Two Russian Youth Symphony Orchestras Performed at the World Youth Festival.

Two unique Russian ensembles performed at the WYF - the concert "Symphony Team of Russia" united the All-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Yuri Bashmet and the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dmitry Jurowski. Each orchestra performed its own program, which included masterpieces of Russian and European classics and compositions by contemporary composers.

The soloists of the concert were talented young musicians - laureates of the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition Valery Stepanov, Fyodor Osver, Maxim Lisin, Sergey Davydchenko and Kim Kye-hee. At the end the star of the opera stage, People's Artist of the Russian Federation Hibla Gerzmava performed for the audience.  The concert was held on March 5. This day at the forum is dedicated to the theme "Saving the family for future generations".

The World Youth Festival unites musicians from different countries, it is a base for culture not to perish, conductor Yuri Bashmet said before the performance.

"If culture dies, we will die, because it is impossible without culture," Yuri Bashmet said.

The renowned violist and conductor also spoke about the youth orchestra he leads. 

"The selection of participants takes place every two years. This is a unique "national team", the first time such a collective has been created in our country. Its main principle is the rotation of participants, they learn how to live in an orchestra. The children first go through competitions in their cities and eventually represent all regions of our country", - said Yuri Bashmet.

He also added that in January this year the All-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra acquired the status of a federal orchestra. 

"We have been seeking this for 10 years and we have achieved it. What does it mean? It means that our projects will continue to work steadily. There are many of them, and they are known to everyone", - said the maestro.

As part of the WYF, Sirius hosted the Festival of World Youth Orchestras under the direction of maestro Yuri Bashmet. During two days, six ensembles, including the unique World Youth Orchestra, gave six concerts in Sochi's Zimniy Theater. Yuri Bashmet said that the international ensemble united musicians from 26 countries. Young musicians from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Portugal, Spain and a performer from the USA played on the same stage. 

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The World Youth Festival is taking place at the Sirius Federal Territory from March 1 to 7, 2024, as per the decree issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at fostering international youth cooperation.

The Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) is the organizer of the World Youth Festival, with the Directorate of the World Youth Festival serving as the operator for WYF-2024.