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Larysa Kuzmenko facts for kids

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Larysa Kuzmenko (born in 1956) is a talented Canadian musician. She is a composer, which means she writes music, and a pianist, who plays the piano. She lives in Toronto, Ontario. She also teaches music at important schools like The Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto. She has even been nominated for a Juno Awards, which are big music awards in Canada!

Her Early Life

Larysa grew up in Mississauga, Ontario. Her parents were from Ukraine. She loved music from a young age. She went to the University of Toronto to study music. There, she earned a special degree in composing music.

Her Music Career

Many groups and organizations have asked Larysa Kuzmenko to write music for them. This is called being "commissioned." Some of these groups include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the Ontario Arts Council.

In 2003, one of her pieces, "Impromptu and Toccata," was played for the first time in Toronto. Later, in 2008, a cellist named Yamagami Kaori and a pianist named Peter Longworth performed her piece "Fantasy for Solo Violincello" at the University of Toronto.

Larysa also wrote a big musical story called an "oratorio" called "Golden Harvest." The Winnipeg Symphony played it for the first time in 2016. For Canada's 150th birthday, she worked with a writer from Newfoundland, Robert Chafe. They created a special song for choirs based on music by Brahms. The National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Shallaway Youth Choir performed this piece.

Many of Larysa Kuzmenko's musical works are published by a company called Boosey and Hawkes. Her piece "Mysterious Summer Night" was played by Christina Petrowska Quilico. This performance was included on Christina's 2018 music album, Global Sirens.

Some of Her Compositions

Here are some of the musical pieces Larysa Kuzmenko has written:

  • "Homeland" for piano and women's choir (1978)
  • Elegy and Song for Flute, Vibraphone, Harp, and Soprano (1978–79)
  • Fantasy for Band (1981)
  • Concertino for Vibraphone and Marimba with Orchestra (1986–87)
  • Sonata for Cello and Piano, "A Dream Within A Dream" (1992)
  • Concerto for Accordion (1993)
  • "A Prayer" for String Orchestra (1993)
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 (1996)
  • "Suite of Dances" for flute, cello and piano (1997)
  • "In memoriam: To the Victims of Chernobyl" (1997)
  • Concertino for Organ and Strings (1998)
  • "Lilith, for String Quartet with English Horn (2000)
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 (2000)
  • Capriccio for string quartet, percussion, and flute (2002)
  • Impromptu and Toccata for Brass Quintet (2003)
  • "Sea Without A Shore" for Cello and Orchestra (2010)
  • "Fantasy" for cello (2008)
  • "Polynia" for piano, violin, and basset horn (Premiered 2010)
  • "Behold the Night" for youth choir (2011)
  • Metropolis Overture (2014)
  • "Diabolic Dance" and "Mysterious Summer's Night" for piano (2014)
  • "Golden Harvest" an oratorio (2016)
  • 3 Ukrainian-themed songs (Premiered 2017)
  • Piano concerto No. 3 (2019)

Source:

  • Mysterious Summer's Night for piano (List D of RCM Level 8 Piano Repertoire, Sixth Edition)
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