The Belarusian participant of the "Vitebsk-2010" contest lives and works between Minsk and Gomel

June 11, Minsk / Tatyana Pastushenko - BELTA /. Denis Vershchenko, a soloist of the Gomel Regional Philharmonic Society, who is preparing to represent Belarus at the XIX International Festival of Young Performers of Pop Songs "Vitebsk-2010", lives and works alternately in Minsk and Gomel. The young performer told a BELTA correspondent about this. "I am currently in Gomel, recording songs here, but I am a full-time student at the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts, and in Minsk, I rehearse the competition pieces," said Denis Vershchenko. The intense work schedule suits the performer: the dean's office and his home department have been loyal to the frequent absences of fourth-year student Denis Vershchenko from classes. He was even granted a flexible attendance schedule for a while so he could prepare for the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" without any issues. According to Denis, at first, the teachers were not very supportive of his tours and performances, but they softened when they learned about "Vitebsk-2010". The musician is not worried about his performance at the young performers' competition yet, as he is in the adaptation and preparation period. "Now I need to prepare, and nervousness is only acceptable a few hours before the competition," the interviewee noted. Denis Vershchenko has heard about the professionalism of his competitors but is setting himself up for victory. "Knowing the high level of the participants, one cannot be one hundred percent sure of victory. The main thing for me is to represent Belarus with dignity at the competition. I am confident that everything will work out well and I will manage to finish my preparation," said the artist. He is already familiar with the representatives from Macedonia and Romania, whom he met at other competitions, and considers them worthy rivals. Denis is sure that if all contestants have the same level of preparation, a fierce battle will unfold on the Summer Amphitheater stage. At the "Vitebsk-2010" competition, Denis Vershchenko will perform two compositions - "Molitva" accompanied by the National Concert Orchestra of Belarus under the direction of Mikhail Finberg, and "Dzyakuy, shto byla". Recently, the performer and his creative team completed work on a music video for the song "Molitva," and now the musician is working on the second song, for which the arrangement is almost ready. Answering the question of whether artists are given enough time for preparation, Denis noted that if the participants of "Vitebsk-2010" were not professional titled performers, which, by the way, is stipulated by the competition rules, then the allotted time would undoubtedly be insufficient. But since each of them has a certain creative experience behind them, a few months is quite enough for them. "I memorize the lyrics quickly, and the music is also easy to grasp. The only thing that takes time is to 'live' the song, to sing it in a way that fully demonstrates one's professional level," said the artist. The 23-year-old performer has experience performing on concert and competition stages and has won awards at international creative competitions. Denis Vershchenko is the Grand Prix winner of the international competition "Slavic Star-2006" and a laureate of the "Velizh-2008" and "Na vysokoy volne" (On a High Wave) competitions in 2009, which are held in Russia. -0-