Brief

To create a new artistic concept for the Charity Governor’s Ball—one of the region’s most official and tradition-rich events. The goal was to offer a fresh, contemporary perspective without breaking established canons or clashing with the ball’s history, which has been shaped over many years and carries its own cultural code.

Solution

After studying the ball’s legacy, the architecture of the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic, and previous formats, I chose not radical reinvention but a careful reinterpretation of the classical—much like a modern arrangement of a well-known musical piece.
The key visual motif became the French curtain—an element familiar to any concert hall and deeply rooted in our collective association with academic culture. Its distinctive folds were deconstructed into separate artistic components and scaled across the space:

• Christmas trees assembled from the rhythm of the curtain’s folds,
• table and hall design built with dense, architectural drapery,
• a unified visual pattern seamlessly integrated into the Philharmonic’s interior.

The venue retained its ceremonial grandeur, yet began to “sound” anew—laconic, contemporary, and cohesive.
Programme
Traditionally, the evening unfolded in three parts: an academic concert, a formal dinner, and a more relaxed concert tea reception.
Featured performers included:

• Denis Matsuev — guest soloist,
• opera soloists from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres

Special attention was given to lighting: a carefully designed lighting concept highlighted the hall’s architecture, revealed volume and ornament, and allowed the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic to quite literally “light up” in a new, more expressive image.


Outcome
The ball became an example of how tradition can be renewed without being dismantled—by revealing the beauty already embedded within it. The project preserved its official status and academic rigor, while offering guests a fresh experience: subtle, intelligent, and organically aligned with the space and its history.