MAY 12, 2022 – 9:30 AM
BY JAN RISHER | FEATURES EDITOR
Natalia Turchin’s favorite musical term is con anima, which means “with spirit.”
The term seems to be fitting considering Turchin’s approach to putting her dreams into reality despite the dissonance of threats of war or unrest in her home country of Moldova. That dissonance is in sharp contrast to the harmony Turchin found in her graduate program at Southeastern Louisiana University and in the Hammond community.
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Natalia Turchin’s favorite musical term is con anima, which means “with spirit.”
The term seems to be fitting considering Turchin’s approach to putting her dreams into reality despite the dissonance of threats of war or unrest in her home country of Moldova. That dissonance is in sharp contrast to the harmony Turchin found in her graduate program at Southeastern Louisiana University and in the Hammond community. Turchin, 26, is from Edinet in the Republic of Moldova, a country slightly larger than Maryland with a population of 2.6 million people. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe. To its north, east and south, Moldova shares nearly 800 miles of border with Ukraine.
Adding to the general anxiety of the war next door, Moldova has the conundrum of Transnistria, the unrecognized breakaway sliver of a territory that split apart and is controlled by at least 12,000 separatists and Russian troops. To sum up the growing fear and apprehensions in Moldova, Maia Sandu, the country’s president, said in a recent interview with NPR, “We are a fragile country in a fragile region.” What does Moldova’s geopolitical situation have to do with a grad student in Hammond who will sing a concert Sunday in Baton Rouge? Prior to the war in Ukraine, Turchin’s family’s import business was centered on importing beverages from Kyiv. That business is gone for now, but Turchin’s dreams are not.
Her recital Sunday will help fund her participation in “La Musica Lirica,” a nonprofit summer opera program in Italy. In all, Turchin has raised $5,546 out of the $8,300 necessary to participate in the Italian opera program. Sunday will be her fourth and final benefit concert — as she leaves for Moldova the next day. “I accepted the role of Elvira in the opera ‘L’Italiana in Algeri’ by Rossini,” Turchin said. “To be able to participate in the program, I have to cover all the expenses.” She believes she will meet her financial obligations to participate, but first, she said she needs to go home to Moldova to see her parents, grandparents and six-year-old twin brother and sister.
“Of course, everyone in my family is nervous,” Turchin said. “We are afraid, but I want to see my family. I cannot just stay here and not see them. I can speak German, English and other languages. My family cannot. In case we have to go somewhere, I can be the mouth for my family.” Turchin began to sing when she was six. Her musical talents landed her training with the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia where she earned her undergraduate degree in musical conducting and then in Romania where she began her graduate studies before heading to Louisiana.
“Opera was my dream,” she said.
But she also loved conducting and has used her conducting talents at Southeastern. Ultimately, she decided she preferred singing to conducting.
“I want to see the audience with my face,” she said. “When you conduct, you have to give the energy to the choir and then it goes to the audience — it’s a different transfer of energy.” The play of dissonance and harmony in her world is not lost on Turchin. “Sometimes I try to hear my inner voice … something inside me. I blindly believe, but, of course, I can be depressed,” she said. “That’s when your friends can support you. Sometimes they can give you a good kick. I am determined, but I feel some fear.” She says that she understands there is no guarantee of her success as an opera singer and willingly shares those vulnerabilities with others. “I don’t know if it’s guaranteed that I can become a big singer,” she said. “But it’s better to do and not regret than not do and regret. The life can be beautiful.
In Hammond, a burgeoning community has rallied behind Turchin’s efforts to sing opera. m”The people in Hammond have been wonderful. My professor, Dr. Jennifer Mouledous, even met me in the airport and brought me to her house for the first night,” Turchin said. “Then she gave me her bicycle. I ride her bicycle everywhere now. She’s like my mom.” Mouledous, lecturer of voice at Southeastern, agrees that Turchin has become like a member of her family. A few weeks after Turchin arrived in Louisiana, Hurricane Ida hit. Turchin once again stayed with Mouledous’ family. “Natalia is a conscientious and hard-working musician,” Mouledous said. “Natalia deserves this opportunity just like many other musicians that work incredibly hard on their craft. I know she will improve as a musician and make Southeastern proud.”
Turchin has set up a GoFundMe account at gofund.me/9d64b178. She also is taking donations through her Facebook fundraiser at facebook.com/donate/961779027 and at the recital. Turchin says she will do her best to perform “with spirit,” both at the concert in Baton Rouge and the performances she hopes to give this summer in Italy.
What else
Natalia Turchin’s concert will be at 5 p.m. May 15 at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, 17510 Monitor Ave., Baton Rouge. Turchin will perform works by J.S. Bach, W. A Mozart, C. Debussy, R. Schumann, D. Moore and S. Rachmaninoff.
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/article_24d3485a-d178-11ec-80f1-c32f61fd2bc0.html
https://npassingers.org/about/
