Exeter Children's Orchestra, working together with Russian City Breaks, took a group of 105 children and adults to Yaroslavl, Exeter's twin town in Russia, in August 2010. Our visit formed part of Yaroslavl's Millienium Celebration. We stayed at the Park Hotel, hosted by Yaroslavl's Municipal Council. As well as a number of concerts we managed to fit in some relaxation time, and some sightseeing too.
Yaroslavl is an ancient city built on the confluence of two rivers, one of which is Russia's greatest waterway, the Volga. It is one of the beautiful old towns which form a circle around Moscow, known as the Golden Ring. The city centre has many fine historic buildings, notably the churches with their characteristic onion domes, inside which are some of the finest mediaeval wall paintings in Russia. At its heart is the ancient Kremlin whose huge white walls and towers enclose an old monastery and a little gold-domed cathedral.
Our visit in August was the orchestra's third, although the first two were by the Chamber Orchestra; this is the first time the trip was open to all ECO players. Our first trip was in the summer of 1990 (in an August heatwave) when Russia was still a communist state. President Gorbachev's reforms were opening the country to the West for the first time, and a visit by young people from England was a rare and very significant event for the ordinary people of Yaroslavl. Our second visit, only seven years later in March and April 1997, was to a very different country, not just politically but also visually - we landed at Moscow Airport in a blizzard, and wherever we went the landscape was still carpeted in deep Russian winter snow. During both visits we gave concerts to large, enthusiastic audiences, and we enjoyed sightseeing trips around Yaroslavl and other Golden Ring cities.
This year's trip was organised by Ron Delve, who has plenty of invaluable experience of taking groups to Russia, and we are indebted to him for all his hard work in making the trip such a success.
