Romanian stories in Britain (III) Sergiu Tuhutiu: ‘Professionals are real ambassadors for Romania’

My adventure in United Kingdom started with a summer piano masterclass. I initially came to London for two weeks and it was enough for me to know that it’s truly the place to be. I was stolen by the cultural diversity and by the variety of professional opportunities. At that time, being more connected with the musical world was of main importance to me. I met brilliant musicians in London and I was truly inspired by their artistry. I accomplished my educational path by studying at Royal College of Music with Norma Fisher who became one of my greatest mentors. Being exposed to a multitude of cultural expressions broadened my horizon and challenged me to find new ways of thinking about art and life.

Although my main focus was initially on the classical music, I soon started to discover exciting productions in other areas of interest to me, like photography, drama and psychology. Getting in touch and sharing thoughts with different artists from around the world was a life changing experience and all this highly contributed to my development and gave me new ideas for my projects.

As for the Romanian community, I have already known it was numerous, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover how well it is represented in various areas like music, drama, photography, arts, business, communication and media. The professionals in these fields are real ambassadors for Romania. The contribution they bring to the cultural and economical bridge between Romania and United Kingdom is invaluable. Likewise, there are several organisations promoting the Romanian culture in the United Kingdom and amongst them The Romanian Cultural Institute is highly active and efficient. All these common efforts have the positive outcome of bringing together the Romanians who live in the UK.

Nevertheless, Romania remains the place where I’ve started. As the time goes by I become more aware of the importance and influence of my origins. And when I say ‘start’ I’m not referring only to my musical one, but to my whole cultural and educational inheritance and development. One of the most difficult things in a musical career is to always find new artistic meanings. This path is a tough one and without fully acknowledging and assuming your past it is very difficult to round your artistic personality. All those small details of the daily life, like the humour, the irony, the joy, the enthusiasm, the anger, the disappointment, the sadness, the despair, the hope are inherited and assimilated differently in each cultural idiosyncrasy. In music, for a performer, they become tools for artistic expression. Therefore, despite the numerous foreign professional influences, there is something essentially belonging to one’s geographic and cultural origins. For me this inheritance is the very basis for the construction of the superior levels of the artistic personality. I consider it’s a question of maturity to accept this primal structure. I observed over time that the higher musical education only polishes these features but it could never radically change them. For example, I’m sure the way we love or feel the melancholy is profoundly influenced by the place where we were brought up, by people’s traditions from our native countries.

Looking at things from this perspective I feel closer than ever to these intimate Romanian values; for me they represent the most treasured connection with Romania. On this solid basis, the integration of new cultural elements in one’s own initial setup gives a final shape to his artistry.

For me it’s always a great pleasure to play for the audience in my native country. I find the Romanian public more enthusiastic every time I come back, a public in constant search for quality artistic events. This interest inspires me and makes me wish to bring my contribution to the Romanian cultural life.

By Sergiu Tuhutiu, pianist