Orchestra profile

Orchestra history

The Russian Folk Orchestra was officially created at the Saint-Petersburg State University in 1953 by Michail Moiseevich Dorfman (1912-1987). Nevertheless, students and teachers of the University arranged concerts and played folk instruments at these concerts a long before it was officially founded.

M. M. Dorfman carried on his family's long tradition as a musician, a conductor and a performer. He graduated from the Leningrad Conservatoire and the History Department at the University. He led the Orchestra for more than 30 years. He adapted countless pieces for the Russian folk orchestras.

Alexey Michailovich Dolgov became a Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orchestra after M. M. Dorfman's death, his predecessor.

The Orchestra staff consists of students, graduates and teachers of the University, amateur and professional musicians of different generations.

Igor Tonin was one of the Assisting Conductors of the Orchestra. Now he leads the "Metelitsa" folk orchestra.

The Orchestra made numerous concert tours to Poland, Finland, Sweden, to many places in the former USSR: Moscow, Tashkent, Astrakhan, Saratov, and many others. The famous Russian mezzo-soprano Lyudmila Filatova sang with the Orchestra.

Recently, the Orchestra established cultural relations to several choirs from Sweden and Norway.

The history of the Orchestra features victories at musical contests, premieres of modern compositions, recordings, and concerts at the Saint-Petersburg Chapel, Conservatoire Hall.

The Orchestra was awarded with an Honoured National Organization title.