“We have a nine-year-old, so there’s not much relaxing going on,” laughs Natasha Bazhanov. She and her husband, Artur Girsky, are violinists with the Seattle Symphony. “Our daughter Sasha has a busy social schedule: Russian lessons, ballet, violin,” continues Bazhanov. “She’s the social butterfly of the family.”⠀ .⠀ Bazhanov and Girsky met while they were musicians with the Florida Orchestra. Although they are professional violinists, Bazhanov and Girsky didn’t want their daughter to feel obligated to follow in their path. “We didn’t want to force her to play violin, so we gave her lots of other options: ballet, piano, but she kept insisting she wanted to learn,” says Bazhanov. “She eventually gave up on us, so one of our friends bought her a violin and started giving her lessons.”⠀ .⠀ When they aren’t keeping up with their daughter’s schedule, they both like to enjoy some quiet at home. “Sometimes I like to watch bad movies,” says Girsky. “It’s kind of strange. I’m interested in seeing how bad it could be.” He says his favorite bad movie so far is Fast and the Furious: “That was probably the worst!”⠀ .⠀ Bazhanov says she prefers to read, in both English and Russian. Her favorite book, by Aleksandra Brushtein, is Doroga Ukhodit v Dal, which roughly translates as Road That Disappears Into a Distance.⠀ .⠀ After growing up in the Soviet Union, Bazhanov and Girsky want their daughter to enjoy freedoms they didn’t experience. “We both were lucky that we could be in the music field where people were still free to express themselves without too much fear,” says Bazhanov. “Our parents tried to give us freedom that they themselves couldn't have. We want to do the same for Sasha.”⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #seattlesymphony #listenboldly #seattle #symphony #orchestra #violin #family #freedom #musicians #classicalmusic #instamusic #instagood
