looked very modern and in tune with major music festivals broadcast on TV, as the singers, musicians and dancers performed in the space created by the projection of planets, galaxies and stars, reminding us constantly of the main theme of the festival and contest. One of the most poignant moments was when eighty-five of the participants filled the stage holding the multicolured flags of their countries: this became a powerful metaphor of the unity of divided nations.
The performers were mainly quite young and were charming in their enthusiasm and professionalism. The warmest appreciation was given to the inspirational dancers from the Russian groups Solnyshko, Kazachok and Cherry Orchard, as well as from the Gypsy group Yagori. The smooth and lyrical dancing of the Georgian ensemble Pesvebi was very affecting and touching.
The vocal category was traditionally the strongest. Young female singers from different countries demonstrated great vocal technique and deep emotions. However, at times it seemed that the feelings they expressed in their songs were more suitable for older women. This is a major problem of the music industry and such competitions in general.
The Grand Prix of the festival was awarded to the nineteen-year-old singer from Armenia Mery Avetisyan, who won over the audience and the judges with her powerful and passionate rendition of Shirley Bassey’s song I Who Have Nothing. The most impressive classical singer was fourteen-year-old Alexandra Skachko, representing Great Britain, who brilliantly performed the famous and very complicated aria by Handel Lascia Сh’io Pianga; she was awarded 1st place in the second age category. Yury Verevkin, representing Russia, charmed the female part of the audience with his heart-warming performance of Russian romances and received 1st prize in the professional adult category. At the end of the concert the participants were given diplomas, memorable presents, trophies and money prizes; some of them also received invitations to other international competitions.
One of the most important and moving moments of the evening was when Evgenia Terentieva, the organiser of the project Stars of the Albion and singer, pianist, composer, teacher, producer and owner and founder of the International Music Academy Musica Nova, was awarded the Gold Medal of the World Association of Performing Arts for her outstanding contributions to world culture. This was a very well-deserved recognition of her mission to encourage and inspire young talents and to give them opportunities of a better future.

On the 28 February a Gala concert of the 3rd international performing arts competition “Stars of the Albion. Maslenitsa” was held at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre in London. The project is addressed to the year of Russian language and literature between Great Britain and Russia. The festival and competition were organized by the Russian-British Academy "Musica Nova" with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, Mission of Rossotrudnichestvo in the UK and Russian Community Council in the UK.
Only 45 contestants (soloists and ensembles) were selected to the 2nd Round. The audience was treated to talented vocal, instrumental and dance performances by young artists from Great Britain, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Italy. A warm welcome was given to artists performing Russian music.
Mr Oleg Smolin, a representative of the Russian State Parliament and the 1st Deputy Head of the Educational Committee, sent an official note of support addressed to the organisers of the “Stars of the Albion. Maslenitsa” project, to all those people, who create spiritual values.
All performances at the competition were judged by distinguished artists, musicians, singers, instrumentalists, composers and producers. The Patron of “Stars of the Albion. Maslenitsa” is the People's Artist of Russia, a president of the international singing competition “Amber Nightingale” in Kaliningrad, Russia, Maestro Valeri Aliev.
Gala concert of the festival was a grand and dynamic show.
Thanks to sponsorship of "Britain Business Consulting", the prize fund of the festival increased to £1250, and the laureats of the competition received diplomas, memorable gifts and prizes, including the Grand Prix for £500 received by Seraphim Murzyukov (Russia, Moscow).
Three laureats of the competition were nominated to represent Great Britain at the World Association for the Performing Arts competition in Armenia.

www.starsofthealbion.org.uk

On the 16th of May, 2015, in the Rudolf Steiner theatre, members of the international festival-contest “Stars of the Albion” participated in an awards ceremony. The festival and event were organised by Russian British Music Academy Musica Nova.

The finale of the project consisted of a grand musical and dance show with more than 60 performers from Great Britain, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Georgia and Armenia. The programme of the evening included classical and modern compositions for violin, piano and voice. The pieces ranged from Chopin to Debussy to Vehlyavski. The Russian musical culture presented folk songs, romances and pieces from Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky…

The contest presents an opportunity for all talented performers to showcase their talents, see other performers, battle for the first place and maybe start on their journey to stardom. This year the contest attracted a lot of interest and enthusiasm among young musicians, dancers and actors between 6 and 30 years old. The jury consisted of famous musicians, composers, producers and directors: Luba Balagova, Polina Shepherd, Lenny Lawrence, Simone Spagniolo, Alexa Pol, Grant Martirosyan, Irina Mironova and Evgenia Terentieva.

On the 26th of May, in the Rudolf Steiner Theatre, winners and laureates of the second National Festival-Contest of Arts “Stars of the Albion” performed in a Gala-Concert and attended an award ceremony. The festival and concert were organised by the Russian-British Music Academy Musica Nova.
The concert ended with a grand dance and musical show in which young talents, creative collectives and invited guests participated.
The performances, from the folk dance “Kalinka” to the traditional Italian “Santa Lucia”, were filled with different emotions and left everyone in a positive mood. I’m still humming the tune of “Hallelujah”, which was performed by Ksenia Kazintseva, and I’m remembering the emotional performance by the young Alex Pilipenko of “Two In A Café” from the movie “17 Moments Of Spring”.
The concert had pieces by composers like Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Davis and Correa for instruments like violin and piano. There were also acts from the vocal ensemble of the Russian school “ Znaniye”, the ensemble of Russian folk song “Souvenir” and the children’s choir “Solnishko”. Performances from the dance group “Beat Street Angels”, young collectives “Pesveni” and “Akhtamar”, as well as Jorrel Simons and Nicole Vrappi were just as exciting.
Councillor Seema Kumar, from the Ealing City Hall, also attended the concert. She expressed her awe and love for the Russian culture and invited everyone to visit the recently opened library in the centre of the district.
Almost 15 years ago, Evgeniya Terentieva created the only bilingual music academy in the UK, where people of all ages can get a quality music education, which is congruent with requirements from other schools. At the Musica Nova Academy, children from as young as three and a half years of age can start their first music lessons. Older children are taught in congruence with the eight grades of the national British system. Some even go on further and achieve their diplomas.
Lessons are taught by professional teachers with degrees from conservatoires. Every student is treated with respect and individuality as Musica Nova believes that anyone is capable of achieving their musical goals.
The academy congratulates their students who have participated in the second “Stars Of The Albion” festival: Marina Glukhova, Alexandra Skatchko, Katarzhina Kubyan, Anton Solodchenko, Jordan Aldridge, Michel Eppi, Aishvaria Rajkumar, Denis Sakhnovich, Janetta Balsevich, Polina and Alina Stelmukh, Alex Pilipenko and Michelle Kugel. Participants of the contest were specifically chosed by the organisers of the festival. They performed their original acts to a group of judges and an audience which frequently acknowledged them with loud applause and “Bravo!”.
All of the participants received memorable gifts. Winners received certificates and money prizes (which were sponsored by Britannia Business Consulting). Books about Russian cities and presents were given out from the partners of the event: The Mission of Rossotrudnichestvo in the UK and the Russian Embassy.
As a young mother I was glad to see that there exists a platform of opportunities for young talents. Such beginnings are in need of support!

Musica Nova Stars of the Albion Competition 2016

The Musica Nova Russian-British Music Academy has been a thriving music education establishment for many years. Situated in London, it was founded by Russian pianist, singer, teacher, composer and educator Evgenia Terentieva, who is also the CEO. Evgenia’s academy offers a broad spectrum of music tuition from instrumental lessons, to one day intensive courses, plus copious performance platforms for students, and taught in both Russian and English.
The Academy offers a yearly competition for all age groups with various performance classes, including those for pop, folk, classical music, and dance. The contest, known as Stars of the Albion Maslenitsa, took place on Saturday, and was held at the concert hall of the Mission of Rossotrudnichestvo, in Kensington High Street, London. I was fortunate to be invited as a jury member and it was an extremely interesting event. The panel consisted of twelve judges with members from the UK, Italy, France and a selection of Russian speaking countries.
There were three categories, or age groups, which were sub-divided into singers, instrumentalists and ensembles. Starting from the very young (the youngest competitor was five!), through to adult competitors, as well as a professional category. I was surprised by the diversity and breadth of performers, from Russian folk singers, to pop singers, classical singers, musical theatre singers, dancers, and a wonderful group of Russian folklore dancers from Leeds, as well as a collection of instrumentalists. Most of the performers were of Russian speaking origin, although there were a smattering of UK entrants. This is only the third year of the competition, and it is hoped that the event will attract an increasingly international group of participants.
Beautifully presented by Evgenia (pictured above), the large audience mostly consisted of family members and teachers. An important criteria was attire and general presentation, and there were some spectacular costumes and colourful dresses. The general standard was high, with several outstanding performances.
As the afternoon drew to a close, the judges had the difficult task of nominating winners. I have never before been a member of such a large jury panel, having previously worked on my own or with one or two colleagues. Let’s just say it took a long time! Eventually, prizes were awarded and some talented young players have been offered exciting new opportunities. Contests such as this provide the perfect foil for performers to develop and hone their craft, and they also offer a superb occasion to celebrate the many facets of the performing arts.