To Russia with love ....and also her harp
Jessica will perform and sit exam in famous theatre
A musically-gifted Paisley schoolgirl will sit her German exam in a famous Russian theatre – where she will also perform.
Gleniffer High School pupil Jessica Fraser, 15, is a student on the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Junior Conservatoire Music programme, and plays the piano and the clarsach, which is a small harp.
And she is jetting off to Moscow’s iconic Bolshoi Theatre, which will double up as an exam hall so she can sit her National 5 German exam there.
Jessica got special permission from exam bosses to sit the test in these rather unusual, but grand, surroundings.
She said: “I’m quite nervous about my German exam. I’ve been studying really hard, so hopefully it will pay off.
“The exam is on the same day as our performance at the Bolshoi Theatre so it’s going to take place there.
“It’s different to the usual exam hall setting, that’s for sure.”
The theatre was opened in October 1856 on Tsar Alexander II’s coronation day and hosts ballet, opera and orchestra performances as well as concerts.
During the trip, Jessica and fellow students Finlay Morse, from Aberdeen; Archie MacKechnie, from Bridge of Allan; Innes Scullion of Glasgow and Ruairidh Gray of South Uist will perform at the Vladimir Spivakov Foundation Festival before taking to the stage in the Bolshoi Theatre.
Jessica added: “It’s such an amazing opportunity to get through the Junior Conservatoire.
“My dad got an email saying I’d been selected and he called everyone in the family into the room to make the announcement – they are so excited for me.”
The Junior Conservatoire students’ trip to Russia is the latest collaboration between the Royal Conservatoire, ranked in the world’s top three of performing arts education, and Russia’s Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatoire.
Earlier this year, funding was granted from Erasmus+, which is the European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport.
This helped pave the way for an innovative project of musical and educational collaboration between the two institutions.
Jenn Adams, head of the Junior Conservatoire, said: “Students at the Junior Conservatoire like Jessica are empowered and encouraged to be the best they can be.
“The trip to Russia will give our students the opportunity to broaden their horizons as they seek to fulfil their artistic potential and develop crucial life skills, which will stand them in good stead for their future careers in the arts and beyond.”