The Musical Society of Plucked Instruments 'Esmeralda' is a non profit cultural association that was created in Logroño in 1998 as an initiative to promote cultural interchange of music, song and dance with popular instruments, principally from the family of plectrum and guitar: bandurria or Spanish lute, domra, balalaika, mandolin, tambura, mandola, etc

The story of this society began when Irina Kazimirskaya , fixed her residence in Logroño and decided to maintain  close musical and cultural links with the environment she had left in Russia:  conservatoires,  Theatre of the Musical Comedy, Group Emerald, etc.  She came to Logroño for the first time 1995 to the Plectrum Festival, as a domra player of the quartet 'Musical Moment ' of Yekaterinburg (together with Tamara Volskaya, Anatoli Trofimov and Svetlana Slovey),

Interchange began 1997, inviting to a tour along La Rioja to the prestigious group Emerald from the Theatre of the Musical Comedy and performing a cycle of 7 concerts in Logroño, in Alberite and in other 5 places in the region.

In the third the initiative wears the name 'International Contest of Musical, Cultural Interchange and Popular Instruments' and other Spanish and Russian orchestras join the festival, growing the number of concerts and of villages demanding concerts..

In 2006 – 2007 Esmeralda increases organizing – management efforts inviting to the festival groups and orchestras from Venezuela, Germany, Italy, EEUU, etc. and makes a much more dense varied offer, regarding contents and musical forms, briefing of participants and the festival comes to the tenth anniversary.

Besides of the contacts maintained with Yekaterinburg, the Emerald Society  started  cooperative relations with other similar festivals in Spain: Festival City of Crystal of La Coruña, International Plucked Music Encounter of Gijön (Jovellanos Theatre), Segorbe Festival (Castellón), Plasencia (Cáceres), Alcala de Henares, etc-

 Since February 2006 Emerald is a member of the Spanish Federation of Plectrum Instruments and Guitar (FEGIP), organisation with more than 50 legally constituted orchestras and groups as associates, holding representation and defence of plucked instruments and guitar at national level.

 Through intense educational activity of Irina Kazimirskaya at  Rondallas School,  Piccolo and Saxo  Music School and private high schools, as well as supporting local  groups (Rondalla Logroñesa Paulino Fernandez)  Emerald Society is contributing  not only to maintain traditional groups  but to wake up interest for plucked instruments among young people. The fruit of this pedagogical work reflects in the creation of Young Plectrum and Guitar Orchestra of La Rioja in 2001 that is increasing steadily its number of members, as well as quality and size of its repertoire as time goes by.

 The Musical Society of Plucked instruments 'Esmeralda' has a great number of collaborators and sympathizers everywhere in La Rioja.  Thanks to common effort of institutions, musicians and artists, organizers, collaborators, municipalities, cultural associations, people of la Rioja has the chance to enjoy the chamber concerts as well as ballet o dancing performances coming from Russia every year.