Halyna Ovcharenko facts for kids
Halyna Ovcharenko is a talented composer from Ukraine. She writes many different kinds of music, including pieces for solo instruments, orchestras, and even ballets. She has won several awards for her amazing musical works.
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Early Life and Musical Journey
Halyna Ovcharenko was born in Luhansk, Ukraine. When she was just eleven years old, she received a special scholarship. This allowed her to attend the Musical College of the Kiev State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, a school for very gifted young musicians.
At the Conservatory, she studied how to compose music with a teacher named Yurii Ishchenko until 1987. After finishing her studies there, she continued to learn about composition in Warsaw, Poland.
Teaching and Composing
Halyna Ovcharenko has shared her musical knowledge with many students. She taught composition and music theory at the Kiev State Conservatory and the Sumy Pedagogical Institute. She also gave special classes, called master classes, in composition and traditional voice performance in Poland and Serbia.
She is also the director of a folk music group called Malva. She is a member of the Union of Ukrainian Composers, which is a group for professional music creators in Ukraine.
In 1996, Halyna received a special scholarship to study for her Ph.D. in composition at the University of Bath in England. Her music includes pieces for solo piano, percussion instruments, choirs, and even full symphony orchestras. She also writes music for theatre shows and documentary films.
Award-Winning Works
Halyna Ovcharenko has created many successful musical pieces.
- In 1992, her work The Sun Scorched Mallow won first prize in the Marian and Ivanna Kotz competition. This piece was written for a choir, orchestra, solo singers, and a reciter (someone who reads a story).
- In 1995, she won the International Women Composers' Competition in Ukraine. Her winning piece was called Everlasting, written for a chamber orchestra and a group of traditional voices.
Ballets
Halyna has composed music for two ballets.
- One ballet, called The Last Battle, is based on a story by C.S. Lewis. The London Children's Ballet performed this ballet successfully in London at the Peacock Theatre and Sadler's Wells Theatre.
- Her other ballet, Kupala's Night, was chosen by the ISCM (International Society for Contemporary Music). It was performed by the Ljubljana National Opera and Ballet Theatre.
The Last Battle
The Last Battle is a ballet that was performed by the London Children's Ballet in London's West End. Critics praised Halyna Ovcharenko's music for this show.
- The Independent on Sunday newspaper said her music was "colourful" and "fierce," making it hard to believe it was a children's show.
- The Independent newspaper also highlighted her "lively, expressive score" as a key part of the ballet's success.
Awards and Recognitions
Halyna Ovcharenko has received many awards for her musical talents:
- She was recognized as a Laureate (a special award winner) at the Ukrainian National Choral Works Competition in Kiev, Ukraine (1992).
- She won a prize at the International Marian and Ivanna Kotz Competition for her work The Sun-scorched Mallow (1992).
- She was the winner of the International Women Composers Competition in Kiev (1995).
- She received scholarships from the University of Bristol and the University of Amsterdam for her studies.
- She won the Raymond Warren Prize in Music Composition at the University of Bristol twice (1998 & 1999).
- Her ballet Kupala's Night won the ISCM competition "Three World Ballets" (2002).
- She has also received awards from the PRS, the Arts Council England, and The Bliss Trust (2003, 2004).
- Her composition Invocation of Rain was shortlisted by the SPNM (Society for the Promotion of New Music) in 2004.
Her music has been performed at international festivals, including in Bucharest (2004, 2005) and at the ISCM World Music Days in Zagreb (2005). In 2014, one of her works was performed by the State Radio and Television Orchestra, conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko.
