Valery Gergiev Foundation

The Valery Gergiev Charitable Foundation was established on January 23, 2003.

CEO: Dzagoev Rustam Batrazovich.

The Foundation’s activities are to support creative and touring projects of the Mariinsky Theatre, to enhance regional clusters in terms of social or cultural development and to support young performing musicians. The Foundation helps to popularize classic music in Russian regions or Russian music abroad and promotes Russian cultural influence over the world.

The important projects in which the Foundation has taken part for many years are the Moscow Easter Festival and the Stars of the White Nights Music Festival in Saint Petersburg. Hundreds of thousands of people gather together each year at these two largest musical forums. Over the period of their existence several thousand performing musicians have taken part in the Festivals, both world musicians and young gifted ones. From year to year the geographical spread of the Moscow Easter Festival is steadily broadened, involving new communities from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, while at the Stars of the White Nights Music Festival worldwide renowned opera singers, ballet dancers and acclaimed instrumentalists perform brilliantly at all the stages of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.

One cannot overemphasize the Foundation’s considerable contribution to foreign touring activities of the Mariinsky Orchestra, Choir, Opera and Ballet. Traditionally they appear at the best concert sites in Europe, Asia, the USA and Latin America and take part in the Mikkeli, Baden-Baden, Verbier and Munich Festivals and in numerous other festivals.

The Valery Gergiev Charitable Foundation pays separate attention to the Mariinsky Theatre’s branches in Vladivostok and Vladikavkaz mainly by comprehensive assistance for their yearly projects including the International Far East Festival The Mariinsky - Vladivostok and the International Caucasus festival The Mariinsky - Vladikavkaz. These dynamically developing Festivals have already become meccas for visitors both from the regions and from afar. The International Far East Festival The Mariinsky - Vladivostok is actively visited by people from countries on the Pacific Rim, and guests from the North Caucasian Republics and neighboring countries come to the Vladikavkaz Festival.

The Foundation focuses overly on support of young talented musicians and implementation of cultural and educational programs for children and youth including acts of charity, charitable concerts and help in their professional education or excellence accelerating.