Traditionally, at the end of March every year, the annual report concert of students of the Kyiv State Music Lyceum named after M.V. Lysenko in the Column Hall of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. Usually, March concerts were timed to the birthday of the founder of Ukrainian music, after whom the lyceum is named, Mykola  Lysenko. But this year, in the conditions of prolonged military aggression towards Ukraine, the report concert is dedicated to the soldiers who protect our statehood, the right to our own language, culture, land and protect our talented children, who are forced to master performing skills in extremely difficult times of martial law. It is indicative that the children are eager to perform on stage even when there is a threat of rocket attacks, but fortunately the air raid signals did not interrupt the concert and the audience was able to enjoy the performances of the flower of the Ukrainian nation. The concert program was presented to the public by laureates of international competitions, choirs and chamber orchestra of the lyceum.

The honour of opening the concert with a performance fell to the Choir of Boys and Young Men led by the artistic director and conductor – Mariia Koval. They performed the works of Anna Havrylets and the luminaries of Ukrainian choral music – Mykola Lysenko and Mykola Leontovych. Later, the Lyceum Chamber Girls’ Choir took over the initiative, performing the works of our contemporaries – Oleksandr Rodin, Piotr Yanchak and Hanna Havrylets. Masterful preparation of the student choir with a program consisting of works by modern composers is the merit of the artistic director and conductor of the choir Yulia Puchko-Kolesnyk and the choirmaster – Vira Shemchuk. Majestic choral canvases have replaced the chamber performances of soloists – laureates of international and all-Ukrainian competitions, most of whom are students of the secondary classes of the lyceum. But despite their young age, our artists are already competing with experienced masters who conquer the stage of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine every day. We will hear their names more than once – Hanna Bodnaruk, Andrii Zahodiakin, Demian Shyian, Akim Kravchenko, Arsenii Katsaval and Vladyslav Sirash. These young performers popularize the works of Mykola Lysenko, Nestor Nyzhankivskyi, Yurii Shamo and other Ukrainian composers with their performances.

The high level of performance skills of the lyceum students is confirmed by the performance of works of world classics, which are familiar not only to professional musicians, but also to ordinary citizens. An example of such a brave performance was the performance of seventh-grade student Pavlo Ulianchenko, who performed Violin Concerto with Orchestra No. 1 “Spring” from Antonio Vivaldi’s “Seasons” cycle, accompanied by the Lyceum Chamber Orchestra. This performance charmed the listeners both with its virtuosity and the spring mood that was flying in the air on that March evening..

The final chord of the evening was Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (Part 1), performed by Savva Zolotariov, a fifth-grade student, and conducted by Honoured Artist of Ukraine Serhii Solonka. The concert written by the twenty-two-year-old composer successfully combines the classical form with the romantic challenges of the era of the first half of the 19th century. And we can overcome the challenges of modernity together by popularizing Ukrainian national art and supporting the defenders of Ukraine, thanks to whom such wonderful concerts can take place!

On March 12, 2023, a concert was held in the House of Scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine with the participation of students of the Kyiv State Music Lyceum named after M.V. Lysenko, as well as the well-known singer Iryna Bespalova-Prymak. The program of the concert, called “Love Songs”, featured works by Robert Schumann, Claude Debussy and Edvard Grieg. Lyceum  teacher Myroslava Khrypun made an opening speech. 

The first number of the concert was Sonata for cello and piano op.36 by Edvard Grieg. This piece was written by the composer in 1882-1883 and dedicated to the composer’s elder brother, the talented cellist Ion Grieg. The artistic images of the sonata, related to Norwegian folklore and imbued with subtle lyricism, were masterfully embodied on stage by students of the KSML named after M.V. Lysenko Margaryta Martiuk (cello) and Mariia Kriukova (piano). Then the audience could enjoy the singing of Iryna Bespalova-Prymak accompanied by Mariia Kriukova, who performed the Four Songs of Claude Debussy and Robert Schumann’s vocal cycle based on Heinrich Heine’s poem “Poet’s Love”. This cycle, composed in the “year of songs” (1840), represents the pinnacle of the composer’s chamber and vocal creativity. The flowering of songwriting is associated with the events of his personal life, because he was finally able to combine fate with his beloved Clara Vick. It is significant that during 1840 Robert Schumann created almost 150 chamber and vocal works, most of which are permeated with the composer’s lyrical feelings.

December 19, 2022, the department of choral conducting of the KSML named after M.V. Lysenko presented a concert for Saint Nicholas Day. The audience was presented with a programme that included the works of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian folk songs and carols performed by the creative teams of the department, namely: the Boys’ Choir of primary grades (artistic director and conductor – Iryna Tykhonova, accompanist – Tetiana Petryk) and the Boys’ and Young Men’s Choir (artistic director and conductor – Mariia Koval, accompanist – Svitlana Matviienko). Despite all the difficulties of today, our young artists and all those present were able to heal their souls with musical art and immerse themselves in the magic of Christmas traditions!