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Sascha Zaburdaeva is one of the reasons you can see children walking the streets of downtown Bangor lugging musical instrument cases and grasping their parent’s hands.
Originally from Moscow, Russia, violist and violinist Zaburdaeva teaches students of all abilities and ages. With experience as a soloist, orchestra and chamber musician, Zaburdaeva completed her master’s degree in violin performance at the University of Maine, under tutelage of Anatole Wieck, professor of music and UMaine Chamber Orchestra conductor.
Zaburdaeva has made the greater Bangor area her home while simultaneously becoming an integral part of the local musical community.
“She’s a very active musician in the area,” Wieck said, adding that Zaburdaeva has lived in the greater Bangor area for 10 years and is “very much rooted in the community.”
Wieck and Zaburdaeva first met on a mutual musician friend’s recommendation and have since become friends and colleagues. Zaburdaeva maintains that Wieck, a Julliard School alumnus, is completely responsible for her life and successes in Maine.
Now married to Rob Lormer, owner of RDL Strings on Center Street in Bangor, Zaburdaeva joked that “Lormer wanted to make sure I would stay in town.”
RDL Strings — a musical instrument sales and repair shop doubling as a lessons studio that serves the needs of approximately 45 students — is constantly expanding. Wieck facilitated the marriage between teacher and shop owner by recommending Zaburdaeva as a teacher to Lormer.
“Lormer’s never complained to me that I gave him the wrong recommendation,” shrugged a smirking Wieck.
According to Zaburdaeva, RDL Strings inspires young children to play musical instruments.
“Kids love being there, parents love being there. It has a community feel,” Zaburdaeva said.
As a child in Moscow, Zaburdaeva was musically “a late bloomer.” According to Zaburdaeva, she did not learn to play an instrument until she was 8.
Zaburdaeva began her career with various youth orchestras in Moscow, including Youth Talents of Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra. She attended Moscow’s Gnesins Institute triple majoring in violin performance, orchestra and music pedagogy.
After graduating from Gnesins, Sascha moved to New York City and pursued her second violin performance bachelor’s degree at the Conservatory of Music in Brooklyn, studying with professors Masao Kawasaki and Itzhak Perlman.
In the United States she has been a member of the Mozart String Quartet and Kingsborough College Orchestra in Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Her teaching experiences range from the Acadia Summer Music Festival in Bar Harbor to the UMaine classroom — as a substitute for Wieck during times he has been abroad.
Zaburdaeva is a regularly featured musician in UMaine faculty recitals and has great involvement with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. She has been first violinist, an orchestra board member and a youth orchestra jury selector with the orchestra.
Wieck described Zaburdaeva as a “very successful teacher with a waiting list.” At UMaine’s Maine Summer Youth Music camp, children race to sit next to Zaburdaeva.
“They always want to sit with her, she has a great rapport with her students,” Wieck said. He added that Zaburdaeva gives the same specialized attention to a class as she does to one student.
Although Moscow and Orono are a world apart, Zaburdaeva tries to bridge the two, and all places in between, in her music lessons. She plans her lessons around a particular composer, their homeland, and focuses on tradition and dress in order to culturally enhance the experience.
“I’m connecting the music to the piece to the composer,” she said. “I want [my students] to experience something completely different, not just in Bangor.”
“Sascha really likes Maine,” Wieck said. Both Wieck and Zaburdaeva are avid kayakers and enjoy the Maine outdoors.
Zaburdaeva explained that, when she first moved to Maine, she thought of it as a “black hole,” but now understands that “life is actually boiling here once you find what you like to do.”
“You can get Boston and Julliard here with Wieck,” Zaburdaeva said. “You can enjoy nature and get a wonderful education here.”
Wanting to further global musical understanding in the state of Maine, Zaburdaeva’s dream is to sponsor a student.
“Moscow’s a great connector for me,” Zaburdaeva said. “It’s the best city to go visit, anytime of the year. There’s tremendous culture for every taste. The culture thrived through the good and bad times. It’s always there, and still going strong.”
“I want to become a little bit more rich and sponsor a kid at UMaine, like I was sponsored all those years. I’d like to be a good alumna, really … to be more connected with the university. I feel very grateful,” she said.
Bangor Daily News