ON THE WAVE OF THE “CRYSTAL VOICE”

ON THE WAVE OF THE “CRYSTAL VOICE”
The media holding "Russian Advertising", which includes the newspaper "R.Reklama", the radio station "RusRek" and Information portal No. 1 rusrek.com, has been informing Russian-speaking residents of Brooklyn about the latest news in the city and the world for more than 30 years, publishing advertisements on any topics: work, health, business, lawyers and much more.

The variety of programs broadcast on 96.3 FM-HD3 NY does not leave our radio listeners indifferent. Sports, politics, health, culture of different countries and many other interesting topics that we raise on our broadcasts.
So this year we decided to do something special that has never happened before on our radio station - the First children's vocal radio competition “Crystal Voice”.
The joint idea of holding the Competition came from me and a wonderful vocal teacher, Laureate of international vocal competitions and festivals, member of the Competition jury Tatyana DiSiena:

“Two dreamers, hungry for something new, interesting and unusual, eager for change in what they are doing, seemingly “accidentally” met at a monthly meeting organized by the Aelita club under the leadership of Leonora Bulychova together with the administration team of the mayor of the city Eric Adams. It seemed like they “accidentally” sat next to each other at the discussion table. It would seem that these two are from completely different fields of activity: one is a radio editor, and the other is just a vocal teacher. But when discussions began and the meeting participants began to express their desires for what the city needed in order to improve life in it, these two dreamer neighbors realized that they wanted one thing: interesting programs on the radio with the participation of children. These two dreamers: Alexey Kutuzov, editor-in-chief and presenter of RusRek radio, and Tatyana DiSiena, founder of the Stardom vocal studio, Laureate of international and all-Union vocal competitions and festivals.
I was on the jury or brought my students to many famous competitions in Latvia, Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria. These competitions are a magnificent spectacle and an unparalleled experience for the participants themselves. And even then I dreamed of creating a new vocal children's competition in New York City in an unusual format.
Alexey, an active and caring person who has worked for many years on Russian television and radio, has extensive experience in creating various kinds of programs and competitions, a person who knows the whole kitchen from the inside, immediately responded to my “cry from the soul.” It turned out that his soul was “screaming” about the same thing:
— I really want to create something that has never been done anywhere else, in a completely new format. Moreover, it is for children and about children!
After this, experienced music producer Igor Alexander joined the team, who at one time held several of the country's largest children's competitions in St. Petersburg.
And then the most interesting part began - the preparation: the competition website, participants’ applications and much more. Head spin!
A little later, our small team of competition creators was joined by Sima Karetnaya, a representative of the city mayor’s administration, who helped give our competition a special status and provides invaluable assistance in interacting with the administration and media of New York City and the United States.
You say: dreaming is not harmful? And I will say: when several dreamers get together, they are able to break through any wall of dullness and routine. This time too, the dreamers have gathered in the right place, at the right time, and they are confident that they are at the beginning of an interesting and long journey.”

By holding this competition, we (the organizers) want to show how important support for their creative endeavors is in children’s lives. Such events stimulate them to further growth and new achievements in their creative development. The children of our city have another goal and an opportunity to prove themselves.
This is the first competition that we organized for children, and we hope that with the support of caring parents and sponsors it will become an annual event.
By the way, about support... We were very pleased to receive a welcoming letter from the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, on the day of the first broadcast of the competition:

"Dear friends!
It gives me great pleasure to convey congratulations to the listeners of the radio station 96.3 FM-HD3 in connection with the holding of the first children's vocal radio competition “Crystal Voice”.
…The competition is an exciting opportunity that gives young New Yorkers a chance to showcase their talent, gain confidence and excite music fans.
On this occasion, I congratulate all participants in the competition and thank the Radio RusRek team for their desire to develop creativity and strengthen connections among our active Russian-speaking community.
On behalf of the 8.3 million New Yorkers, please accept my best wishes for an inspiring and successful event.”

The live broadcast was preceded by enormous preparation and work of a caring team for several months.
The technical and musical part of the Competition was taken over by music producer and jury member Igor Alexander:

“...The idea of a children's vocal competition in itself is not new, but the peculiarity of this competition is that it is held on the radio. And when Tatyana and Alexey invited me to participate in this, I didn’t hesitate for a second, because the idea seemed very organic to me. The radio format of the Crystal Voice competition is its highlight and significantly expands the audience geographically. You don’t have to live in the same city or come to the participants’ concert to choose the best of the best. All you need is access to the radio button in your car, computer or phone. But how can you be sure that it is talent that is heard on the radio, and not computerized voice processing? To do this, we developed a concept from the very beginning in which participants come to our radio studio and record their song without the use of voice correction technologies. Live, with all the advantages and disadvantages. Just as if they were singing on stage in the hall. And, as our first experience shows, we were very lucky with the participants, there are a lot of truly talented guys.”

On February 29, at 5 pm in New York, fanfare sounded, which marked the beginning of the Competition, and we presented the first participants live on the wave of our radio station and heard their incredible voices.
Broadcasting on the radio is a completely new experience for our young talents, it’s a little scary, but my eyes are lit.
A huge number of messages addressed to the contestants during the broadcast, support from parents, live broadcast on the official Facebook page - everything around creates the mood of the competition.
We, the presenters of the competition, meet the guys in the studio. My colleague radio host Tanya Rubis shared her impressions:

“Crystal Voice is a true immersion into the world of music. We are glad that we have the opportunity to support the talented children of our community. Our task is to give everyone a chance to manifest. We do not highlight the definition of the strongest vocalist, we focus on the opportunity to show your talent and express yourself!
It was amazing to listen to the songs of the participants in the first round; their creativity and passion for music amazed me. I’ll tell you a secret: the members of our jury were so impressed that they were already puzzled with the ratings for the vocalists; they all liked them. The children unexpectedly complicated the work of the jury with their talent (laughs).
I was also convinced of the skill and charisma of all the young artists, I would like to wish them good luck in the competition and remind them that the main thing is the love of music and the desire for self-expression.”

Participants will perform in three age groups: 8-11, 12-15 and 16-18 years old. Of the 24 participants, only the best 12 will advance to the semi-finals of the competition. By the way, at the beginning of preparation for the Competition and at the stage of accepting applications, our team planned 16 participants, but the number of applicants was much larger, and we decided to increase them to 24.
The first participants have already performed their songs and are looking forward to the decision of our jury, to whom we express special gratitude for their participation and responsible work in our Competition. It is with great joy that I would like to introduce him to you.

The jury of the First children's vocal radio competition "Crystal Voice":
Levon Oganezov
Pianist, composer, actor and TV presenter, People's Artist of Russia, chairman of the jury
Oleg Frish
TV and radio presenter, journalist, historian of popular music and jazz, jazz performer, jury member
Victoria Kurbatskaya
Member of the American League of Music Teachers, member of the New York Association of Teachers of Singing, Co-founder and President of the Forte International Music Competition and Festival, Laureate of international vocal competitions and festivals, jury member
Oleg Sleptsov
Soloist of the ensemble "Gems", vocal and piano teacher, jury member
Tatiana DiSiena
Author of the project, vocal teacher, Laureate of international vocal competitions, jury member
Igor Alexander
Music producer, composer, jury member
Sima Karetnaya
UN Ambassador for Human Rights, doctor, Member of the Committee of Medical Experts of the World Health Organization, Chairman of the G100 for Diplomacy and Negotiations from the United States, honorary member of the jury.

There is a big competition program ahead, there will be tears of defeat, and, of course, the joy of victory. The motto of our Competition: “It doesn’t matter to us what language our participants speak and sing! Art has no boundaries!”
A lot of impressions and emotions, incredibly talented participants - what more could you dream of?
Gifted children have a unique opportunity to show their vocal talents, and radio listeners have the opportunity to express their opinions and evaluate the performance of young singers. After each broadcast, a vote is held and our radio listeners can send SMS messages for the participants they like. Details of the voting conditions can be found on the official page of the Competition: www. crystalvoice.rusrek.com
After the first broadcast, we were surprised by the number of views of the Competition on our official Facebook page - more than a thousand three days after the end of the broadcast, more than 600 SMS messages in support of the participants (data as of 03/03/24).
We thank our radio listeners for becoming part of our team! Super! Keep it up!

Also, we, the organizers and participants of the First Children's Vocal Radio Competition "Crystal Voice", express our deep gratitude to those who supported the holding and made this celebration of children's creativity possible:
• Caviar chain of caviar stores No. 1
• Diana Bagrationi Foundation
• L'esti's Desserts Company
• Clever Monsters toy store
• Chocolate Moonshine Company
• Restaurant-cafe Mouette
• NTV America company and, of course, our native newspaper R.Advertising.
On my own behalf, I thank everyone who gave a piece of their soul and love in this competition - participants, parents, sponsors and several dreamers who are at the beginning of a long journey!
Listen to our broadcasts every Thursday on 96.3 FM-HD3 NY at 5 pm. Vote and support talented children!

ALEXEY KUTUZOV
editor-in-chief and presenter of the RusRek radio station, executive producer of the Crystal Voice Competition