AUBURN - There may be more than 4,000 miles separating Auburn from Omsk, Russia, but the weather is strangely familiar to western Siberia native Victoria Kinney, the new music teacher at Auburn High School.
Auburn's new music teacher, Victoria Kinney, directs the Auburn High School Orchestra for the first time Monday morning. Originally from western Siberia, this is Kinney's first experience teaching music to American high schoolers. "I can see the potential," she said. "We will be good. I promise." The orchestra's first performance of the school year is Oct. 22. Jeff Costello / Staff Photographer
"Siberia is very similar to Central New York," she said. "We have four seasons like here, and our winters are cold and our summers, hot."
She conceded there are some 40-below-zero days during Siberian winters but, for the most part, the temperatures are like they are here.
Kinney began her new position last week when school opened. She is surprised by the misconceptions some students have of Siberia.
"They think it is empty and desolate," Kinney said. "It is very industrial there. There are five cities with more than a million people each. Our cities are big, we do not have so many small cities as you do here. Russians prefer to live in big cities, whereas here people like to live in little cities and towns."
Omsk, where Kinney was born and raised, is home is seven universities, she said. The school system is very different - there are no structured music classes in public schools. If a student is going to study language or music, he or she must attend a school devoted just to that subject.
A child could have regular school from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then music school from 4 to 8 p.m. If students want to attend college, they must have a diploma from two schools, specialty and regular.
Another difference between Russia and the U.S. is when a student begins to learn a new language or how to play an instrument. By second grade, Russian students start English, French or German lessons. Most U.S. schools do not offer foreign language until middle or high school.
And while most American children do not begin musical instrument lessons until they are 10 years old, a Russian child the same age would be told it is too late.
"For a child who wants to learn a very difficult instrument such as the violin, 10 is too late. Maybe they could learn the piano. I actually started playing
the harp when I was 8 and that was considered a late start," Kinney said.
In Russia, Kinney wore many hats. She hosted two television shows, one for children and one where she interviewed musicians visiting from all over the world. She was principal harpist in the local orchestra and taught music to college students.
She moved to America when she fell in love with an American traveling in Russia, Rick Kinney of Syracuse, and moved to Thousand Oaks, Calif., where he was living at the time.
Kinney enjoyed the constant sunshine of Southern California, and wasted no time while she lived there. She studied English at a local university to improve her language skills.
When her husband moved back home to be close to family, Kinney followed, thinking the mild winter she had experienced during a Christmas visit was how the weather here would be all the time.
"When I moved here, I realized it wasn't the truth," she said. "Last winter was so cold, it felt like 'welcome home.' It was like Siberia."
Teaching high school students presents different challenges from the college students Kinney taught in Russia.
"In Russia, you are teaching people who already know they will be professional musicians," she said. "Students here might not become musicians, but I don't want them to forget music. I want them to love music. If they become doctors or lawyers, I hope they still keep music as part of their lives."
Kinney said her students are excited now, and she hopes they can sustain that excitement all year.
In Southern California, she said, people always seemed more positive, upbeat she said.
"They have sunshine everyday," she said. "Both here and in Siberia, people tend to get down and laid back in the fall and winter."
Kinney has already warned her students she will not let them get down; she'll do her best to keep them motivated, despite the weather.
Kinney's first American performance was at Willard Chapel for a Christmas concert. She enjoys playing as she can.
Kinney played the harp at The Sherwood Inn last Valentine's Day and again at Willard last month. She also plays at weddings and parties.
"Two years and two months I have been here in America." she said. "I don't miss Russia, the country. I miss my friends, my mother and cousin, and my culture."
Her son, Vladic, 10, has adapted well to his new country. "He has already lost his accent, and he looks like an American."
Kinney brings Vladic into Auburn with her from Syracuse every day, and he attends fifth grade at Herman Avenue Elementary.
The 45-minute commute does not bother Kinney at all. She said in Southern California, that's considered a short commute. And she thinks the drivers in Auburn are very polite.
"Drivers in Russia are the rudest," she said. "If you want to know what they can be like, visit New York City. They're very much alike!"
She conceded there are some 40-below-zero days during Siberian winters but, for the most part, the temperatures are like they are here.
Kinney began her new position last week when school opened. She is surprised by the misconceptions some students have of Siberia.
"They think it is empty and desolate," Kinney said. "It is very industrial there. There are five cities with more than a million people each. Our cities are big, we do not have so many small cities as you do here. Russians prefer to live in big cities, whereas here people like to live in little cities and towns."
Omsk, where Kinney was born and raised, is home is seven universities, she said. The school system is very different - there are no structured music classes in public schools. If a student is going to study language or music, he or she must attend a school devoted just to that subject.
A child could have regular school from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then music school from 4 to 8 p.m. If students want to attend college, they must have a diploma from two schools, specialty and regular.
Another difference between Russia and the U.S. is when a student begins to learn a new language or how to play an instrument. By second grade, Russian students start English, French or German lessons. Most U.S. schools do not offer foreign language until middle or high school.
And while most American children do not begin musical instrument lessons until they are 10 years old, a Russian child the same age would be told it is too late.
"For a child who wants to learn a very difficult instrument such as the violin, 10 is too late. Maybe they could learn the piano. I actually started playing
the harp when I was 8 and that was considered a late start," Kinney said.
In Russia, Kinney wore many hats. She hosted two television shows, one for children and one where she interviewed musicians visiting from all over the world. She was principal harpist in the local orchestra and taught music to college students.
She moved to America when she fell in love with an American traveling in Russia, Rick Kinney of Syracuse, and moved to Thousand Oaks, Calif., where he was living at the time.
Kinney enjoyed the constant sunshine of Southern California, and wasted no time while she lived there. She studied English at a local university to improve her language skills.
When her husband moved back home to be close to family, Kinney followed, thinking the mild winter she had experienced during a Christmas visit was how the weather here would be all the time.
"When I moved here, I realized it wasn't the truth," she said. "Last winter was so cold, it felt like 'welcome home.' It was like Siberia."
Teaching high school students presents different challenges from the college students Kinney taught in Russia.
"In Russia, you are teaching people who already know they will be professional musicians," she said. "Students here might not become musicians, but I don't want them to forget music. I want them to love music. If they become doctors or lawyers, I hope they still keep music as part of their lives."
Kinney said her students are excited now, and she hopes they can sustain that excitement all year.
In Southern California, she said, people always seemed more positive, upbeat she said.
"They have sunshine everyday," she said. "Both here and in Siberia, people tend to get down and laid back in the fall and winter."
Kinney has already warned her students she will not let them get down; she'll do her best to keep them motivated, despite the weather.
Kinney's first American performance was at Willard Chapel for a Christmas concert. She enjoys playing as she can.
Kinney played the harp at The Sherwood Inn last Valentine's Day and again at Willard last month. She also plays at weddings and parties.
"Two years and two months I have been here in America." she said. "I don't miss Russia, the country. I miss my friends, my mother and cousin, and my culture."
Her son, Vladic, 10, has adapted well to his new country. "He has already lost his accent, and he looks like an American."
Kinney brings Vladic into Auburn with her from Syracuse every day, and he attends fifth grade at Herman Avenue Elementary.
The 45-minute commute does not bother Kinney at all. She said in Southern California, that's considered a short commute. And she thinks the drivers in Auburn are very polite.
"Drivers in Russia are the rudest," she said. "If you want to know what they can be like, visit New York City. They're very much alike!"
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