The Promise of Someday — Part 1: The Origins

→ Part 2: Before the Piano Called Me Back →

→ Part 3: From Harmony to Melody →

Circa 1975: Mrs. Shumsky's choir - where discipline and joy of music first fused for me. 

My first "foreign" language was music. At six, my grandmother—a concert pianist—enrolled me at Moscow Regional full-time Central Children’s Music School (now ЦДШИ), where the piano became both partner and disciplinarian. Those eight years shaped me: the glacial silence after mistakes, the unspoken demand for perfection, the rare thrill of a teacher’s nod. 

By graduation, I could decode Bach’s logic, effortlessly transcribe chord progressions by ear, transpose any song to any key, and ace dictations—all thanks to my formidable theory and choir teacher, Ghelena M. Shumsky, and her relentless drills. Yet I never imagined that decades later, after careers in law, marketing, and interpreting, those very exercises would become my compass back to music—on the other side of the globe...​

Victor Tsoy (1962-1990) was the iconic rock star of my generation.

In the 80s, when the time came to decide on my future career, I faced a crossroads. Though passionate about music theory, I knew my strengths were more analytical than performance-based. I stopped playing études and started listening to the Soviet rock and jazz—a rebellion against the immense pressure of a system that prized technical perfection above personal expression.

I turned to my profound interest in linguistics, where the discipline, focus, and memory I had cultivated in music found a new application. I channeled these skills into the rigorous study of English in the highly prestigious Moscow State Linguistic University, (Иняз им. Мориса Тореза), a challenging and rewarding journey that further developed my resilience, analytical skills, and capacity for dedicated focus.

Music remained my constant companion through my studies and a subsequent employment at the USSR Theater Union (now Theater Union of the Russian Federation) where I was fortunate to get access to any hard-to-get-in Moscow theater and concert hall. I devoured every presentation at The Tchaikovsky Hall, followed international piano competition news, amassed a collection of classical LPs and tapes, taught myself new piano works, and became the life of countless parties, singing improvised songs with friends.

Continue to Part 2: Before the Piano Called Me Back

Continue to Part 3: From Harmony to Melody