More News

It all started in a basement 21 years ago. Max McCullough and his wife Frances Fite invited a handful of musicians to their McLean, Va., home to play the Russian folk music McCullough fell in love with as an international relations major at Miami University in Ohio.

"When I moved up here [from Houston] in 1988, I found that there wasn't a balalaika orchestra," McCullough recalls. "In my view, there needed to be one."

Today, the nonprofit Washington Balalaika Society boasts more than 60 members. Much of its support comes from donations through a club of benefactors called the Balalaika Guild. Although the sole conductor, Svetlana Nikonova, is the only fulltime paid employee, the orchestra finds time for 12 to 15 concerts a year. Their reputation has earned appearances at venues like the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.

"There are a number of orchestras all under the banner of the Balalaika and Domra Association of America, so we've all gotten to know each other," says WBS president Jan Bohm. "We are the largest and most well-developed of the bunch."

True to the roots of the music, the WBS Orchestra plays a handful of traditional Russian instruments. The balalaika is similar to a guitar and comes in several sizes that vary in pitch. The sound of the domra is similar to the Western European lute. Other facets of the ensemble include the accordion-like bayan and the keyboard-driven gusli. None of these are made in the United States; every instrument is imported from Russia. Obtaining instruments and music was hard during the early days, but the fall of the Soviet Union made things easier.

"When the Iron Curtain came down, so did some of the restrictions on being able to communicate directly with people," McCullough explains. "Now, Svetlana, who is one of the most gifted arrangers I've ever seen, arranges all of our music for us. But back in '88, it was not easy to find quality arrangements and instruments."

The collapse of the USSR also influenced musicians to find work elsewhere.

"During Soviet times, musicians at that level pretty much had their way paid by the state," says McCullough. "When they graduated from conservatory, they were pretty much guaranteed jobs. Once the whole thing collapsed and changed to a market economy, each person from the conservatories was pretty much on their own."

WBS concertmaster and featured balalaika soloist Andrei Saveliev knows this is as well as anyone. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1991, but the post-Soviet economy made supporting himself as a balalaika player nearly impossible.

"Musicians at the time were not happy with the current situation in Russia," he says. "It was horrible for everybody in the music business."

Five years after finishing his education, Saveliev made his way to the U.S. Not only was the economy better, but also he didn't have to face an army of similar musicians.

"There was a time when I practiced like crazy just to be good and competitive in Russia," Saveliev recalls. "In Russia, there are a lot of balalaika players, but here, there's not too much competition."

After getting hold of a WBS newsletter, Saveliev became involved with the orchestra. McCullough calls him one of the most gifted balalaika players living in the U.S. The 45-year-old eventually settled into the role of concertmaster, although he doesn't take the title too seriously.

"I was just a member of the orchestra," Saveliev says. "I just happen to be the first balalaika. I've been leader of the group pretty much ever since I joined."

The WBS encourages new members to play in the orchestra even if they have never played a Russian folk instrument. Masters like Saveliev and concertmistress Zhenya Tochenaya give two free lessons to those interested in the art. There is also a children's academy that reaches youngsters as young as 6.

"Russian folk music is based on very simple rhythms like waltzes," Saveliev says. "It's similar to what [Americans] do with your country music styles, but the tunes are different because they come from different cultures. That's the only difference."

The novice level of many of the musicians presents an interesting challenge to Nikonova, who now arranges every composition the orchestra plays.

"I arrange most of them especially for our group," she says. "We have non-professional musicians in the group. You have to be very careful when arranging music so it will be playable and sound great."

Nikonova, who knew Saveliev from their days at St. Petersburg Conservatory, travelled from Russia to take over the orchestra in 2002. McCullough stepped down because he and Fite were spending time at their second home in Oklahoma. He still plays tenor domra with the group.

"The orchestra, at its stage of development, deserved full-time attention," he says. "And it also deserved a better-trained person than I was. I had gone about as far as I could go with it. What we needed was a professional."

For Nikonova, conducting her own orchestra was a dream come true. Such a feat was nearly impossible in her homeland.

"Usually, in the Soviet Union, they never supported girls and young women to be conductors," she says. "It's a very tough and hard job and a woman probably better stay with the family. Men don't look at women as directors and conductors. It was difficult to prove that you could be the same or even better than them."

The orchestra anchors each concert, and they hire soloists to join in. On Saturday, basso vocalist Anatoli Panchoshny will appear onstage. Nikonova also throws in classical numbers. The concert also will include Strauss' "Radetsky March."

"I think it educates the audience from one side," Nikonova says about branching out beyond folk. "From the other side, it's very enjoyable for our musicians to [play] several pieces by the masters. Because they're not professional musicians, they rarely have the possibility to play great music by a great composer."

Nikonova sees no end to her tenure with the WBS; she plans to conduct "until my last breath." But for her and many of the other members, being part of the WBS is about more than just making music.

"It's not an orchestra where people show up on Wednesday night and rehearse," says McCullough. "It's a group of friends that get together a lot. Sharing an interest in the music is just part of sharing an interest in each other."

The Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 603 Edmonston Drive, Rockville. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and free for children younger than 12 accompanied by an adult. Call 703-549-2010 or visit

balalaika.org.