Yevhen Stankovych

Yevhen Fedorovych Stankovych was born on 19 September 1942 in Szolyva, which is currently recognized as Svaliava in Ukraine.

In 1962, he began his studies in composition under Polish composer Adam Soltys at the L'viv Mykola Lysenko Conservatoire. He furthered his education from 1965 to 1970 at the Kyiv Conservatory, where he studied under notable Ukrainian composers Borys Lyatoshynsky and Myroslav Skoryk.

Since 1988, Stankovych has served as a music editor and has been a professor of composition at the Kyiv Conservatory, now known as the National Music Academy of Ukraine, since 1998. He held the position of co-chair of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine alongside Skoryk from 2004 to 2010.

In 2012, he became the patron of the Stankovych Music Instrumental competition and in 2017, he chaired the organizing committee for the All-Ukrainian Open Music Olympiad 'The Voice of The Country'.

Stankovych's oeuvre includes 12 symphonies, five ballets, one opera, various instrumental concertos, film scores, and chamber music.

Notably, he composed a ballet inspired by the life of Princess Olga. His folk-opera 'When the Fern Blooms' is recognized as the first modern work of its kind, originally written in the 1970s but suppressed by Soviet authorities until its premiere in 2011.

Stankovych has received several prestigious awards and honors for his contributions to music, including the title of Hero of Ukraine in 2008.

He was awarded the Shevchenko National Prize in 1977 and received the Order of Friendship of Peoples and the Medal 'For Labour Valour' during the Soviet era.