Interview with Alena Bystritskiy

– Where did you live before coming to the United States and what did you study/do?

 Before moving here, I lived in Germany, Berlin. I studied in Berlin and Rostock, and graduated from the University of Music and Theatre. Before moving to America, I worked as a harpist in symphony orchestras and opera houses in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, and many other cities. I collaborated with the Konrad Adunauer Foundation, and because of this collaboration, I was able to play concerts for famous politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel. We even got the chance to speak with her and she speaks Russian with pleasure. I always wanted to make classical music and culture more accessible to children, so I started teaching music to young children in schools in Berlin.

– Please tell us about your experience in the United States and your profession.

 Seven years ago, I moved to New York. There I had the opportunity to be one of the founders/organizers of the German school in Brooklyn. I led the junior classes, as well as the theater and music departments. While I was in the school in New York, I met and studied the harp with the best teachers and musicians from the Juilliard School and the New York Symphony Orchestra. Two years ago, our family moved to Austin. Here I got to meet the Musical Connection and we organized concerts together. Around the same time, I started my project of staging dances and movements with children to classical music. I am very impressed with the economic development of Austin and really want the cultural sector to develop at a parallel pace. This is a reason for me to continue the project and develop myself.

– Tell us about yourself and your childhood. How is your relationship with your home country?

I was born in Russia, St. Petersburg, into a musical family. So since childhood, I have been surrounded by music and the world of art. Unfortunately, I left this beautiful city very early on, at the age of 8. As a child, you don’t notice the problems and difficulties of living in a certain place, so I have only positive memories. Beautiful architecture, exhibitions, and theaters, it seemed to me that I had everything and I was happy. In Germany, I adapted very quickly and learned the language in only a couple of months. I studied at a specialized school, continued to study the harp and piano. When I got into the world of dance, I was professionally engaged in ballroom dancing, and at the age of 13, I was accepted into a dance and theater ensemble, where we toured all over Germany. After school, I still chose music, and graduated from university and worked as a harpist.

– What do you do outside of work? Tell us about your hobbies.

I think, like most creative people, to me music and dance are not only work but also hobbies. That’s why I don’t know how to even say whether I’m working or relaxing when I go to the theatre. I rest and work when I practice the harp. But I like to spend all my free time with my family and my children.

– What difficulties did you encounter when adapting to the United States?

Probably only with learning English, and the fact that there weren’t a lot of relatives nearby.

– What would you like to tell Russian-speaking people who have recently moved to the United States?

Learn the language, work, and everything will work out for you.

– What cultural habits from your pre-American life do you maintain?

It’s difficult for me to distinguish what habits from which pre-American life developed in me, and what culture or country they come from. I probably took on a combination of European education, school and culture, American perfectionism, and Russian tenacity and strength to always move forward. Most likely, it was all formed in my taste, art, and work.

 – What are your favorite book and movie?

 In literature, I like to read poetry most of all, but even more so I like to listen to it performed by a good actor. My favorite movie is Stalker (Tarkovsky).