Concert by the Children’s Chorus of Russia

On 8 January one thousand children from eighty-three Russian regions comprising the Children’s Chorus of Russia will be performing for the first time under the baton of Valery Gergiev together with the Mariinsky Orchestra at the Mariinsky-II.
The establishment of the Children’s Chorus of Russia is a major project of the All-Russian Choral Society, of which Valery Gergiev is Chairman.
Between ten and fifteen children from each of Russia’s eighty-three regions arrived in St Petersburg on 2 January, while on 3 January the young singers began rehearsals at four venues within the Mariinsky-II as well as at the St Petersburg Capella and the Glinka Choral School. Under the guidance of experienced teachers from the regions they are rehearsing the programme of their first concert. The participants, many of them in St Petersburg for the very first time, are also enjoying a cultural programme including visits to the State Hermitage, the Russian Museum and, of course, the Mariinsky Theatre at which the children have already seen a performance of the ballet The Nutcracker.
On 8 January at 20:00 the vast children’s chorus of a thousand voices will be performing for the public at the Mariinsky-II. The number of performers onstage will be just under half the number of the audience in the auditorium. As part of the programme of their first concert the children will be performing popular songs from the children’s choral repertoire.
Mariinsky Media will be broadcasting the concert live on-line on the website http://mariinsky.tv