In accordance with a contract signed by maestro Valery Gergiev and Natalia Komarova, Governor of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region, 2012 is officially The Year of the Mariinsky Theatre in Yugra. As part of this unique project, Khanty-Mansiysk will be hosting concerts by the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and soloists of the Opera and Ballet Companies. Young soloists of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region have perfected their own skills under the guidance of visitors from St Petersburg by taking part in master-classes in solo singing, classical dance and chamber music. In October the best participants of the creative school will undergo a two-week training course at the historic Mariinsky Theatre. The culmination of the project will come with a joint performance by young soloists from Yugra and Mariinsky Theatre artistes together with the symphony orchestra under the baton of maestro Valery Gergiev at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre on 15 October.