HOW TO CHOOSE A CONSERVATORY

On March 1-2, 2025 Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of Saratov State L.V. Sobinov Conservatoire Viacheslav Bondarenko took part in XIX International Arts Exhibition organized by JJL Company in Beijing (China). TOP Conservatories from Russia and Belarus participated in it.

For many young people spring is time of considering, where to continue studies after finishing school or bachelor degree program. In our view, it is very important to provide music students with relevant information for choosing a proper higher musical educational establishment abroad. We will try to do it.

Traditions of education

First of all, it’s important to understand traditions of musical education in the country, where you would like to go. For example, everybody knows that opera was born in Italy and organ performance traditions were established in Germany and France. One of the strongest pedagogical schools in the sphere of music was formed in Russia, where the «School – College – Conservatoire» system based on succession of educational process is considered a national treasure. Musical education in Russia combines focus on technical skills and interpretation of essential music ideas; it pays special attention to close connection of music with philosophy and religion, painting and literature, social life and historical process. So, try to get information about musical traditions of the country you choose from different sources and verify it.

«Happy together» - educational project of Saratov Conservatoire for children and their parents

Cultural and language differences

Working with conservatoires all over the world, we observe the difference in the meaning of the word conservatoire itself. For example, in Russian «conservatoire» or «conservatory» always means higher educational institution for musicians, who would like to become professionals, while in France «conservatoire» is just a musical school for amateur musicians, where both children and adults can study.

Besides every country historically works out its own approach to ranking music educational establishments. For example, in China the basic principle is the statute of the city. Conservatoire in the city of the first line will always be more prestigious than the one in the city of second line. In Russia, from XX century on, providing high-quality education for all residents regardless the region they live in was the focus of the government, that’s why professional orientation of the educational establishment is more important than the city statute.

Brandt Brass Ensemble of Saratov Conservatoire

Performing schools

Every country has a variety of performing schools. From the lessons of history of instrumental performing you should know how your instrument was created, how its capabilities were changing over the time, which new playing techniques artists introduced… The most important thing to know about a conservatoire is which performing schools prevail there. To understand it just listen to performances of teachers and graduates of different conservatories. This way you can notice and compare various musical phrases, tempos, semantic accents. The difference in playing technique will also be noticeable. Compare the sound. Do you like it? Do you really want to study this way of sound production or do you prefer another one? Do you like the interpretation of the composition or do you understand it differently?

To get idea about Saratov Conservatoire performing school, follow the links to listen to its alumni:

Maria Motolygina (soprano): https://yandex.ru/video/preview/4750745134635678583

https://yandex.ru/video/preview/14332813933972334133

Andrey Kudryakov (piano) https://yandex.ru/video/preview/7350486794872455408

Vladimir Levitsky (piano) https://dzen.ru/video/watch/620dd146466d9324d05705e6?utm_referrer=yandex.ru

https://classic-online.ru/ru/performer/36560

Mesrop Badalyan (violin) https://yandex.ru/video/preview/10730244001562851449

https://yandex.ru/video/preview/8851551255321325328

The People’s Artist of the USSR Yury Simonov works with Saratov Conservatoire students

Educational plan and lessons organization

At the admission stage, it makes sense to learn about peculiarities of educational program, especially about the number of professional lessons a week. In some countries educational plan includes only one lesson with your major teacher a week. The rest of time you should practice on your own. Conservatoire education in Russia is focused on professional class which presents a complex of interrelated musical subjects. For example, in Saratov Conservatoire professional class besides speciality lessons includes lessons where you learn about sound production techniques, musical styles of different eras, prepare solo concert repertoire, perform in ensemble, work at orchestral or opera parts. In total, these disciplines make up from 7 to 9 academic hours a week.

Student’s opera theater. The final exam

Major teacher

Choosing a major teacher is one of the most important issues for a young musician. The scale of the teacher’s personality and experience, his professional knowledge and general worldview will influence you and shape you professionally. It explains a strong desire of many students to study under outstanding musicians, who work at the most prestigious institutions. Choosing a teacher, try to find out as much as possible about him or her. It is useful to know, for example, whether he is focused on music pedagogy or combines teaching at the conservatory with a busy concert life. Usually, you can find information about teachers on conservatoires’ websites.

Lesson in piano class

Sources of important information

Nowadays there are many sources of information and it is important to be critical about them. You can find many interesting facts on websites of conservatoire, but it is obvious that this information is selected for the target audience. You can also find reviews about the conservatoire on the Internet, but even in this case, mind that they may be biased. That’s why, considering information you have got, don’t hesitate to contact conservatoires directly through official WeChat accounts or by contacts listed on the websites.

We sincerely hope that you will make the right choice and built your ideal professional career!