Russian Music Circle attracts students

Chatting excitedly with fresh pizza, about 20 students attended the first meeting for the Russian Music Circle on Wednesday. The circle was coordinated by Mark Trotter and is directed by local musician Yelena Polyanskaya.

The Russian and East European Institute and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures sponsor the circle, hoping to expose students to an environment where they can learn Russian and celebrate Russian culture and history through music.

Polyanskaya, who successfully directed a Russian kruzhok (circle) during the summer and teaches Russian, plans to arrange all music and teach the group members using only Russian.

“Mark found me when I was working on my own arrangements, and I thought it would be exciting to lead the group,” Polyanskaya said. “The purpose is to increase knowledge of the Russian language and music as a part of the culture and to develop musical history that started in the 17th century. You don’t need to talk — you just need to sing.”

Bloomington’s Russian community was another reason why a group that embraced Russian culture and music was so attractive to students.

“I got an e-mail over break and immediately signed up,” graduate student Jenn Strayer said. “I have a background in musicology and I have a little bit of Russian, so I’m here to improve my Russian skills, learn more about music and hopefully meet some new people. I think that through humanities and culture we really begin to understand other people, and the rest comes later.”

Students who attended the first meeting ranged in skill from beginning to intermediate to fluent in the Russian language, and many are music students at IU.

The group members hope to have performances in the future and look forward to working with other culture groups on campus, including a Ukrainian and Bulgarian group.

“We are not limited to one language, and we can all learn languages,” Polyanskaya said. “The Russian community in Bloomington is quite big, so to pull students out from their warm nest to hear songs close to the heart that they recognize is a good idea.”