- 24.04.2026 07:27
Battle of talents, emotions and institutes: Gala concert of the “InFest-2026” festival at TulSU
Spring events at Tula State University were especially loud this year. The festival of creativity “InFest-2026” turned the stage of the concert hall into a real Stars Factory, where the qualifying and competition days alternated by rehearsals, and in the end, there was a bright and truly festive Gala concert: the battle of institutes.
Before entering the main stage of the finals, the participants went through a serious selection process. Backstage, vocalists were singing, dancers were beating out the rhythm, creators repeated the quatrains, and many instruments were playing! The competition days demonstrated that the skill level is increasing every year. And now, after the most crucial days and the decisions of the jury, the names of the finalists were announced.
"Infest" concluded with a gala concert, the format of which was designated as the "battle of institutions" due to the system of battles. All finalists were divided into pairs and threes according to their directions, and those who turned out to be the only one in their direction had to perform alone in front of a strict jury. Scores were given immediately after the performances in real time. The audience froze, turned around, looking at the signs, eager to know the results.
What about our expert jury?
• Marina Olegovna Panferova, Vice-rector for Academic Affairs;
• Ivan Orlov, TulSU graduate, a well-known industrial designer, participant in exhibitions of the Tula branch of the Union of Artists of Russia;
• Galina Ivanovna Alyokhina, Teacher of the highest category, judge of the Federation of Vocal Art Teachers;
• Yaroslavna Prilepskaya, actress of the Youth Theater;
• Yelena Zakharova, the highest category choreography judge of the All-Russian Dance Organization, the founder of the Dance-Show Inside,;
• Anastasia Asfandiyarova, founder and organizer of the Molotnyak rock festival.
Creative evening was opened by battles of vocalists. The first was Evelina Anosova in the nomination "solo" with folk vocals, but the battle and the brightness of the songs didn't end there! The first places in the solo vocal direction for demonstrating technique and sense of rhythm were awarded:
• Evelina Anosova (solo)
• Kristina Koval (solo)
• Ksenia Daylneva (solo)
• Yulia Sorokina and Anastasia Steligina (duet)
The second and third places in the vocal direction were distributed in a close battle:
• Alina Polukhina (solo, 2nd place)
• Alisa Demina (solo, 2nd place)
• Anastasia Ignatova and Svetlana Rozhkova (duet, 2nd place)
• Anna Lunina (solo, 3rd place)
• Kirill Rasenko (solo, 3rd place)
When the last vocal parts were played, the bright soloists and groups lit up the dance floor with their energy and skill. They were awarded for their impeccable sense of rhythm and the most spectacular choreography:
• Anastasia Pechnikova (1st place, solo)
• "Raas Rang" (Anuja Manojkumar Kambale, Simran Cheonkar, 1st place, duet)
• Dance group of the Institute of International Education (1st place, mass)
•Anna Guseva (2nd place, solo)
The masters` of words battles were impressive. In the theatrical direction, the jury saw a variety of performances, noting the first and second places:
• Artemy Shipulin (1st place)
• Stepan Rykin (1st place)
• Anatoly Popko (1st place)
Aimyrat Ashirov (2nd place)
· Victoria Isayenkova (2nd place)
· Alexander Rubtsov (2nd place)
The keys and strings showed the purest melodies with virtuoso performance in the instrumental direction. The places between the musicians were distributed as follows:
• Ilya Maksimov (1st place)
• Dmitry Medvedev (2nd place)
• Sergey Afonichev (3rd place)
The battle of the original genre added a special flavor, because student creativity knows no boundaries! After the performances with hoops and spoons, the jury made the following decision:
• Polina Mishina (1st place)
• Daniil Danilov (2nd place)
There were vocals again, but this time there were instruments. Soloists, duets and bands lit up and showed real skill, mixing live sound with wonderful vocals. The winners and prize-winners here are:
• Daria Bondarchuk (1st place, solo)
• Vyacheslav Topilsky and Ksenia Zvyagina (1st place, duet)
• Group “Mol podshofe” (1st place, mass)
• Matvey Kuznetsov (2nd place, solo)
• Ethereal Group (2nd place, massive)
• Alexandra Zaika (3rd place, solo)
• The band “Yojiki v tumane” (3rd place, mass)
At the end of the ceremony, traditional and new special nominations were announced. In the “Best Technical Specialist” nomination, those who remain behind the scenes and work with all the equipment were noted:
• Ivan Proskurin (1st place)
• Grigory Pogosov (1st place)
• Polina Lebedeva (1st place)
• Vladislav Kochetkov (1st place)
• Tatiana Grechishkina (2nd place)
The TulSU Student Media Center received special thanks for the atmospheric content and high-quality shooting.
The title and first place in the “Best Mentor” nomination were shared by Dmitry Timonin and Alexey Morozov, people whose patience and professionalism transformed the contestants into artists.
Several works also competed in the new nomination for the “Best Design Project” and the development of the Tula State University stand:
• Adelina Khannazarova (1st place)
• Angelina Taubes (2nd place)
• Yelizaveta Nerushiyan (3rd place)
The solidarity of the teams and the audience decided the fate of the main awards, which recognize not only talent, but also contribution to the common cause of the festival:
• “The best creative program of the Institute”: Institute of Construction and Architecture;
• “The best support group”: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences
• "The best Institute": Institute of Law and Management
The names of the lucky winners sounded, the hall exploded with applause again, weeks of rehearsals and excitement were left behind them. A whole year of new achievements lies ahead, as the organizers of the event noted: "We invite you to the next year with new talents and renewed energy!" See you to new creative meetings on the TulSU stage!
Marina Gavrilina
Photographs by Yelena Gorbachyova
