St. Petersburg Music Boarding School is the only institution of its kind in all of northwest Russia.

100 teachers provide 475 students ages seven to 17 with an academic education through secondary-school level, accompanied by the highest level of music education. Half of the students board at the school, and room and board are free to students who are from poor or troubled families, from orphanages, or whose homes are a great distance away.

Through partnership with Grand Circle Foundation, the school now has the recording equipment necessary for students to produce their own CDs—allowing them to document their accomplishments and share them with the world. Other donations have gone towards purchasing musical instruments, a sound system for the school’s concert hall, and an array of music software.