The South of the Russian Far East as a Unique Ethnic Region: Concerning the Issue of Interaction of Musical Cultures

Abstract

The article examines the southern part
of the Russian Far East, which has a great
potential from the perspective of the interaction
of musical cultures and the formation
of a unique ethno-cultural zone. On the basis
of contemporary research works the circle
of possible ethnic contacts in the region
on the contemporary stage is delineated.
In the ethnic characterization of the Russian
Far East certain modifications towards
the direction of expansion of the ethnic
makeup and change of the region’s social
characterization. The adjacency with
the two provinces of North-Eastern China —
Heilongjiang and Jilin bordering Russia
on the north and east — are noted
as a territorial premise for close mutual
cooperation. The persistent interest in having
foreign students receive an academic musical
education of a Western European type
in the region’s artistic educational institutions.
Accentuation is made of the great potential
for the interaction between musical cultures
connected with the use of contemporary
computer music technologies. The author
of the article highlights the fastest developing
trends in the interaction between the musical
cultures of the peoples of the Far East of Russia
and China on the basis of the use of computer
music technologies: compositional activities,
performance and education. Observation
is made of the decline of the population
of the indigenous peoples of the Russian Far East and the change of the region’s ethnic
make-up as the result of the processes
of migration, as well as the increase
in the number of foreign students from China
in the educational space and the concert
and competition venues of the region.