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An article from the Obninsk Magazine recognizing talented Obninsk residents with the Obninsk equivalent of the "Oscar" award - 1998 Translated from the Russian original by Alya Kirillina,
Oak Ridge Tatiana Bulgakova by Sasha Berestova I met Tatiana Bulgakova, the conductor and artistic leader of the municipal chamber music choir "Partes," and children’s choir "Kantsona" on the day before her trip to the international convention for conductors which took place in Chicago. Only a few individuals from Russia went to the convention. One of them was Tatiana. 1998 was the 20th anniversary year for the "Partes" choir and the 10th anniversary for the children’s choir "Kantsona". It was a was very fruitful for Tatiana Bulgakova and her students. The children’s choir earned special recognition winning two international contests". They took the grand prize in Odessa at the "South Palmire, and at the open festival in St. Petersburg the choir won first place. "Partes" reached its twentieth anniversary also receiving awards. Winning the grand prize at the international contest in Spain. Reminiscing about the awards, Bulgakova said: "I am sincerely glad that our people are returning to the lively, wonderful Russian music and can appreciate its value. I think that all of our awards for the year 1998 were a direct result of our hard work. Musical groups from nine countries including Columbia, Mexico, Taiwan, and Denmark participated in event in Spain. The "Partes" choir was very well received even though "Partes" performed in its native language. The language barrier was not important and may be that the secret of their high-quality performance. However, earning this kind of success is not easy. Bulgakova believes that communication with talented people requires particular attention and watchfulness. Regardless of how well things are going for "Partes" and "Kantsona", Tatiana manages not to lose watchfulness. This is why she says: "The most important thing is to save the soloists, whose vocal gifts are already known from the "illness of stars" (Editor's comment: What a great way to describe a primadona!) . You can’t let them break away from the choir. You have to help them remember that they are where they are now because of the people around them. We hold on to that principle." Bulgakova came to Obninsk 22 years ago. Her husband, a physicist by profession, brought her here. She was born in the Ural Mountains area. There, in Ekaterinburg, she graduated from the conservatory. In answer to the question of why she dedicated her life to music, Bulgakova replied: "I come from a musical family. My father is a direct descendent of the Don Cossacks. I remember my childhood when many relatives came to visit us and sang Cossack songs. We sang in many voices and it was amazing and wonderful. My mother is from Siberia, and she has a beautiful voice. In her family everyone has a beautiful voice. One of mother’s sisters became a professional singer and is now a soloist of the Kharkov Philharmonic Society. I think that my love for music is genetic." Understanding how lucky she is to have the music talent passed on to her from past generations, Tatiana tries to pass it on to her children. Her oldest daughter is already a professional musician. She made this decision herself. Her youngest daughter still takes gymnastics, but did not stop practicing music after graduating from a music school. "I do not put pressure on people. I want my children to be able to choose what is right for them, for their souls. I can give them advice if they ask, but I never pressure them. However at work, I am very particular of what I ask of people." Bulgakova says that if music won’t become their family tradition, she won’t be disappointed. Everybody’s desires and needs are different. Conducting is, without a doubt, a remarkable profession, and something you don’t see everyday. Even the word "profession" is irrelevant in this case. The sea of music cannot be described in such a simple way. Conducting is a part of your soul. One doesn’t want to discuss a political crisis, money, and other everyday problems with conductors. However, all these negative influences does affect culture of good music. A lot of money is required to take the musical groups to contests. In Russia, getting that money is a big problem. In Tatiana’s opinion is that without sponsors, it is very hard work to keep a talented group together. Of course one may talk about enthusiasm for the music arts, but that is not enough. Talent needs development, admirers, and communication with other talented people. Otherwise God’s gift to the musically talented is wasted. That problem is still hard to solve. For example, "Partes" was invited to America in May. A period of hard work lies ahead. Bulgakova talks about it with a smile. Even though her work is hard, she loves it. What else is there to add? Good luck to you and the people that live for music in a time of unending problems. |
