We would like to thank you for the Educational Bridge Project festivals and for the great artists you invite every year. Attending this series of concerts and lectures is a yearly pleasure for us. It is also a pleasure to host every year at our home one of the invited artists. In addition to being outstanding artists they are also very interesting personalities and it is a pleasure getting acquainted with them.
Overhearing them practicing for their performance is an interesting experience, an additional pleasure unavailable at the concert. Possibly the most impressive was Jacob Katznelson working with the German Consul Lohr. No less interesting was the outstanding Anton Tanonov. Alexandra Carlson and (before her) Natalia Katonova. We have kept in touch with them over the years.
Thank you again for these great experiences.
All the best and success in continuing this Project.
Leonid Perlovsky, Harvard University, and
Diana Vinkovetsky, writer
Anna Shakina
11/8/12
Анна Шакина, Санкт-Петербург
Anna Shakina, St. Petersburg:
Массу приятных впечатлений оставила поездка в Бостон и участие в замечательном фестивале "International Bridge Project". Это был настоящий фейерверк из музыки, знакомств, экскурсий, прогулок, ярких и необычных впечатлений! Никогда не забудется Гарвард с его потрясающей атмосферой интеллигентности и с чрезвычайной внимательностью к каждому студенту. Запомнится навсегда потрясающе интересная экскурсия по MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), где нас всех не покидало ощущение, что мы попали в будущее...
Огромное спасибо Людмиле Ароновне Лейбман и всем, кто помогал ей в организации столь важного для обеих стран проекта!
My trip to Boston to participate in the Education Bridge Project was wonderful. It was a real firework of music, new encounters, excursions, walks – so many striking and unusual experiences! I will never forget Harvard with its atmosphere of intellectual refinement and extraordinary attention to every student. And I’ll always remember the unbelievable, fascinating tour of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where we all felt as if we were in the future…
(Translated by Maria Cook)
Yaroslava Serdobolskaya
11/5/12
Ярослава Сердобольская
Здравствуйте!! Мы приехали! Дорога прошла благополучно. Очень много эмоций после поездки. Конечно хотелось еще многое успеть увидеть, зайти в музей, побольше погулять по городу, но мы и так очень многое успели в такой короткий срок. Из самых больших впечатлений я назову концерт в Boston Simphony. 7-я симфония Дворжака... Очень красивый зал, замечательные исполнители, интересная программа и приятная атмосфера. Я очень благодарна за такой подарок в финале поездки. Отдельное спасибо Мати за то, что уделил нам столько времени, столько показал, рассказал и был такой отзывчивый на просьбы. Я очень полюбила Бостон. Мне было очень уютно в этом городе и приятно особенно то, что можно гулять по городу даже ночью и совсем никого не бояться. Все люди очень доброжелательные и улыбчивые. По дороге назад я улыбалась ...
Искренне Ваша,
Ярослава
Yaroslava Serdobolskaya
We’re safely back, and I have so many emotions after the trip! Of course we would have liked to have seen more, walked around the city longer, gone to the museum but still, we've done a lot in such a short time. One of the main highlights for me was the Boston Symphony Orchestra concert. Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony… Beautiful hall, wonderful performers, interesting program, and a pleasant atmosphere – I’m very thankful for such a gift at the end of the trip. Special thanks to Matti Kovler for all the time he spent with us, all the things he showed us and told us about, and for his invariable readiness to help. I fell in love with Boston. I felt very comfortable in the city; it was especially nice to be able to walk around even at night without fear. All the people around were very friendly and smiling. On my way back, I found myself smiling …
Sincerely yours,
Yaroslava
(Translated from Russian to English by Maria Cook)
Dr. Ksenya Khinchuk
11/15/12
Dr. Ksenya Khinchuk,
Director of Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Programme at Boston University:
My husband and I have attended many events of the Educational Bridge Project over the past 15 years. We have always been impressed with the many talented artists and the excellent choice of music. This year we were absolutely “taken” by the performances on October 30th - the tragic story of Cornet Christopher Rilke (Viktor Ullman/Rainer Maria Rilke), the great arrangement of Yiddish songs by Matti Kovler in a superb artistic presentation by Anthony Russell. It was amazing how he felt and expressed the many nuances of Sidor Belarsky’s creations. The incredible depth of emotions in Ruth Lomon’s music, Testimony of Witness - An Oratorio of Remembrance, No.1 Boreh Ad Ana, a Hebrew Supplication from the 2nd Century and No. 9 Choir Der Waisen - were overwhelming and moved us greatly. We were stunned that the Educational Bridge Project Festival Choir, a pick up choir, and the magical voice of Carey Shunskis, soprano, did not belong to voices from La Scala or the Metropolitan Opera. We also have to applaud Ludmilla Leibman’s historical commentaries as scholarly and movingly presented. Overall it was an unforgettable evening. The wild sounds of the strong winds and the beating of the rain on the roof of the auditorium that stormy night as a background only further deepened our appreciation of the triumph of human spirit over tragedy.