a permanent teaching position at the Special School for the Musically Gifted in the Leningrad borough of Petrograd. At that Special School, from 1954 to 1978, Klara Berkovich focused on students in grades 1–8, preparing them for admission to the elite preparatory high school of the Leningrad Conservatory. Over that time she became one of the most esteemed teachers of young violinists in the city. Among her many students in Leningrad were Katia Borkhsenius, Olga Mardkovich, Yudif Yofah, Marina Klurfeld, and Leonid Berkovich. Decision to emigrate In April 1978, Adele Gordion, Klara's mother, died at the age of 84. This happened at a time when the Soviet Union was briefly loosening its emigration restrictions for Jews. The Berkoviches had long thought that their two boys would have greater opportunities if they started a new life elsewhere. After looking into the support available outside the Soviet Union for emigrating Jews, they decided to emigrate. To sidestep being dismissed for disloyalty, Mrs. Berkovich, with 25 years of teaching experience and eligible for a pension, quietly retired from her job in December 1978. Immediately thereafter Adam, as the head of the family, applied to emigrate with his wife and their two sons—and received the routine harangue at work before being fired. After a four-month wait in Leningrad, in March 1979 the Berkoviches obtained visas and left for Vienna, Austria. They were permitted to carry out of the Soviet Union three suitcases for their family of four. Mrs. Berkovich's violin was judged too valuable to be permitted to leave the country, so she gave it to her student Lena Ilyichova. Her son's violin, however, was deemed cheap enough to go with him. After two months in Vienna, where Jewish aid organizations assisted them, the Berkoviches traveled to a suburb of Rome, Italy, where they waited weeks more for entry visas to arrive from the United States. In Baltimore In June 1979, the Berkovich family flew to Baltimore, Maryland. Klara Berkovich and her husband were 51; their sons were 20 and 24. Her entire vocabulary in English consisted of three sentences: "My name is Klara." "I come from Leningrad." "I am a violin teacher." With no musical contacts in the Baltimore community, Mrs. Berkovich began to study English and taught violin to the children of other Soviet immigrants in the Jewish community for free. When she thought they were ready, she formed her studio into