SUMMER SEMINAR Ш COSSACK FOLK 
MUSIC AT MOSCOW STATE CONSERVATORY 

Laura Olson, University of Colorado, Boulder 

The Folk Music Department of the Moscow 
State Conservatory announces its second summer 
seminar, The Singing and Instrumental Traditions of 
the Don Cossacks, to take place August 5­19, 1998. 
The seminar will include 6 days of workshops and 
courses at the Moscow Conservatory, and a 7­day 
field expedition to Cossack villages in the Volgograd 
region of Russia. Participants will live in home­stay 
situations: in Moscow, they will be housed with 
members of the Moscow State Conservatory Folklore 
Ensemble, and in the Volgograd area, in Cossack 
homes. Natalia Giliarova, the chair of the Folklore 
Department of the Conservatory and director of the 
Folklore Ensemble, will conduct the seminar. The 
specific hours of study included in the Moscow 
portion of the trip are: 

­Basic genres of Russian folklore (4 hours) 
­Singing traditions of the Don Cossacks (4 

hours) 
­The Wedding ritual (2 hours) 
­Instrumental traditions of the Don Cossacks 

(2 hours) 
­Workshops in singing, instruments, and tradi­

tional dances and games, together with the Moscow 
Conservatory Folklore Ensemble. Includes group 
field trips to museums and parks in Moscow area (12 
hours) 

Lectures, classes, and all songs taught will be 
translated into English for those who do not know 
Russian. In living situations, every effort will be 

SEEFA Journal 1998, Vol. III No. 1



made to match non-Russian speakers with English-
speaking hosts and/or roommates. 

In Volgograd, participants will acquaint them­
selves with the traditions of the Don Cossacks dir­
ectly from members of local amateur ensembles, and 
will have a chance to observe firsthand how tradi­
tions are carried out today. The Don Cossacks are 
Russian-speaking people who settled in the border­
lands of Russia during the 16th century. They evol­
ved particular traditions drawn from their unusual 
lifestyles and proximity to non-Russian peoples; 
their music has been made popular in Russia through 
the efforts of numerous revivalist groups, such as the 
Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble, which has extensively 
toured the U.S. 

Both in Moscow and in Volgograd, participants 
will have ample opportunity to learn and practice 
songs and dances outside of scheduled classes. The 
seminar will be conducted informally with plenty of 
individual attention, so that students with particular 
interests can pursue them within the context of the 
seminar. All skill levels are welcome. 

Cost of the entire seminar, including all living 
expenses, transportation within Russia, and classes, 
will be $1340 if there is a total of 7-10 participants, 
and $1200 if there are 10-15 participants. Supple­
mentary cultural programs such as visits to specific 
museums or monuments in Moscow can be organ­
ized at the wish of the participants for modest extra 
cost. 

Those who wish to take part in the seminar 
should send a letter to the Conservatory by May 1, 
1998, with the following information, which is 
necessary for the issuance of the visa: Full name, 
date of birth, address, place of work or study, 
number of passport, its expiration date and date and 
place of issuance, and the desired dates for entry 



and exit of Russia. The letter should be sent by fax 
to: (7) (095) 229-9659 (write dlia Giliarovoi on 
cover sheet) or by post to: Natalia Giliarova, Kabinet 
narodnoi muzyki, Moskovskaia Konservatoria, B. 
Nikitskaia 13, Moscow, Russia 103871. You may 
wish to call to make sure your fax or letter has been 
received; the home phone number of the seminar's 
organizer, Oksana Levko, is (7) (095) 138-1569. 

For more information about the seminar, 
contact the co-organizer of the 1996 seminar: Prof. 
Laura Olson, Dept. of Germanic and Slavic, University 
of Colorado at Boulder, by e-mail at 
lolson@colorado.edu or phone (303) 492-7729. 

67 SEEFA Journal 1998, Vol. III No. 1

mailto:lolson@colorado.edu