2016 saw a 70th anniversary of the Gnessins Moscow Special School (College) of Music. The school is rightfully considered one of the best musical schools in Russia.

Established a mere year after the World War II, “the Gnessins ten-grade musical school” combined musical and comprehensive education evolving into a source of pride to the musical education system of Russia.

“A school for gifted children”, “a future musical elite”, that’s what the experts call this musical society that has brought up some of the most renowned musicians and men of art: Natalie Shakhovskaya and Viktor Pikaisen, Karine Georgian and David Tukhmanov, Alexander Ivashkin and Ivan Monighetti, Alexander Rudin , Alexander Kniazev, Boris Berezovsky, Yevgeny Kissin, Konstantin Lifshits and others.

There are over 1700 graduates and quite a few of them became winners of the most prestigious international performance contests, Grammy Awards nominees and winners, European conservatories professors, musical faculties heads in American, Canadian and Japanese universities, teachers of Russian musical institutions, concertmeisters and soloists of the major symphonic and chamber orchestras of the world, people to establish and manage musical festivals, agencies, educational centres and schools all over the world.

An outstanding worker of culture, Yelena Gnessina, who established the school, compiled a set of basic rules and the staff still abides by those rules. She taught to discover and bring up a talent, to approach each child individually and cherish him or her, to compete fairly and, above all, to acquire deep academic knowledge and performance skills. Leading teachers in Russia train students here, there are professors of the Moscow State Conservatory, honoured men of art of the Russian Federation, People’s artist and Honoured artists, honoured workers of culture, Masters and Doctors of Arts and many of them have graduated from this very school.

Maintaining a commitment to the traditions established almost 70 years ago, the Gnessins’ musical school goes on bringing up musically talented children aged 5 to 18. Today the school is an education complex where preschool educational institution, comprehensive school, musical school and a college are run under a common curriculum. Graduates are awarded with certificates of secondary professional musical education. And that certificate doesn’t need an authentication under the Bologna Convention. The students continue their education in leading musical universities both in Russia and abroad.