OREANDA-NEWS. October 20, 2008. Under the auspices of PricewaterhouseCoopers, a charity event entitled “A maestro invites… an open rehearsal of Vladimir Fedoseyev for children” took place, reported the press-centre of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Children from children’s homes located near Moscow were invited to the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. As a result, around sixty children got the chance to experience for the first time pieces of classical music performed by the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra.

Vladimir Fedoseyev, principal conductor and artistic director of the orchestra, gave a talk to the children about the music and the orchestra. Each child was accompanied by a volunteer from PricewaterhouseCoopers, who was tasked with helping the child to understand and get enjoyment from the pieces of music being performed. After the rehearsal, all the children taking part in the project were given souvenir gifts.

At an ITAR-TASS press conference held to recognise the opening of a new GSO season Fedoseyev remarked that:

“Every season we take a specific new musical direction; for one season we performed works by Tchaikovsky, and this was followed by a season devoted to Beethoven, and then Brahms. We decided to dedicate the pre-jubilee season to contemporary music by various composers from different countries. We prepared very thoroughly, since it isn’t so easy to come across great masterpieces in this day and age. But we found them, and we hope that our audiences will be pleased with the results.”

Michelle Moore, partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers also shared her opinion:

“We believe that masterpieces from the world of classical music performed by virtuosos should be accessible for all, including for orphaned children. We feel that our company’s efforts in promoting this idea in Russia are very important and necessary. We are not merely sponsoring an open rehearsal of the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra; we are giving orphans from supported children’s homes in the outer reaches of the Moscow region the chance to meet distinguished musicians and to share their impressions with our colleagues, who are keenly aware of the problems surrounding the cultural development and balanced education of children, and who chaperone children from these homes during these types of events.”

Social Responsibility
PricewaterhouseCoopers in Russia develops a programme of corporate responsibility, which is aimed at strengthening ties with society as a whole and solving specific problems in areas such as education, culture, environmental protection, and the protection of children. Our company has for a number of years already been supporting children’s homes, developing and implementing training programmes for university graduates, financing the restoration of Russian cultural and historical monuments, and participating in international charity initiatives aimed at raising money for both orphaned children and children from less well off families. Recently we have got involved in a new area — supporting Russian sport, and our first project in this connection was to sponsor CSKA, the legendary Russian ice hockey team.

In PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2005 the programme “charity instead of business gifts” was born. For two consecutive years the company independently implemented the concept of promoting a charity initiative rather than giving out New Year business gifts. In 2007, more than 90 Russian and foreign companies joined this initiative, and the number of participants in the programme continues to grow. This programme will help to not only solve particular social problems, but also promote a culture of charity giving in the country.