Larysa Kuzmenko facts for kids
Larysa Kuzmenko is a talented Canadian composer and pianist who lives in Toronto, Ontario. She has even been nominated for a Juno Awards, which is a big award for music in Canada! Today, she helps teach music at two important places: The Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto.
Her Early Life
Larysa was born in Mississauga, Ontario, and grew up there. Her parents were from Ukraine. She loved music and studied it at the University of Toronto. There, she earned a special degree called a master's degree in composition, which means she learned how to create her own music.
What She Does: Her Career
Larysa Kuzmenko is a very busy composer! Many groups and organizations have asked her to write new pieces of music for them. This is called being "commissioned." Some of these groups include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Ontario Arts Council, and the Royal Canadian College of Organists.
Important Musical Works
In 2003, one of her pieces, "Impromptu and Toccata," was played for the very first time in Toronto. Later, in 2008, a cellist (someone who plays the cello) named Yamagami Kaori and a pianist named Peter Longworth performed Larysa's "Fantasy for Solo Violincello" at the University of Toronto.
One of her biggest works is an oratorio (a large musical piece for voices and orchestra) called "Golden Harvest." The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra performed it for the first time in 2016.
For Canada's 150th birthday celebration, Larysa worked with a writer from Newfoundland named Robert Chafe. Together, they created a special version of a famous piece by Brahms for a choir. The National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Shallaway Youth Choir performed this work.
Many of Larysa Kuzmenko's musical pieces have been published by a well-known company called Boosey and Hawkes. Her composition "Mysterious Summer Night" was played by Christina Petrowska Quilico and was even on her 2018 music album called Global Sirens.
Some of Her Compositions
Larysa Kuzmenko has written many different kinds of music over the years. Here are just a few examples:
- "Homeland" for piano and women's choir (1978)
- Fantasy for Band (1981)
- Concerto for Accordion (1993)
- "A Prayer" for String Orchestra (1993)
- Piano Concerto No. 1 (1996)
- "In memoriam: To the Victims of Chernobyl" (1997)
- Piano Concerto No. 2 (2000)
- Impromptu and Toccata for Brass Quintet (2003)
- "Sea Without A Shore" for Cello and Orchestra (2010)
- "Golden Harvest" an oratorio (2016)
- Piano concerto No. 3 (2019)
Source:
- Mysterious Summer's Night for piano (List D of RCM Level 8 Piano Repertoire, Sixth Edition)
