The voice of the heart in the clouds over Shumshu

September 3, 2025. Victory Square in the regional capital is bustling with people. A large celebratory concert, "Sakhalin – Land of Heroes," is taking place on stage, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Victory over Japan and the end of World War II. Performing are stars of the Russian pop scene: Pelageya, Gazmanov, Shaman, Galanin, and the rock band Zemlyane. They perform well-known songs about the Motherland, the courage and heroism of the people, and the events of the distant past and today. A Channel One film crew is recording the concert for an upcoming full-length television broadcast nationwide. Emotions overwhelm and unite the people.

When the voice of Veniamin Kim, soloist of the Sakhalin Regional Philharmonic, joins the creative constellation of pop music with such beauty and power, the square bursts into applause. After all, the renowned island bard performed his original song, "Clouds over Shumshu." Every line, every note, is heartfelt.

Today we present to our readers this composition about the heroic Kuril landing force. It's the fourth in our "Sung Islands" project, following the tracks "Geographical," "We Walked 8,000 Kilometers," and "The Heart of a Sakhalinite."

A winner of numerous festivals, competitions, and bard song conventions, including international ones, Veniamin Kim works prolifically and productively. He works as a producer, manager, director of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk city-wide "APOSTrov" art song festivals, and, of course, as a poet and composer. Last December, he released the music album "Sakhalin Is Me," which featured eleven songs. One of them, "The Heart of a Sakhalin Resident," was performed and recorded by Governor Valery Limarenko.

This year, the bard's solo concert, entitled "About Life, About Courage, About Love," drew a large audience. Veniamin understands these subtleties, especially after his concert tours to our soldiers along the line of contact in Donbas. So the new composition was also inspired by these impressions.

Lyudmila Stepanets.

Photo from the website of the regional philharmonic society.