Tenors

Nikolay Basov

In the choir since 2019

Nikolai Basov was born on August 27, 1985 in Weimar, East Germany. He graduated with honours from the Sveshnikov College and the Popov Choral Arts Academy with a specialty in choir conducting. While studying at the Sveshnikov College, he also finished Children’s music school №18 where he studied saxophone. He spent about 3 years learning Irish dancing (ballet and step dancing). As a student, Nikolai also worked as a performer and assistant chorus master at the “Drama Art School” theatre directed by A. Vasiliev. Following his graduation from the Academy, Nikolai became a member of the Big Academic Choir.

Nikolai Basov is a regular performer at the “December Nights” and “Comeback” music festivals. As a soloist, he has performed with the “Intrada” and “Questa musica” vocal ensembles (directed by Ekaterina Antonenko and Philipp Chizhevsky, respectively) for 9 years.

For the past 6 years, Nikolai has been interested in modern avant garde and experimental music. He is one of the regular performers in the “Drillalians” opera series (composers: Kurliandsky, Syumak, Nevsky, Sysoev, Filanovsky, Rannev) which premiered at the “Stanislavsky Electric Theatre” during the 2014-2015 season.

In 2014–2018, Nikolai Basov studied vocal performance under Honoured Artist of Russia, Fyodor Mikhailovich Anikeev. In 2018, Nikolai made his solo debut along with Vladimir Yurovski at the “Another Space” festival: they presented the premiere of Boris Filanovsky’s oratorio for soloists, extended violin, accordion, choir and orchestra at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. In January 2019, Nikolai Basov performed Father’s part in the “Nutcracker in Zaryadye” ballet/opera/fairy-tale set to Tchaikovsky’s music (producers: Pavel Kaplevich and Yulia Morozova; director: Nina Tchusova; visual artist: Andrey Bartenev; conductor: Philipp Chizhevsky).

Since autumn 2019, Nikolai Basov has been a member of the musicAeterna choir.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE WORLD OF MUSIC?

Strangely enough, my disease did. As a child, I suffered from chronic bronchitis, and the doctor suggested that my parents should take me to singing classes as a preventive measure. The Sveshnikov music college, one of the country’s best music schools, happened to be close to our home. I got accepted and gradually fell in love both with music and with studying it.

CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING ANYTHING ELSE BUT A MUSICIAN?

Why not? I’ve always been pretty good at exact sciences. I’m also quite pedantic, so I’d probably make a decent lawyer or IT specialist. The thing is, I can’t imagine working an 8-to-6 office job. I’m more inclined to create: it brings out something else in me.

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU WHEN YOU GO UP ON STAGE?

I enjoy the music, the performance, and the audience’s reaction. Those powerful emotions give me an energy boost in my everyday life.

HOW DO YOU RECOVER AFTER LARGE PROJECTS?

Physically, the only way to give my voice a break is to keep silent for a while. As for emotional burnout, it rarely happens to me. On the contrary, after a concert I often feel so inspired and supercharged that I could sing another one right away.

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?

Aside from academic music and children’s songs (which I listen to with my daughters), I enjoy ethnic, New Age and neoclassical music — one that exudes quality and professionalism. I also like Irish folk tunes. When I first learned of Irish dances, I got so enchanted that I found a studio in Moscow and practiced dancing there for 3 years. Then I heard the Irish bagpipes. Their sound is milder and more melodic than that of their Scottish sibling. As a student, I had to save up for a while before I could order one from a luthier. Then I waited for a year before it was ready and finally got to spend some time learning to play it.

GIVEN A CHANCE, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO MASTER IN YOUR LIFE?

Eastern practices sound intriguing to me. I’ve always been drawn to the East and even practiced Eastern martial arts for a while. I’m now interested in Indian culture and philosophic practices concerning the cognition of myself, my loved ones, and the world around me.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?

I dream of travelling more and getting to see faraway lands. Exploring the world is another way of self-development.