International Conservatory Week festival was established by the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 2001, when the Small Hall, Conservatory's main concert stage, became operational after a massive restoration, and the concept of the artistic integration of the oldest Russian Conservatory into the world music process emerged. From that point on the festival has been conducted annually, pulling into its orbit greater and greater numbers of creative partners from the best schools of music from different countries, expanding the scope of fame and influence of the renowned St. Petersburg school of performance and composition. This is quite an age for a project functioning in the academic music domain, an age that proves its firm place on the festival posters of the Northern Capital.

Naturally, the musician has become the hero of the Conservatory's festival. Different sides of the creative individual, the role of “school” in the individual's becoming, importance of music in our country and abroad, ways to promote new talent - these were the themes that made up the conceptual basis of the festival. The wide scope of different themes for concert programs, scholarly conferences and educational seminars, open lectures, rehearsals and master classes, documental and artistic exhibitions, presentations of musical instruments and publications fill the Conservatory Week, create a comprehensive image of the modern musician-professional and define the multi-genre structure of the project.

Today like in 2001 the International Conservatory Week remains a unique project unparalleled in the music world. The priority concert and educational project for the St. Petersburg Conservatory enjoys popularity in different countries and continents. More than 180 music schools of Russia, countries of the former Soviet Union, the USA, Canada, Japan, China, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Israel, Argentina, Chili, Guatemala and Panama were introduced on the festival during eleven years. The festival's history includes more than 460 events: 162 concerts of various genres and themes, 28 open lectures, 145 master classes, 6 scholarly conferences, 5 international educational seminars on concert management, 4 composer competitions for the best works for different instruments and ensembles, 12 exhibitions of documents and materials from the collection of Conservatory's Scholarly Music Library and various museums, 4 exhibitions of manufacturing companies and 7 presentations of internationally known brands of music instruments, 6 exhibitions of works by beginning and seasoned St. Petersburg artists, 5 presentations of music-themed publications and more than 80 international, Russian and St. Petersburg premiers of works by modern composers. More than 4500 performers have come out onto the stages of the Conservatory and other concert halls in St. Petersburg; 43 orchestras and 17 choirs, 54 conductors, more than 50 instrumental ensembles and more than 450 soloists.

For the young musicians of St. Petersburg and their instructors, each new festival is a chance to find out about the achievements of national schools in composition, performance, teaching methods, historical research, concert management and musical therapy. There is the mutually enriching sharing of experience, a unique festival atmosphere that pulls into its exhilarating whirlpool practically all the participants and the loyal festival audience, who are attracted by the well-measured balance between tradition and innovation in the concert programs, is sympathetic to different genres and styles, from early music to jazz and crossover.

Description of past years` festival is as follows.

2001

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• School for the Arts at Boston University (USA)
• Harvard University (Boston, USA)
• Brandeis University (Boston, USA)
• School of Arts and Sciences (Waltham, USA)
• Carl Maria von Weber University of Music (Dresden, Germany)
• Karol Lipinski Academy of Music (Wroclaw, Poland)
• Conservatory of The Saxion University (Enschede, The Netherlands)
• The University of Birmingham (Great Britain)

2002

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, Great Britain)
• The Robert Schumann Higher School of Music (Düsseldorf, Germany)
• The Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (Warsaw, Poland)
• The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA)
• The Oberlin Conservatory of Music (USA)
• The High School of Music of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain)

2003

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory (Russia)
• The University of California (Los Angeles, USA)
• The University of Texas (Austin, USA)
• The Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, Great Britain)
• The University of Music and Performing Arts (Rostock, Germany)
• The Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (Warsaw, Poland)
• The Academy of Music ‘Grazyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz’ (Lodz, Poland)
• Ignacy J. Paderewski Academy of Music (Poznań, Poland)
• The Royal Danish Academy of Music (Copenhagen, Denmark)
• The Academy of Music (Amsterdam, Тhe Netherlands)

2004

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory (Russia)
• Ural M. P. Musorsky State Conservatory (Academy) (Russia)
• Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Music and Theatre (Russia)
• Tumen State Academy of Culture, Arts and Social Technologies (Russia)
• Novosibirsk M. I. Glinka State Conservatory (Russia)
• Saratov L. V. Sobinov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Nizhniy Novgorod M. I. Glinka State Conservatory (Russia)
• National P. I. Tchaikovsky Academy of Music (Kiev, Ukraine)
• Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky State Institute of Arts (Ukraine)
• Tbilisi V. Saradzhishvili State Conservatory (Georgia)
• Manhattan School of Music (New York, USA)
• The Oberlin Conservatory of Music (USA)
• Genoa Niccolo Paganini Conservatory (Italy)
• Royal Academy of Music (London, Great Britain)
• Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, Great Britain)
• Ignacy J. Paderewski Academy of Music (Poznań, Poland)
• Rhythmical Conservatory (Copenhagen, Denmark)
• Sibelius Academy (Helsinki, Finland)

2005

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Russian Gnessin Academy of Music (Moscow, Russia)
• The Paris National Superior Conservatory (France)
• The Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London, Great Britain)
• Ignacy J. Paderewski Academy of Music (Poznań, Poland)
• Carl Maria von Weber University of Music (Dresden, Germany)
• Conservatory of The Saxion University (Enschede, Тhe Netherlands)
• The Royal Academy of Music (Aarhus, Denmark)
• The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA)
• The Zurich School of Music, Drama and Dance (Switzerland)
• The Estonian Academy of Music (Tallinn, Estonia)

2006

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory (Russia)
• Nizhniy Novgorod M. I. Glinka State Conservatory (Russia)
• Saratov L. V. Sobinov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Kazan Nazib Zhiganov State Conservatory (Tatarstan, Russia)
• National P. I. Tchaikovsky Academy of Music (Kiev, Ukraine)
• The Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia, USA)
• Juilliard School of Music (New York, USA)
• Royal Academy of Music (London, Great Britain)
• Fitzwilliam College of the University of Cambridge (Great Britain)
• The Paris National Superior Conservatory (France)
• The University of Music (Cologne, Germany)
• Carl Maria von Weber University of Music (Dresden, Germany)
• The Private University Vienne Conservatory (Austria)
• The Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (Warsaw, Poland)
• The Catalonia University of Music (Barcelona, Spain)
• The High School of Music of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain)
• Panama Conservatory (Republic of Panama)

2007

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory (Russia)
• Petrozavodsk А. K. Glazunov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Tambov S. V. Rachmaninov State Academy of Music (Russia)
• Astrakhan State Conservatory (Russia)
• Kazan Nazib Zhiganov State Conservatory (Russia)
• Baku Musical Academy (Azerbaijan)
• Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (Tallinn, Estonia)
• University of California (Los Angeles, USA)
• Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, USA)
• University of Western Ontario (London, Canada)
• Toho Gakuen School of Music (Tokyo, Japan)
• Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (Glasgow, Great Britain)
• The Paris National Superior Conservatory (France)
• Santa Cecilia National Academy (Rome, Italy)
• Neuchatel Conservatory of Music (Switzerland)
• The University of Music (Cologne, Germany)
• Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (Warsaw, Poland)
• West-Jutland Conservatory of Music (Esbjerg, Denmark)
• Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Israel)

2008

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Belarusian State Academy of Music (Minsk, Belarus)
• Howard University (Washington, USA)
• Ball State University (Muncie, USA)
• University of Missouri (Kansas-City, USA)
• University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Canada)
• The Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto, Canada)
• University Mozarteum Salzburg (Austria)
• Berlin University of the Arts (Germany)
• The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (Germany)
• Utrecht Conservatoire (The Netherlands)
• Rotterdam Conservatory (The Netherlands)
• Erasmus University (Brussels, Belgium)
• Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (Warsaw, Poland)
• The Queen Sofia College of Music (Madrid, Spain)
• The Licinio Refice Conservatory of Music (Frosinone, Italy)
• Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Israel)
• Conservatory of The University Mayor (Santiago, Chile)
• Conservatory of Panama (Republic of Panama)
• National Herman Alcantar Conservatory (Guatemala)
• The Higher Institute of Arts of ‘Kolon’ Theatre (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

2009

• St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Kazan Nazib Zhiganov State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory (Armenia)
• The Juilliard School of Music (New York, USA)
• Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, USA)
• The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA)
• University of Southern California (Los Angeles, USA)
• The Tianjin Conservatory of Music (Peoples’ Republic of China)
• Royal College of Music (London, Great Britain)
• International Music Academy (Milan, Italy)
• The Queen Sofia College of Music (Madrid, Spain)
• The Royal Danish Academy of Music (Copenhagen, Denmark)
• Carl Nielsen Academy of Music (Odense, Denmark)
• Rotterdam Conservatory (The Netherlands)
• The Luxembourg Conservatory of Music (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg)
• Academy of Music and Theatre (Hamburg, Germany)
• The State University of Music and Performing Arts (Stuttgart, Germany)
• The University of Music (Würzburg, Germany)
• Franz Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest, Hungary)
• Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music (Gdansk, Poland)
• The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Israel)

2010

• The St. Petersburg N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Eastman School of Music (Rochester, USA)
• The Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA)
• Morgan State University (Baltimore, USA)
• Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, USA)
• The Toho Gakuen School of Music (Tokyo, Japan)
• The International University of Kagoshima (Kagoshima, Japan)
• The Doho Group of Educational Institutions (Nagoya, Japan)
• The Royal Conservatory of The Hague (the Netherlands)
• The Paris National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance (France)
• The Lyon National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance (France)
• The Bordeaux Regional Conservatory (France)
• The Music Conservatory of Naples (Italy)
• Academy of Music and Theatre (Hamburg, Germany)
• The Mannheim State University of Music and Performing Arts (Germany)
• The Folkwang University of the Arts (Essen, Germany)
• The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (Warsaw, Poland)
• Franz Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest, Hungary)
• Sibelius Academy (Helsinki, Finland)
• The Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences (Finland)
• Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Southern Denmark (Esbjerg, Denmark)
• Samuel Rubin Israel Academy of Music (Tel Aviv, Israel)

2011

• The St. Petersburg N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Russian Gnessin Academy of Music (Moscow, Russia)
• The Kazan Nazib Zhiganov State Conservatory (Russia)
• The Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory (Armenia)
• Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (Riga, Latvia)
• The University of the Arts (Philadelphia, USA)
• Mannes College The New School for Music (New York, USA)
• Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, USA)
• Giuseppe Verdi Music Conservatory (Milan, Italy)
• The Conservatory of Music of Perugia (Italy)
• The Madrid Royal Conservatory (Spain)
• The Paris National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance (France)
• The Saint-Louis Соnservatory of Music and Dance (Alsace, France)
• The University of Music (Cologne, Germany)
• The Folkwang University of the Arts (Essen, Germany)
• The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (Warsaw, Poland)
• Academy of Music in Krakow (Poland)
• Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Finland)
• The Music Conservatory at Tromsø University College (Norway)
• The Norwegian Academy of Music (Oslo, Norway)
• The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel-Aviv University (Israel)

Lidiya Volchek