Babich Vasily Ivanovich (Russian: Бабич Василий Иванович, pronounced [ʹbabʲɪtɕ]; 29 May 1952, Kerch – 20 October 2014, Krasnoyarsk) was a Russian musician, trombone player, Associate Professor at Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation.
Vasily Babich was born on May 29, 1952 in the city of Kerch, the Crimea. He moved to Kazakhstan at a young age. For a long time, Vasily Ivanovich was a soloist at the Gulder Youth Pop Ensemble famous all over the Soviet Union under the direction of Rosa Rymbaeva, and then worked in the orchestra of the Abay Opera House. In 1978, he came to Krasnoyarsk. It was the time when the history of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Krasnoyarsk Symphony Orchestra and the Krasnoyarsk State Institute of Arts began. His creative destiny was connected with each of these institutions.
From 1978 to 1985, Babich was an orchestra musician at the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, during this period he actively participated in the All-Union Jazz Festival Jazz over the Yenisey and worked with such groups as the Leningrad Music Hall Orchestra, the USSR Symphony Cinema Orchestra, the Krasnoyarsk Municipal Chamber Orchestra and the Krasnoyarsk M. Godenko Ensemble. In 1985, Vasily Ivanovich graduated from the Krasnoyarsk State Institute of Arts (since 2018 – Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts), the specialist field: Wind instruments (trombone), Associate Professor S. G. Gorovoy’s class.
In 1985-1990, the musician did his military service, then took part in international wind music festivals in Austria (1986, Linz), Hungary (1987, Debrecen).
From 1990 to 2014, he worked in the Krasnoyarsk Academic Symphony Orchestra (the Krasnoyarsk Regional Philharmonic) as the concertmaster of the trombone group. He also was the member of the Brass Quintet.
In 1992, Babich started teaching at Krasnoyarsk State Institute of Arts as an Associate Professor. Vasily Ivanovich brought up a galaxy of talented musicians who work in professional orchestral groups and music education institutions of Russia: Alexey Zhurba, Vasily Smorkalov, Nikita Bogov, Evgeny Sablin, Honoured Artist of the Republic of Buryatia Sergey Rumyantsev and many others. E. Sablin says: “At his lessons Babich was forming the trombonist’s character: have no fear and go straight ahead. He developed strong-willed qualities in his students, was strict with us, but always gave us a lot of support”.
In 2002, by Presidential Decree V. I. Babich was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation.
Vasily Babich died in 2014.
Since 2015, his former students have been organizing the Memory Concert dedicated to their beloved teacher.