Hopefully Raymond’s achievements can inspire other Indonesian singers to compete in music events in Russia
Bandarlampung (Rifyu.com) – Laurentius Raymond Junior Pardamean Sihombing, an Indonesian singer with a baritone voice who has lived in Moscow for more than 10 years, won first place in the final of the 5th International Music Festival “Road to Yalta” at the Kremlin State Palace Concert Hall, Tuesday (2/5) .
A press release from the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow received by Rifyu.com in Bandarlampung on Friday said that the second winner was won by German vocalist Tino Eisbrenner, and the third winner was shared with Mongolian singer Zayat Battsengelijn and Zimbabwean singer Yvonne Sauramba.
The organizers also awarded awards in various categories to 11 other foreign singers at the festival which provided a total prize money of 5 million rubles or nearly Rp.1 billion.
“The jury decided that the first winner of the festival was our great friend of Indonesia, Raymond Pardamean!,” said Chairman of the Jury Board Lev Leshchenko who is also a prominent Russian artist when announcing Raymond’s victory.
The announcement of the winners was accompanied by cheers from the audience as well as dozens of Indonesian citizens, including the Indonesian Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Jose Tavares
which packed the theater with a capacity of 6000 people. The festival jury consists of eight people representing musicians, artists, artists and humanists from Russia and Italy.
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Raymond appeared at the end of the festival, singing the songs “Kenanglah” and “Heningkan Cipta” translated by Raymond Sihombing and Yulia Guseva.
She duets with Russian singer Fyodor Rytikov, lead vocalist of the Russian Ministry of Defense Musical Ensemble, who performs an original version of the song “Поклонимся Великим тем годам/Bow to Those Great Years,” a struggle song commemorating the 1942-1943 Battle of Stalingrad.
With a booming baritone voice, Raymond amazed the judges and all the spectators simultaneously stood up as a tribute considering this year is the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Ambassador Tavares was pleased and proud that Raymond Sihombing, an Indonesian citizen who has lived in Moscow for a long time, managed to win this very prestigious competition.
“Hopefully Raymond’s achievements can inspire other Indonesian singers to compete in music events in Russia,” said Tavares.
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Raymond is a singer, choir composer, Indonesian language teacher and YouTuber who is familiar with Russian culture.
Raymond received his first musical education in Bali and graduated from the Paris conservatory. The man who was the soloist and conductor of the University of Indonesia (UI) National Choir from 2004 to 2006, is fluent in Russian and plays the saxophone, guitar and several traditional Indonesian instruments.
He dedicated this victory to the glory of friendly relations and cooperation between Indonesia and Russia. “Hopefully Indonesian musician friends can also take part in various music events in Russia,” said the man with a Russian wife who has three children.
The “Road to Yalta” festival is a singing festival that has been regularly held annually in Yalta since 2019. However, in 2022 and 2023 the semifinals and final of the festival will be held in Moscow.
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From 200 singers representing 56 countries who registered, 15 finalists were selected at the festival. They are from Germany, Mongolia, Zimbabwe, Italy, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Greece, Israel, China, the United States, France, Serbia, Algeria and Hungary.
The “Road to Yalta” Music Festival was organized with the aim of popularizing the world with the best Russian and Soviet patriotic songs.
Participating foreign singers are required to vote for certain Russian songs translated into foreign languages. It is then sung in a duet with a Russian singer who sings the original song in Russian.
The festival is sponsored by the “Humanitarian World” Fund of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Crimea for cross-country cultural activities.
Reporter: Triono Subagyo
Editor: Sri Muryono
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source: www.antaranews.com
