How Grand Circle helped a young Russian boy attain his musical dreams
Pavel Chizhik (on right) performs during a concert to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the school.
By Misha Smetnick, Program Director, Russia
There is a music boarding school in St. Petersburg, Russia, that the Grand Circle Foundation has supported for five years. There was a student at the school named Pavel Chizhik who was always a stellar performer at the little concert staged by the school students for our travelers.
I have been watching Pavel for five years as he has developed from an awkward little kid into a confident, six-foot-two-inch young man. He often got a standing ovation from our travelers for his brilliant percussion performance of various classical pieces (the last couple of years, he was performing on a Foundation-acquired instrument).
Earlier this year, he won a prestigious scholarship for St. Petersburg Conservatory—the same institution where Shostakovich and Prokofiev trained and where Chaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov were professors. This scholarship is very hard to get and is awarded only to very talented musicians (which Russia has no shortage of!).
Music students at a boarding school supported by Grand Circle Foundation perform a small concert for travelers during visits.
When we resumed our Foundation visits after the summer break in September, Pavel made a farewell appearance at the concert. He had already started at the Conservatory as a student. I had a chance to talk to him and he said something that really made an impression on me.
Pavel said that when Grand Circle first began visiting the boarding school, he was afraid of Americans. But as time went on, he really began appreciating our visits; he says they helped widen his horizons and played a fairly important part in his decision to seek out the scholarship. Our visits really helped to change his life.
Although I might not get to see Pavel again, I know that he will treasure the memories of Grand Circle travelers for years to come. This really makes me feel good about working for Grand Circle and I now always share this wonderful story with my groups on the way to the school.
Listen to young Russian students like Pavel play at the Grand Circle Foundation-supported boarding school on our Russia Revealed: Moscow to St. Petersburg River Cruise.