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Draft:Khmilevska Natalia Volodymyrivna

Nataliia Khmilevska
Born(1983-10-23)October 23, 1983
Ukraine
Alma mater NMAU
Occupationsconductor, choirmaster, soprano, musicologist, cultural manager
Known forhistorically informed performance of Baroque music
Awards
  • Best Choral Conductor of the Year (2024), Infoboom – Classical Music
  • REMA Award – Heritage Project of the Year (2024), for Ukrainian Baroque: Concordacii Animos with PARTES
  • GRA-2018 Festival and Award for Dido and Aeneas

Nataliia Khmilevska (Ukrainian: Наталія Володимирівна Хмілевська; born October 23, 1983) is a Ukrainian conductor, choirmaster, soprano, musicologist, and cultural manager. She is the Music Director of the Liatoshynskyi Capella at the National House of Music of Ukraine, co-founder and artistic director of Open Opera Ukraine, and artistic director of the vocal ensemble PARTES. She specializes in historically informed performance, particularly Ukrainian and Western European Baroque music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Early life and education

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Nataliia Khmilevska studied choral conducting at the Ukrainian National Academy of Music in Kyiv, earning bachelor's and master's degrees under the supervision of Lev Venedyktov.

From 2008 to 2011, she pursued postgraduate studies at the academy's Department of Early Music. In 2013, she received a PhD in Art History for the dissertation "The Features of Renaissance Vocal Music Performance in the Condition of Ukrainian Choral Practice", published under the name Nataliia Danshyna [1].

Career

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Early career

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From 2011 to 2017, Khmilevska was founder and artistic director of the early music ensemble Vox Animae.[2] With the ensemble, she gave around 80 concerts in Ukraine and abroad and appeared at festivals including the International Easter Assembly, the Kharkiv Bach Festival, Festival Italia Barocco, and the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht.

Open Opera Ukraine

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In 2017, Khmilevska co-founded the independent cultural organisation Open Opera Ukraine[3], where she has served as artistic director since its establishment. Through the organisation, she has developed concert programmes, opera productions, educational initiatives, and research projects devoted to historically informed performance and early music.

In 2017 she served as artistic director and choirmaster for Ukraine's first independent production of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas [4]. The production toured six Ukrainian cities and won the GRA-2018 Festival and Award in the category "Best Musical Production in the Opera / Operetta / Musical Genre".

In 2019, Khmilevska was artistic director, choirmaster, and vocal coach for Open Opera Ukraine's production of George Frideric Handel's Acis and Galatea, the first fully staged production of the work in Ukraine. [5]

In 2024, she served as artistic director and supervised the vocal preparation of the semi-staged production of Purcell's King Arthur, presented by Open Opera Ukraine with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. [6]

PARTES

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In 2019, Khmilevska became artistic director of the vocal ensemble PARTES, established within the "Musica Sacra Ukraina" research and performance project initiated by Open Opera Ukraine[7]. Under her direction, the ensemble has developed into a platform dedicated to the study, performance, and revival of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Ukrainian partes, paraliturgical, and secular music. Its debut concert took place at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv in June 2019 and was broadcast on Ukrainian national television [8].

Under Khmilevska's direction, PARTES has released a series of recordings of Ukrainian Baroque music, including Musica Sacra Ukraina (2020), Ukrainian Baroque: Concordacii Animos (2023), Vnemlyte, Liudiie: Rachynskyi / Berezovskyi (2024),[9] and Berezovskyi: A Sound Anthology (2025). [10] The album Ukrainian Baroque: Concordacii Animos, dedicated to the music of Mykola Dyletsky, received the REMA Award for "Heritage Project of the Year" in 2024.

As part of the ensemble's research activities, Khmilevska has contributed to the preparation and editorial work on modern performing editions of Ukrainian Baroque music, including double-choir concertos by Maksym Berezovskyi and Andrii Rachynskyi[11][12].

PARTES has presented Ukrainian Baroque music at international festivals and professional forums, including the Utrecht Early Music Festival (2023, 2025), the REMA European Early Music Network Summit (2023), and the Stockholm Early Music Festival (2025). The ensemble has also performed in Poland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden, as well as at Saint Sophia Cathedral, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, and the Odesa National Opera.

Liatoshynskyi Capella

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Since 2026, Khmilevska has served as Music Director of the Liatoshynskyi Capella at the National House of Music of Ukraine. In this role, she oversees the artistic activities of the Capella's ensembles — Liatoshynskyi Capella: Choir, Liatoshynskyi Capella: Orchestra, and Liatoshynskyi Capella: Early Music Ensemble — working as a conductor, soprano, and curator of early music programmes.

She is co-creator of the concert programmes "Senses", "Baroque Education", and "Early Music in Museums", devoted to historically informed performance and the presentation of early music.

Under her direction, the National House of Music of Ukraine has presented performances of major vocal-orchestral works, including Handel's Messiah (2024, 2025) and Bach's St John Passion (2026). In 2024, she initiated the Christmas performance tradition of Handel's Messiah at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, which has continued in subsequent concert seasons.

In 2023, Khmilevska conducted and performed as soprano soloist in Yevhen Petrychenko's multimedia project Concerto grosso z pozytyvom, presented by the Liatoshynskyi Capella: Early Music Ensemble.[13] [14] In 2024, the programme, combining instrumental and vocal music with augmented reality elements, was presented in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Kropyvnytskyi.[15]

Educational and professional activities

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Khmilevska has conducted masterclasses in Baroque singing for students and faculty at Ukrainian music academies and universities and has participates in professional programmes devoted to historically informed performance.

From 2023 to 2025, she served as teacher, vocal coach, and conductor at the Ninth [16] and Tenth [17] International Bach Academies of the Dnipro Academy of Music.

In 2025, Khmilevska co-organised the "Weekend of Early Music. Residency"[18], a festival and educational residency held in partnership with the National House of Music of Ukraine. The programme brought leading Ukrainian ensembles specializing in the performance of music of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, alongside masterclasses and a residency programme for young musicians.

In 2025, she participated as soprano soloist in the inclusive concert project "Music of the Senses", [19] presented in Kyiv and Lviv under the direction of the Polish conductor Vincent Kozłowski. The project brought together the Liatoshynskyi Capella: Early Music Ensemble, the INSO-Lviv Orchestra, and students of Kyiv Children's Music School No. 39. Khmilevska also contributed to preparing the student participants for the performances.

In 2024, she participated in the International Visitors Programme[20] of the German federal state of North Rhine–Westphalia, an international professional exchange programme for cultural leaders focused on cultural cooperation, networking, and cultural management.

Khmilevska has also participated in masterclasses and professional training programmes at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, the Summer Academy of Music in Kraków, the Early Music Days in Hungary, the Austrian Baroque Academy, and the Urbino Early Music Days.

Baroque Amateur Choir B.A.CH.

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Since April 2018, Khmilevska has served as artistic director and conductor of the Baroque Amateur Choir B.A.CH.,[21] established by Open Opera Ukraine as Ukraine's first amateur choir dedicated to Baroque music. The ensemble, comprising more than 50 singers, participated in the online edition of the World Choir Games (Ghent–Antwerp, 2020) and, in 2021, presented Ukraine's first amateur production of Emilio de' Cavalieri's Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo (1600). The choir also gave the first Ukrainian performance of excerpts from Bach's Christmas Oratorio on period instruments at A=415 Hz.[22]

Khmilevska has conducted thematic projects with the choir, including "Dyletsky: Together", "Aeneids of the World", and "Christmas with Bach". In 2025, she conducted the first amateur semi-staged Ukrainian production of Purcell's King Arthur[23].

Discography

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  • Musica Sacra Ukraina (2020)[24]
  • Ukrainian Baroque: Concordacii Animos (2023) [25]
  • Listen to me, my people: Rachynsky/Berezovsky (2024) [26]
  • Berezovsky: A Musical Anthology of Works (2025) [27]

Awards and recognition

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  • REMA Award – "Heritage Project of the Year" (2024), awarded to the recording Ukrainian Baroque: Concordacii Animos[28]
  • Named "Best Choral Conductor of the Year" in the 2024 Infoboom – Classical Music national ranking [29]
  • The recording Listen to me, my people: Rachynsky/Berezovsky was named "Best Classical Music Release of the Year" by the Ukrainian National News Agency Ukrinform in 2024[29]

References

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  1. ↑ Даньшина Н. В. Специфіка виконання ренесансної вокальної музики в умовах вітчизняної хорової практики. Дисертація на здобуття ступеня кандидата наук
  2. ↑ Kulyk, Valentyna (2017-06-18). "Vox Animae – щоденна праця плюс любов до своєї справи". МУЗИКА (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  3. ↑ "Home | Open Opera Ukraine". website. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  4. ↑ Julia, Gozik (2017-12-05). "Барокова опера у відкритому просторі". МУЗИКА (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  5. ↑ Julia, Gozik (2019-10-16). "«Ацис і Галатея»: Сильно. Стильно. Професійно". МУЗИКА (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  6. ↑ "Легендарна опера "Король Артур" у Києві ставить питання, чи готові ми до перемоги". Українська правда. Життя (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  7. ↑ "Musica Sacra Ukraina". website. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  8. ↑ Житель града Києва: концерти Миколи Дилецького
  9. ↑ Claquers, The (2024-08-20). "«Partes» та «A cappella Leopolis» презентують віднайдені хорові концерти українських класиків". The Claquers (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  10. ↑ Golynska, Olga (2025-10-01). "Новий крок в осягненні мистецького спадку Максима Березовського". МУЗИКА (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  11. ↑ Claquers, The (2024-08-20). "«Partes» та «A cappella Leopolis» презентують віднайдені хорові концерти українських класиків". The Claquers (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  12. ↑ "Хормейстерка Наталія Хмілевська про ранню музику в Україні, музичну освіту й самоосвіту і про класика Березовського без міфів і стереотипів – DIVOCHE.MEDIA" (in Ukrainian). 2025-09-29. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  13. ↑ National House of Music 🇺🇦 (2023-10-02). Євген Петриченко. Concerto Grosso з позитивом (LIVE). Retrieved 2026-07-09 – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ "Амбівалентність почуттів у «Concerto grosso з позитивом» Євгена Петриченка". The Claquers (in Ukrainian). 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  15. ↑ Golynska, Olga (2024-09-21). "«Concerto grosso з позитивом» – проєкт композитора Євгена Петриченка". МУЗИКА (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  16. ↑ https://dk.dp.ua/event/bachakademie-2023/
  17. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/academyglinka/posts/pfbid0aifVCF8XFvKNJiikhot1htEY8H7vvQSQnNWTnz6WBypGauVeKHpq7zXgPKUGARJEl
  18. ↑ Ukraine, Music-Review. "У день міста Біла Церква відбудеться фестиваль «Вікенд давньої музики. Резиденція»". m-r.co.ua. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  19. ↑ "Проєкт «Музика чуттів». Інклюзія, безбар'єрність і багато щирості". The Claquers (in Ukrainian). 2025-10-12. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  20. ↑ "FEL!X Historical Performance Practice Festival of the Cologne Philharmonic | NRW KULTURsekretariat". NRWKultur Sekretariat. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  21. ↑ "B.A.CH. Choir".
  22. ↑ "Різдвяна ораторія Баха". SuspilneKultura (in Ukrainian).
  23. ↑ "У Києві відбулася премʼєра напівопери хору Б.А.Х, де співає Наталка Діденко". espreso.tv (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  24. ↑ Musica Sacra Ukraina
  25. ↑ Ukrainian Baroque: Concordacii Animos
  26. ↑ Listen to me, my people: Rachynsky/Berezovsky
  27. ↑ Berezovsky: A Musical Anthology of Works
  28. ↑ "REMA AWARDS | REMA". www.rema-eemn.net. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  29. 1 2 "Національний рейтинг Укрінформу «Інфобум-Класична Музика 2024» оголосив переможців". www.ukrinform.ua (in Ukrainian). 2025-01-27. Retrieved 2026-07-08.

Category:Ukrainian women conductors (music)

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