ABOUT me

How did you start working with Kenyan initiatives Art of Music and Ghetto Classics?

Mark Prihodko invited me to visit Kenya for the first time in April, and this is when I met Art of Music and Ghetto Classics. I was fascinated by the incredible work they had done over the past 15 years and deeply moved by the stories of the tutors we interviewed. It’s amazing how eager they are to learn and improve in what they do — transforming lives through music. It’s a huge honor for me to be part of this.

What was the process of preparation for the bootcamp? How long did it take?

It took us half a year to plan the bootcamp, prepare the lectures and activities, and work through the schedule. Back in April, we met each tutor individually to ask: What is going well, and where do you need the most support? After analyzing their answers, we created a special program addressing the issues we identified as the most challenging. It was a day-and-night effort — I would fall asleep thinking about what more we could incorporate and wake up with new ideas on how to inspire them mentally, emotionally, and musically. As a mindfulness and embodiment coach, I experimented with different techniques on my own to find the most suitable one for this particular situation.

In your experience and background, what surprised you the most about working with Kenyan tutors and students?

Coming from Siberia and growing up in post-Soviet poverty, I know what it feels like to not have enough food. Arriving in Kenya, I felt partly at home due to the similar conditions I grew up in, but most of all, because of the warm welcome I received. The biggest surprise for me personally was the resilience of these joyful people. It was very moving to see how much trust developed in just one week — trust between students and tutors, as well as between the tutors and us. We became a great team!

What was your favorite moment from the bootcamp?

I have so many favorite moments, it’s hard to pick just one! While teaching, I experienced such strong bonding with our tutors and students — it’s difficult to put into words, but it was a powerful feeling of unity and strength that overfills me with joy.

During one break, there was a dancing event on the field, and tutors invited me to join them. I even got to learn some moves and immerse myself in this fascinating culture! Watching students who were once shy take the lead and show me how to dance was truly moving.

And another favorite moment of mine was the last piece of our final concert, where every student and every tutor participated. I looked into the audience — not a single audience member was seated any longer — it turned into a big party! Everyone was dancing, singing, and celebrating life! I still have tears of happiness and gratitude whenever I think of that moment. Seeing them succeed is the best reward for all the work and energy we invested!

How would you describe this week? What were the main activities?

Every early morning, we met with the tutors, and after breakfast, we tackled a new topic with Zeynep — Social-Emotional Learning, Growth Mindset, Scaffolding, Inquiry-Based Learning, Active Thinking, Lesson Planning, Classroom Management (just to name a few). After that, the students arrived, and I led a mindful embodiment session — we did some stretching and yoga exercises, listened to our breath, dealt with stage anxiety, meditated on music, expressed our emotions with our bodies, our voices and then drew them. We also cultivated self-forgiveness and self-love. Every session was tailored to the needs of tutors and students, I listened actively to how they feel to indentify the direction of each session. Afterward, the tutors took the children into class rooms, where Zeynep and I observed. During the tea break, we gave feedback, words of support, and continued observing. After lunch, we helped lead small as well as big ensembles, and finally, after the afternoon snack, when the students went home, we held a debrief with the tutors to review what went well, where we needed to focus more, and to identify the highs and lows of the day to plan for the next. After the tutors left, we continued working — exchanging the experiences and observations, planing sessions for the next day, printing photo books as gifts, signing almost 200 certificates, and strategizing how to be even more helpful in the future. As a team-building activity, we went bowling one evening and had a lot of fun together!

What are the outcomes? What is success to you in this case, and was it a success?

It was a tremendous success! There are absolutely no words to express how well it went and what it meant to all of us. Perhaps the words of one of our students describe it best: *Bootcamp for life!* That’s what it felt like. We all learned how to live and overcome challenges, both in music and beyond. When I led my last *return-to-yourself* meditation in the middle of a very chaotic school courtyard filled with kids running around, I opened my eyes, and everyone was in tears. It feels like I left my heart in Kenya.

What lesson do you take away from this experience for yourself? Did you learn something new?

No matter what background you come from — keep going. No matter how much or how little you have, there is always a reason to be grateful. I learned so much from my dear students: their genuine kindness, their endless generosity, and their impressive ability to always see the bright side and smile despite difficulties. They continue to inspire me to grow. I am grateful to the Art of Music for the opportunity to share my love for teaching music with these curious minds. Seeing the light of hope in their eyes is truly unforgettable.

What did this exchange bring to you?

Coming from the Juilliard School straight to Les Arts Florissants was the best continuation of my studies I could ever imagine. It was the essential step in my career to transition from the best educational institution directly into one of the best baroque ensembles of this world. Jumping from learning from working with internationally acclaimed directors and musicians was my dream coming true! Mentors that I have been looking up to during my studies at Juilliard became my colleagues in Thiré and this gave me the sense of growing up personally and artistically. I will never forget our first concert with Béatrice MARTIN, who has always been my role model at Juilliard and here I was right next to her, making music together, performing the B-minor sonata by J.S.Bach!

The highlight of the festival was Telemann Quartet with William Christie on the harpsichord. Performing with the legend, on that rainy day in his music saloon with the audiences outside under umbrellas not minding the weather, while being completely mesmerized by the music coming out of the windows…this is a memory I will cherish forever.

Only in Thiré do you get the opportunity to play all the roles of a musician: as a soloist, as a chamber musician and as a member of this marvelous orchestra. The absence of the stage in the Versailles-like gardens creates an intimate atmosphere and gives you the unique opportunity to communicate with the audience members directly, investing into relationships that grow into friendships even after the festival is over.

Do you find the French performers' approach to early music different from that of the United States?

Having studied in post soviet Russia, Europe and finally in the United States made me look back and reflect upon different traditions and ways of thinking about music. I think it is crucially important to gain as much international experience as possible while studying music.

Just like the cuisine of each nation matches their climate and mentality, I found the approach to early music is different in each country too.

In the United States they gave me confidence that I can fly even though I didn’t know I had wings. I have never been as supported and encouraged as at the Juilliard School. Of course, most of it is the courtesy of Sandy Miller, my beloved professor who has always been on my side. In France, on the contrary, you get a boost of motivation and inspiration performing in the historical setting imagining traveling back to the baroque era. What I deeply appreciate in the French approach, is their scrupulous attention to details and closeness to sources.

The key is to find the golden middle in between believing and doubting, praising and criticizing.

But it is always difficult to generalize when talking about Nations — I am actually going to contradict myself, because Sandra Miller, as an American professor, loves working on the tiniest details, which is very French of her!

This exchange allowed me to pick the best of each style of teaching and music making. I collected flowers of different size, color and fragrance and assembled them into a bouquet which I now call my personal musical taste.

Is there anything I haven't addressed in these three questions that you feel is fundamental?

The biggest outcome of this exchange is how the community of thriving musicians from all over the world united by the universal language — music inspired me to create my own baroque ensemble, the VERITÁ BAROQUE ensemble, with a mission of contextualizing baroque music in the 21st century by employing cutting-edge technology, such as immersive sound and 360 degree video registering for the construction of the video booths for railway stations throughout Germany. While being young and passionate we combine the jewels of Baroque era repertoire with newly commissioned works, composed personally for us achieving the necessary relatability from the future generations of concert goers. I wouldn’t be here two years later after my unforgettable summer in Thiré, which I am tremendously grateful for.

Dear Taya, thank you for being our guest this week! In 2020, an extremely challenging year for freelance musicians and the whole early music scene, you founded Ensemble Verità. Why this time?

First of all thank you for having me, it is an honor for me to be featured on phosphenes! Certainly, 2020 has been challenging for us all. As a freelance musician what I found the hardest was to keep a sense of my artistic purpose. My identity as a performer was put on trial with no performances in sight. That year raised a lot of existential questions, gave me time to reflect and eventually became my biggest motivation to create the space, the musical home that I have been looking for in this world. I was blessed to find exquisite musicians, who think alike, who were also tired of waiting and ready to act. I am incredibly grateful for my co-founder Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi, whose musicality, drive, and energy are extremely inspiring to me and are the motor of VERITÀ. Yes, we founded a brand new ensemble in the midst of world pandemic. The worst timing is the best. Musicians as well as our beloved audiences are thirsty for music and art and this thirst is my motivation.

And what is your artistic approach to the music of the Baroque?

We live in 2021 and yet are talking about music that was written around 300 years ago. Our goal is to make this music as current as possible. While being innovative we base on the research and knowledge of the tradition. Then without tradition, there can be no true innovation. Thus, every little “revolution” which differs from the general opinion of the baroque style: adding vibrato, crescendo, crazy ornaments are the result or a reaction, if you will, of a meticulous informed historical performance awareness. Inspired by Gualtiero Marchesi’s system of thought, we are striving to be a true progressive: “a great preserver walking towards the future”. Having studied treatises in depth, I personally find it essentially important to think out of the box, interpret the sources, looking for truth in them, around them, and sometimes even behind them.

With Verità you launched a series of online concerts, or “chapters”, as you call them. Could you explain to our readers what is so special about this series?

Chapters of VERITÀ are describing our story: a journey through music building the new panorama of the early music scene, not only giving a new touch and fresh shape to the famous masterpieces but discovering completely new, yet unrevealed masterpieces. Each volume of VERITÀ is a seed we put into the soil of the historical performance community — starting in a safe rehearsal space, breaking out into the world, getting sunshine from the audiences. It is fascinating to watch us grow so fast, we started by 3 members and are now by 12! It is just like gardening: exciting to see what shape the leaves will be and what color will the flowers bloom.

You are an alumna of the renowned Juilliard Historical Performance programme in New York. In what way did these studies differ from your education in Europe?

The Juilliard School was the icing on my cake of education. It has been a tremendously rich artistic whirl for two years of my life: working with world renown conductors, international stars and great creative minds on a regular basis was a uniquely precious experience. Not only my mentors left a huge impact on me, but also building long musical relationships with my peers, going on world tours with Juilliard415 and learning to be a leader, a follower, a listener and a performer. There are so many things I am grateful for: the discipline post Soviet Russia taught me, the preparation for the flight that Germany gave me and most of all I am grateful to The Juilliard School for giving me the courage to take off. Once you are ready to leave the nest, they make you fly.

What is your wish regarding your generation of early music performers?

Max Liebermann once said: “The sentence that a well-painted turnip is better than a badly painted Madonna has become a permanent feature of modern aesthetics. But the sentence is wrong; it must read: "A well-painted turnip is as good as a well-painted Madonna.” Thus, I personally prefer Bach performed on vibraphone by Simone Rubino over poor performance on a period instrument. In my humble opinion there is no need to separate the early music from Music as such. It is not about the wrapping, it is about the gift.