25 students of nonmusical faculties who studied piano this year in the program of the TSU Institute of Arts and Culture have received certificates of course completion. Last academic year, this program aroused interest only among Russian students, and this year most of the newcomers were students from China. 23 Chinese and 2 Russian students studied with the teachers, and the majority intend to continue their studies in the fall.

The advanced development program of the Institute of Arts and Culture for learning to play the piano is designed in three modules, each lasting one academic year. At the end of each module, students perform at a concert and receive a certificate of the appropriate level.

- The students came with a zero level, sat down at the instrument for the first time and did not even know the notes. But on May 20, at the evaluation concert, they pleased me: they played quite stably, no one stumbled. They performed those compositions that they could play and were very serious, - notes Lyudmila Bulgakova, head of the Department of Instrumental Performance of the Institute of Arts and Culture.

Ju Chuanya, a graduate student of the Faculty of Philology, was the curator of the Chinese group. At the concert, she performed the song “The Disease of the Doll” from Tchaikovsky’s Children's Album.

- Many students from China want to learn how to play the piano, first, because it's cool, especially performing for the audience. Second, in China, such training is very expensive, it is about 2,500 rubles per hour of individual classes. At the Institute of Arts and Culture, the course costs much less, that is why there are so many students are Chinese students. At first, it was difficult, we did not understand many terms in Russian. But we have very good teachers, and we also tried very hard, - says Ju Chuanya.

In order to hone their playing skills in their free time, the students from China even jointly bought an electronic piano and, in agreement with the administration of the Parus dormitory, put it in one of the rooms.

- For a year our students did not miss a single lesson without a valid reason. And of those who enrolled in this course, no one gave up training because they were not interested or tired. Only two left: one young man was expelled for his academic failure at his faculty, and a young woman interrupted her studies because of a hand injury, but for the next academic year she wants to return. All the others, by the way, are also going to continue their studies next year and have asked for summer assignments, says Lyudmila Bulgakova.