Information about the creation of the Syabry team appeared in newspapers in 1972. However, the first performances were only a few years after that. In the city of Gomel, in the local philharmonic society, the idea arose of creating a polyphonic stage group.
The name of this group was proposed by one of its soloists Anatoly Yarmolenko, who had previously performed in the Souvenir ensemble. This is where he started his career. Alexander Buynov and Alexander Gradsky. The name "Syabry" in translation means friends. And it is true that for many this group has become close, dear, singing about friendship, love, loyalty and homeland. In 1974, the team performed for the first time in Minsk at an artists' competition.
At first, Valentin Badyanov was the leader, since he had the necessary education at the conservatory and the experience of performing in front of the public. Prior to that, he was in the VIA "Pesnyary". And now he was very successfully developing a new team and taking them to a new level, soon the ensemble became famous in the republic.
Various performers who had previously performed solo were invited to this team. Periodically, there were changes in the composition, but there were also stable members of the group. The group was created as a polyphony with a rich range of exclusively male voices.
Interesting about the leader
Badyanov was persuaded for a very long time to become part of a new musical ensemble, but he did not agree. First, he left VIA Pesnyary and created his own project, which never developed. Then he moved to Singing Guitars, but in 1974 he returned to VIA Pesnyary.
Badyanov moved from one squad to another, looking for his place. In 1975, he agreed to an offer to lead the Syabry ensemble, when he was already offered literally anything for his consent. He wanted to rename the group, but because of the constant employment of "promotion" he did not do this.
The development of the ensemble "Syabry"
In 1977, the ensemble demonstrated its talents throughout the country by performing at the All-Union Song Contest. But not only the chic voices and abilities of the participants helped them become laureates, but also the amazing composition of Alexandra Pakhmutova “Hymn to the Earth”.
Soon the musicians recorded their debut album "Kasya" with only three tracks. However, after a short time they released a full-fledged disc "To everyone on the planet."
In the late 1970s, composer Oleg Ivanov and poet Anatoly Poperechny wrote the song "Girl from Polissya", the name of which was shortened to "Alesya". It is interesting that this composition was written for the Pesnyary VIA, but it was given to the Syabry ensemble. With this song, the ensemble appeared on television, and thanks to it, the musicians were popular. They were invited to TV studios, to radio programs. They also received various awards, including participating in the final of the Song of the Year festival. A feature film "You are one love" was shot about the team.
Change of leadership of the group "Syabry"
In 1981, a coup took place in the group. At the insistence of Anatoly Yarmolenko, Valentin Badyanov was removed from the work of the ensemble. Together with Valentin, Anatoly Gordienko, Vladimir Schalk and several members of the group were also fired. Thus, Yarmolenko became the head of VIA Syabry.
Belarusians continued to perform in their homeland and in the USSR. Their most famous works were: “You are making noise, birches!”, “Capercaillie dawn” and “Stove-shops”. The first of them really liked the listeners, and it was often played on the radio.
The team worked very actively, giving concerts and recording albums. Along with this, the musicians participated in television programs and performed on the radio. So it was until 1991, or rather, before the collapse of the USSR. Now people were no longer up to music and entertainment, so the group's popularity began to decrease. Although the musical ensemble continued to record new albums, they no longer attracted listeners as much as several years earlier.
What's up with the artists now?
In 2002, the group's direction changed. If before that only men performed in it, now Olga Yarmolenko (the first vocalist, daughter of the leader) has joined them. The son of Anatoly, Svyatoslav, also took his place in the team.
Of the "old-timers" in the team, Anatoly Yarmolenko and Nikolai Satsura remained.
VIA still performs at holidays, concerts and show programs in Russia and Belarus. They no longer write new compositions, but continue to delight listeners with already beloved compositions.
In 2016, the band performed a concert at the State Central Concert Hall "Russia" in honor of its anniversary, it turned 45 years old. For all the years of work, the group recorded 15 albums.
Modern composition:
- Anatoly Yarmolenko (vocalist, band leader, travel organizer);
- Olga Yarmolenko (soloist);
- Nikolai Satsura (vocalist, keyboards, composer);
- Svyatoslav Yarmolenko (vocalist, bass guitar, keyboards);
- Sergey Gerasimov (vocalist, acoustic guitar, violin);
- Bogdan Karpov (vocalist, bass guitar, keyboards);
- Alexander Kamluk (vocalist, guitar);
- Artur Tsomaya (vocalist, percussion instruments, director, producer);
- Andrey Eliashkevich (sound engineer).
