Massed Children and Youth Wind Band and Choir Uniting more than 1500 Young Artists Performed on Vasilievsky Spusk right in the Background of St. Basil's Cathedral

May 12, the Large Amphitheater of Moscow’s Zaryadye Park welcomed the Third Children and Youth Wind Band Contest of the Spasskaya Tower for Children, a special project carried out by the Directorate of the Spasskaya Tower International Military Tattoo. This contest is a run-up for the Sixth Spasskaya Tower Children and Youth Brass Band Festival, held from 23 to 25 of August 2019 on Red Square.

As usual the contest was marked by a spectacular performance of the Massed Children and Youth Wind Band. But this year it gained support of the Combined Children Choir. We can’t but mention the striking scope and scale of this unique artistic group, featuring 41 youth wind bands and seven choirs of 1400 musicians and 300 voices, respectively. These young and very talented boys and girls come from the Central Federal District representing Moscow, Tula, Belgorod, Voronezh as well as Moscow, Kaluga, Vladimir and other regions. Vasilievsky Spusk, in the very heart of Moscow, became venue for this amazing music performance that led by Colonel Evgeniy Nikitin, Conductor of the President’s Band and Honored Artist of Russia, grasped attention of thousands of Muscovites and guests of the capital.

The idea of creating a massed band belongs to Lieutenant General Valery Khalilov, the first Music Director of the Spasskaya Tower Festival (2007–2016), and Ms. Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. For the first time the Spasskaya Tower Massed Children and Youth Band saw light in 2017 when about a 1000 of young gifted musicians performed popular songs and melodies right near the Kremlin walls.

At the outset of the performance Mr. Sergey Smirnov, Head of the Spasskaya Tower Festival Directorate, thanked all the members of the music ensembles-present for their great and valuable work as well as their heads and directors. Besides, he highlighted the immense contribution made by the parents, telling them that they were very lucky as they could watch faces of their children creating and dedicating themselves to something big and beautiful and not their backs while their faces were glued to the screens of their tabs and smartphones. Mr. Smirnov also expressed gratitude on behalf of the Spasskaya Tower Festival Directorate to the volunteers who helped in carrying out the whole event.

The world-known Russian jazz player Igor Butman also welcomed the participants of the contest wishing them good luck and saying that apart from being a competition it was a great opportunity to share and acquire experience, make new friends and simply enjoy good music. He also thanked all the parents and teachers for their endless enthusiasm and faith in the children and in the country.

Then the concert finally began. Accompanied by the Combined Children Choir, the Massed Children and Youth Wind Band performed the Anthem of the Russian Federation, songs My Moscow by Isaak Dunaevskiy and Victory Day by David Tukhmanov as well as a number of children and popular compositions.