Melinda Richards
As a music/Honors Russian major, I had hoped to write an honors thesis that would combine both of these interests. I also wanted to spend some time living and studying in Russia to augment the year and a half that I spent in the Ukraine on a mission. I was able to line up living arrangements in St. Petersburg and also to arrange for some studies and private organ lessons at the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory. In September 1995, I left to spend a year in Russia. An additional goal was to do research for my thesis. I selected the topic “How Perestroika has influenced the musical atmosphere of St. Petersburg, as seen through the eyes of her composers.” I sent in my application to the ORCA office from St. Petersburg, and was notified by e-mail in February 1996 that I had been chosen as a recipient. However, the office was unable to award me the grant at that time, as I was not a full-time BYU student. Upon my return in August 1996, and subsequent full-time enrollment that fall, I was given the grant. As I had already paid tuition, I used the grant to pay for my fall housing. This lightened some of the financial load that I had incurred during my stay abroad (which the grant would have covered had it been available in February).
While in St. Petersburg, I conducted interviews with 26 composers, as well as 5 professors and musicologists. I recorded all of these interviews, and since returning, have been working on transcribing them. I made 10 full transcriptions, 8 selected transcriptions, and then listened to the remaining tapes see if there was any information not already expressed in previous interviews. These transcriptions have now been completed, and much of the information compiled into my thesis. At this point I have 16 pages, and anticipate about 10 more pages. I plan to have the thesis completed (including all revisions, as well as the thesis defense) by the end of September. Should the ORCA office desire a copy of the thesis, I will be happy to supply one.
This experience has been very significant for me. The time spent abroad has greatly improved my Russian language, as well as my knowledge of Russian culture (including, of course, music) and history. My interpersonal skills and confidence are also much stronger as a result of these many interviews.
The research that I’ve done is also significant. These interviews have captured a very distinct “photograph” of a unique time in Russian musical history—the transformation from Communism into a still-unknown future. As a part of my research, I contacted Laurel Fay, a musicologist from Staten Island, who is considered to be one of most knowledgeable researchers with regards to Soviet and post-Soviet music. She told me that there was really nothing published which deals with the issues in my paper, and expressed great interest in reading my thesis. Hopefully, these interviews will continue to be of interest, as they have helped capture this moment of Russian history in print.
I am very grateful to the Office of Research and Creative Activities for the assistance with my financial obligations, which helped make this project possible. I just wanted to add, as a final note, that I was planning on leaving St. Petersburg in March 1996, as my funds were insufficient to last me through the school year. However, upon learning that I had been awarded a grant, I decided to stay until the end of the school year. Even though it turned out that I didn’t receive the grant at that time, the decision to delay my return was wise, for I was soon offered the chance to work full-time for United Way International all summer in a little Russian town in the western Arctic Circle. This was an absolutely wonderful opportunity, one which I might have missed had I decided to return to the USA in March, as previously planned.