Moscow Nights is a dynamic force bringing the riches of Russian culture to Louisiana audiences. |
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LECTURES/CLASSES/READINGS Lectures Since its establishment, Moscow Nights has been dedicated to bringing informative programs on various aspects of Russian and Eastern European culture to the people of Louisiana. These programs have come in the form of lectures and classes, concerts and readings; while the formats have varied, their aim – to educate the intellectually curious – has remained true. An Evening with Alexandre Vassiliev In 2000, An Evening with Alexandre Vassiliev was a night featuring the world-renowned fashion designer, costume historian, and In addition to presenting a slide show and lecture about those who, having lost their lives of privilege as a result of the Russian Revolution made names for themselves in the world of fashion, Vassiliev signed English-language copies of his book Beauty in Exile. This project was made possible with the assistance of Garden District Books and the generous support of the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities. To read the article that appeared in the Times Picayune about this event, click here
The Life and Legacy of Alexander Pushkin
In 2002, thanks to a special grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Moscow Nights presented The Life and Legacy of Alexander Pushkin, a lecture on Pushkin’s life and place in Russian letters by Professor Boris Gasparov of Columbia University. This well-attended event kicked off the organization’s Tribute to Alexander Pushkin. Since the work of Pushkin is not regularly read today in this country, Moscow Nights entertained audiences of its 2002 Winter Festival with theatrical readings of a number of Pushkin’s poems, both in Russian and English. Readers included Tristan Codrescu, C. Cain Lee, Ryan Reinike, and Natasha Ramer. Musical Programs
Faina Lushtak of the Newcomb Department of Music and Moscow Nights organized concerts for the virtuoso at Tulane University and Snug Harbor; in addition, Ganelin presented master classes at the Newcomb Music Department. This visit was funded in part by the Louisiana Jewish Endowment. To learn more and Vyacheslav Ganelin and his music, visit www.ganelin-music.com At the beginning of 2008, Mr. Ken Schneider, President of the Apogee Foundation, called Natasha Ramer to tell her that the Apogee Foundation would very much like to bring Simion Gronic, a remarkable twelve-year-old musician from Chisinau, Moldova, to visit and perform in New Orleans. Simion Gronic, an Apogee Merit Scholar who plays six different instruments, had the dream of playing his music (including his trumpet) in New Orleans, the home of his idol Louis Armstrong. Mr. Schneider asked whether Moscow Nights could help in arranging this visit. The Apogee Foundation is an international philanthropic organization dedicated to the development of human excellence in the performing arts, and Moscow Nights was delighted to join in this collaboration. As part of this collaboration, Natasha Ramer became the coordinator of Simion Gronic’s New Orleans visit. Prior to his arrival, Natasha Ramer, Artistic Director of Moscow Nights contacted John Rodi, Executive Director of the Komenka Ethnic Dance and Music Ensemble, Albinas and Manon Prizgintas, Misical Directors of the Trinity Artists Series, Sally Perry, Executive Director of New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) and these remarkable cultural organizations made space for Simion Gronic on their stages. (cf. www.apogeefoundation.org). The result was a remarkable series of concerts in New Orleans featuring Simion Gronic playing the tender music of Moldova on a variety of native instruments as well as the trumpet. (The students of NOCCA, where Simion Gronic attended classes and performed during his visit, applauded him and screamed: “Apogee, you’re awesome!” Moscow Nights was proud to facilitate the visit of Simion Gronic and his sister Simona, who accompanied him on the piano, here in New Orleans.In the Classroom How can a Russian culture make an impression on our youth unless we introduce that culture into the local school curriculum? Knowing that making material relevant to the In the fall semester of 2004, by special agreement with Dr. Clyde Robertson, Director of the Department of African and Multicultural Studies in the New Orleans City Schools, representatives of Moscow Nights began to meet regularly with the teachers of McMain Senior High School. Members of Moscow Nights presented lectures on various aspects of Pushkin’s work, suggesting avenues of instruction that might make Pushkin more accessible to McMain students. Dr. Samuel C. Ramer of Tulane University spoke on the many parallels that might be drawn between the St. Petersburg of Pushkin’s time and the New Orleans of the same era. Ms. Baty Landis spoke on the power of the musical tradition of both cities. Natasha Ramer discussed the potential involved in staging various small plays drawn from Pushkin’s work. In the spring of 2005, Ms. Ramer worked with students and a talented local actor, Roscoe Reddix, in McMain Secondary School to stage a special composition adaptation for students based upon Pushkin’s life. That year, we hoped to follow up on this program and to see whether Another plan cut short by Katrina can trace its roots to Ms. Ramer’s trip to Moscow in 2004. In December of that year, Ms. Ramer met Ms. Natalia Yazykova, Director of Moscow Pushkin School # 353 and Drama teacher, Larisa Striganova. These women introduced Ms. Ramer to the entire curriculum for Russian students and how it is structured around the life and work of Alexander Pushkin. In this school, for example, there is an annual Pushkinesque Ball where students master the manners and way of life of the Russian aristocracy of the time, learning these specific manners from Pushkin’s works. Moscow Nights’ goal is to bring American students who already learned about Pushkin to Moscow as special guests of Moscow Pushkin School. On Saturday November 22, 2008 "Moscow Nights" and Tulane University hosted a joint cultural and educational event. Professor Alexandra Raskina from the German and Slavic Department brought her TIDES-191 class for a field trip to the home of Natasha Ramer. TIDES (Tulane InterDisciplinary Experience Seminars) is a program for Tulane freshmen through which students, in addition to working with their instructor, may meet others, both within the university and in the larger community, who may be able to offer a “real-life perspective” on the course topic. (For information on the TIDES program at Tulane, see http://tides.tulane.edu/abouttides.html).
The title of the event was "A Russian Tea Afternoon: Entertainment and Education." The students met with members of Russian community of New Orleans, were introduced to authentic Russian hot tea and food delicacies -- those who wanted got the recipes – and listened to stories about the everyday lives of Russians both in Russia and America, and how those cultures differ. Moreover, in what was probably the most seriously educational part of the afternoon, they listened to a remarkable musical concert and lecture on Russian music by Tulane’s remarkably gifted pianist Faina Lushtak. Svetlana Lonadier, a Russian folk music specialist, introduced the students to authentic Russian folk songs and music and demonstrated such exotic musical instruments as the "bayan", balalaika, Russian tambourine, and the like. The students participated, singing along and using the instruments to help create the music. Natasha Ramer, a professional actress and singer, sang folk songs and romances for the students. Eliot Raisen and his wife Sandy, specialists in ethnic dance, joined with Natasha to show students some steps of traditional Russian dances. Svetlana Horowitz, a German and Slavic scholar of Russian origin and the wife of Brian Horowitz, the Chair of the Slavic Department and Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Tulane, shared a family legend about her father's early childhood on the Kamchatka peninsula, and showed some old photos to illustrate the story..  The afternoon concluded with the showing of a Russian movie (with English subtitles) based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock Holmes stories. Professor Raskina and her husband Dr. Alexander Wentzell provided a lecture on Sherlock Holmes’ place in the Russian collective consciousness. Elementary, my dear Watson!
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One of Moscow Nights’ most successful programs sought to shine a light on the works of the 19th century poet Alexander Pushkin, a Russian whose connection to the American South seems suddenly obvious when it is pointed out that Pushkin, who nicknamed himself Afrikanets, was the descendant of a Camaroon slave in the court of Peter the Great.
Vyacheslav Ganelin in the Birthplace of Jazz was the title given to an organized visit to New Orleans by Lithuanian/Israeli jazz pianist and composer Vyacheslav Ganelin, a visit sponsored the Newcomb Department of Music and Moscow Nights in 2001. Ganelin, who began playing piano at the age of 4 and came to jazz some 13 years later, was the musical director of the Vilnius Russian Dramatic Theatre for almost two decades, composing music for both plays and films. He first came to be known by Western audiences when he and his trio played the West Berlin Jazz Festival in 1981; the Ganelin Trio, whose music is based on the “free jazz” of the 1960s, made a worldwide impact as one of the top avant-garde jazz ensembles in the years that followed.
students is the key to their enjoying the literature, Moscow Nights sought to introduce local students to the works of Alexander Pushkin, the most famous of Russian writers who was the great grandson of an African slave. The connection was stronger than a mere bloodline -- the poet frequently expressed an interest in what he called “my Africa.”
Pushkin might not become a real source of inspiration for the students. However, our efforts in this regard were cut short by Hurricane Katrina. Both Ramer and Reddix still plan to continue to work together in order to resurrect this project. 
During the fall semester of 2008 Prof. Raskina offered a TIDES course on the subject "Soviet Comedy Movies of the 70's: The Reality Behind the Comedy." During this course, the students watched the movies (with English subtitles), discussed them, and learned a lot about an unfamiliar and now remote culture: that of the USSR twenty years before its collapse.