As one of many lucky participants of the Educational Bridge Project, I traveled to Russia to be a part of the 23rd Educational Bridge Festival! My primary goal was to give a master class in American choral methods to Russian choral teachers, and lead a reading session in choral repertoire for children's and youth choirs. The master class was held at the Moscow Conservatory, and for me that was an unforgettable experience. I left Moscow 14 years ago, and at that time I was a post graduate student at the Conservatory. As years passed, I gained new experiences, knowledge and skills from American choral conductors and music educators.  I wanted to share that with my Russian colleagues. To my surprise, we were scheduled to meet in a room where I used to sing in a choir almost each day of the week, and many memories came alive. The master class went very well: choral teachers listened carefully and participated in exercises and warm ups.

My second adventure, and it was truly an adventure, was a visit to a choral school, Radost' ( the Joy). Its founder and artistic director, Tatiana Zhdanova, dedicated her life to building the school. She started about thirty-three years ago and now the school has seven departments including choral-vocal, folk orchestra, folk and choreography.

Ekaterina Anoshkin