In the modern world there are not many people who are truly dedicated to the cause, and not to material gain. This outstanding person was one of these, he is the pride of our country and deserves to be an example to follow not only among cultural figures, but also all people.
Introduction
A whole era of the development of choral art in Russia is associated with the name of Georgy Aleksandrovich Struve. His activity was aimed at attracting children to this type of collective creativity. Methodological materials, songs written by him, are valued at the present time, as accessible, interesting, understandable for the younger generation.
The creation of such a heritage requires great love for their work, utmost creative dedication and fidelity to their own vocation. Indeed, having got acquainted with the biography of George Struve, you can see that he always shone brightly, had a warm heart, and the ability to give love and creativity to children, receiving full value from them. How did his career begin?
Childhood and youth
Georgy Struve was born in December 1932 in Moscow. The love of music, laid down genetically, he manifested from birth. And this is not surprising. His grandmother was a concert pianist; father, mother and uncle also owned tools. Family concerts in their house were held regularly. A great influence on the choice of life path was also exerted by the fact that Aunt Georgy Alexandrovich introduced preschoolers to music in kindergarten, he often was a spectator or participant in her festive matinees, as well as rehearsals preceding these events. Collective creativity for the boy was always a joy; this hobby became the basis for future professional activity.
The difficulties of the war years did not weaken, but, on the contrary, strengthened the desire to connect one’s life with art. The first step was the admission to the Ufa school of military musicians, which he graduated in 1950. However, this did not end his student activities.
Beginning of professional activity and continuing education
In 1952, he began working as a singing teacher near Moscow, and a year later became the head of the school choir in the village of Vishnyaki. In his pedagogical methodology, he relied on childhood experiences, remembering how his relatives opened the doors to the world of music: easily, directly, without any academic burden, with games and friendly communication. This helped to establish trustful communication with children, to interest, captivate them and thereby gain first success.
However, George Struve soon realized that the knowledge he possessed was not enough. He enters the Moscow School of Music at the conductor-choral department, which he graduated in 1958. His thesis was a concert program with a choir from the village of Vishnyaki, which was rated for the highest score, and the choir had a great future.
Creation of the Pioneer Choir Studio and conquering the peaks
In 1959, the Vishnyakovskaya school was recognized as the first choral school in the Soviet Union, and the choir itself became a studio and was called "Pioneer". The area in which it was located at that time was considered dysfunctional: people with poor and vicious inclinations were not uncommon there, this also applied to children and adolescents. Many parents did not have time to pay due attention to their children, because they had to work a lot in those years. Concerned about the future development of children and trying to protect them from the harmful influence of the street, parents willingly gave their daughters and sons to this collective.
Thus, in addition to exploring the world of music and the skills of choral singing, Georgy Struve paid much attention to the formation of high ideals in children, conducting conversations and various group events that promote the development of students' sense of responsibility, ability and desire to help, appreciate and protect the beauty of the soul and the world . Over the years of its activity, the studio gained fame not only in the USSR, but also in many other European countries. In addition to numerous competitions and concerts, the choir participated in television and radio programs, and also recorded dozens of records.
Not only a choirmaster, but also a composer
George Struve constantly sought to expand horizons and reveal talents, was in search of new opportunities. As soon as he graduated from college and achieved his first successes as a talented choirmaster, he began to improve his compositional inclinations, which manifested themselves in childhood. In 1959 he entered the Moscow Conservatory, and five years later - to graduate school, which he graduated in 1967. His mentors were famous musicians professors M. Bagryansky (at the conservatory) and D. Kabalevsky, who particularly appreciated the aspirations of his graduate student, finding in they have much in common with their own ideas about the cultural education of the younger generation.
Until the end of his life, he helped the Pioneer Choir Studio in all its endeavors. In subsequent years, the collective repertoire was replenished with the works of its leader. Composer G. Struve is the author of such well-known children's songs as “School Ship”, “With Us Friend”, Proms, “Then You Will Regret Kulakova!” And many others. All of them are easy to hear, are simple and the clarity of the musical language and well-chosen texts, which makes them accessible for children to perceive, and the songs of the composer George Struve remain relevant today.
Methodology "Choral Solfeggio"
As George Struve believed, music unites and teaches to truly love. He was convinced that each person can be taught to sing, and all children are initially born with absolute hearing. However, any skill needs constant cutting and improvement, while honing mastery should not turn into exhausting work. On the contrary, this process should take place in a friendly atmosphere, through the elements of the game, to give joy and satisfaction after each lesson.
Georgy Alexandrovich outlined his principles in the author's development of "Choral Solfeggio", its basis is made up of numerous exercises that simultaneously involve hearing, motor activity and vision. They are singings of different difficulty levels, one-voice or many-voice. During their performance, the student needs to show each note with special hand signs, they help to feel the direction of movement of the melody and the pitch between adjacent sounds, as well as listen more carefully to the voices of his classmates. Over the past few decades, the effectiveness of this technique has been proven repeatedly, in many schools it is still used.
Busy social activities
Georgy Struve taught not only children but also teachers, led the People's Teacher chapel for over 20 years, actively gave master classes and conducted seminars. For a long time he was co-chair of the choral and musical communities of Russia. The world-famous camps "Orlyonok" and "Artek" are also associated with the name of this great man: the numerous festivals and competitions organized by him in these children's centers have been helping thousands of teenagers to join the culture for many years, adding brightness and sparkle to their impressions of the rest . Georgy Aleksandrovich was the owner of numerous awards for his works, both all-Russian and international.
Followers and Followers
The grandiose undertakings of the great cultural figure were not forgotten. The main support for George Struve and his ideals was the family. His daughter Maria Struve worthily continued the work of her father, creating not only her own team, but also a school.
His wife Lyubov Semenovna, who is also a specialty choir conductor, did not stand aside. She continues the development of the Pioneria choir studio, leads a boys choir and works with preschoolers in one of the kindergartens.
The Russian government also did not stand aside: after a long break associated with a dysfunctional life in Russia in the 90s of the last century and the early years of the 21st, the All-Russian Choral Society was recreated, the thousandth children's choir was formed, the number of choir festivals and competitions increased, as well as Russian teams have the opportunity to take part in world choir olympiads, which are held once every two years in different countries.
Conclusion
The musician, teacher, composer, ideological inspirer and choirmaster Georgy Struve is a person who is proud not only of our country, but the whole world. His grandiose ideas, projects and achievements were able to transform not only the cultural life of society, but also the consciousness of people, helping them to understand the importance of harmonious partnership and cooperation, the ability to listen, respond and support. Indeed, only such an energy exchange fills life with meaning that makes it possible to feel what it means to be a happy person.
G. A. Struve from a simple children's choir managed to create a real school ship, the sailing of which continues to this day, because the ideals of this ship continue to develop.