Volodymyr Sirenko

Volodymyr Sirenko was born in 1960 in the Poltava region of Ukraine. His conducting debut took place at the Kyiv Philharmonic Hall in 1983 with works by Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Boulez. In 1989, Sirenko graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory where he studied conducting with Prof. Allin Vlasenko. In 1990, he was a finalist at the International Conducting Competition in Prague. A year later, he was appointed chief conductor and artistic director of the Ukrainian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a position he held until 1999. During this period, he made more than 200 recordings that are kept in the funds of the Ukrainian Radio. Since 1999, he has been artistic director and chief conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. He has premiered many works by Ukrainian composers, including the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth symphony by Valentin Silvestrov and the Sixth symphony by Yevhen Stankovich. He has worked with many international orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic. Sirenko has performed in numerous concert halls around the world, including the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the Berliner Philharmonie, the Barbican Hall (London), Théâtre des Champs- Elysées and Opéra Comique (Paris) and Teatro La Fenice (Venice). Sirenko has received several awards in Ukraine. In 2008, for instance, he received the honorary title of People's Artist of Ukraine.