Two faculty members from the College of Charleston Department of Music, cellist Natalia Khoma and pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky, are featured soloists in the U.S. tour of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (NSOU) that launched this month.
Formed by the Council of Ministers of Ukraine in November of 1918, the NSOU is considered to be one of the finest symphony orchestras in Eastern Europe and has performed in successful concert tours throughout the world.
“It is our honor and a privilege to be invited to perform as soloists in this tour. It is definitely one of the highlights of our musical careers,” says Khoma, associate professor of music. “Our collective impact as musical ambassadors from the College of Charleston will enhance the international reputation of the College and its Department of Music.”
Hailing from Ukraine, both Vynnytsky and Khoma, who are a couple, are honorary professors at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, otherwise known as the Kiev Conservatory, as well as Lviv State Academy of Music and the Odessa State Music Academy. They have made a name for themselves as “solo soulmates.”
According to a review in Dzerkalo Tyzhnya (Kiev, Ukraine), “the Khoma-Vynnytsky duo epitomizes elegance of execution, virtuosic technique, a sense of internal drama, and the merging of two artists playing as one.” Says Thys Odendaal of Die Beeld (Pretoria, South Africa): ”Without doubt Khoma and Vynnytsky are soloists in their own right, but their individual qualities are slightly set aside when they make music together: surely soulmates, firm and stylish in their approach to Beethoven, Chopin, Shostakovich and Cassado.”
Their tour with NSOU is represented and managed by Columbia Artists, a global leader in arts management.
