Belcanto

The academic choir “Belcanto” was founded in 1974 by the honored Culture Worker of the Russian Federation Diana Minaeva, the unchallenged head of the choir. Currently, there are more than 30 lovers of singing of all ages and occupations engaged in this choir. Their repertoire is varied, the choir performs compositions by Russian and foreign choir classics, sacred and secular music, folk songs. The choir has visited many countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. In 2003, the choir received a silver diploma at International Contest by Brahms in Vernigerod, Germany. In December 2008 the Belcanto celebrated its 35th anniversary.

There are several ensembles organized within the Belcanto: the “Romantic Trio,” the female vocal ensemble and the mixed ensemble. The female vocal ensemble won the first prize at the international festival of choral music “Southern Palmira” in 2005 in Odessa, Ukraine. In 2006 the mixed ensemble took part in this festival. Two awards resulted from this trip: 1st place for the performance of the woman vocal ensemble, and 2nd place in the category of mixed choirs.

Diana Minaeva was born in 1939 in the city of Astrakhan. She graduated with honors from the Faculty of Choral Conducting of Musical Collage. In 1972, she started to work as a head conductor of the vocal ensemble “Melody” which was followed by the foundation and the work with the female choir and the academic mixed choir of Belcanto. In 1985, Diana Minaeva received the title “Honored Culture Worker of Russian Federation.” In the May of 2009, she was also awarded with the honorary title “Deserved Citizen of Dubna.”

Dubna is a town with 67,900 inhabitants located 125 km from Moscow in a picturesque corner of the North Moscow region, on the bank of the Volga River. It is known worldwide as a large scientific center. For more than half a century scientists from many countries around the world have fruitfully worked there. It is the only Russian town immortalized in the periodic table of chemical elements by D. Mendeleyev: the chemical element Dubnium is named after the town of Dubna.