ILS music teachers Vyacheslav Vedernikov and Olga Sergienko took part in two concerts by Ray Brown Jr, who performed this week at the Primorye Regional Philharmonic. They joined a quintet offering favorite Ella Fitzgerald songs, as well as classics of American gospel and funk. Our teachers report that the improvisations they did with the legendary American artist filled the hall with exciting music.
“When offered the chance to share a stage with the jazz master Ray Brown, we immediately agreed,” says Olga Sergienko. “Working with a musician like him is a new experience, one that gave us inspiration as well as an opportunity to test our skill.”
Regarding his performances on a variety of stages in different countries, Ray Brown explained: “I like going on the road to give concerts; I meet lots of great people brought to me by my music.”
“The concert was tremendous! Our teachers were top notch!” exclaimed one member of the audience, the mother of ILS 9th grader Lev Novitsky. “We are proud and pleased that our children get to study music with teachers like Vyacheslav and Olga.”
“We are very glad that concert musicians like Olga and Vyacheslav work at our school,” notes ILS Principal Olga Shevchenko. “They do more than teach our students – they inspire them. And thanks to teachers like these, our school is host to the International Children’s Jazz Festival Pacific Fusion.”
