Taras Filenko (born 1 October 1958) is an ethnomusicologist, teacher, and concert pianist best known for his research and dissemination of the history of Ukrainian music in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Dr. Filenko's findings are presented in his doctoral dissertation from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (1989), his second PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh (1998), and his book The World of Mykola Lysenko in English (2000) and Ukrainian (2009). A two-time recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, Dr Filenko has lectured and developed courses at academic institutions throughout Europe and North America on the classical and ethnic music cultures of Eastern Europe.
Biography.
Dr Taras Filenko, a pianist, organist and musicologist, studied music in Kyiv, Donetsk, Moscow and Pittsburgh. He received a degree in piano performance in 1982 and a PhD in music history in 1989 from the National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kyiv Conservatory). Filenko received a second doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998.
Taras Filenko was born to Dr Tamara Bulat, a world-renowned writer, and Yuriy Filenko, a cosmonaut. Dr Filenko is a recipient of Fulbright and Petesch scholarships. He has participated in numerous musicological conferences and international symposia in Belgium, France, Canada, the USA, England, Poland, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia. In 1990, Dr Filenko was invited to Edmonton, Alberta, to conduct research at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.
Since 1998, Dr Filenko has been a faculty member at the Centre for Urban Music at Duquesne University. He currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he maintains a highly regarded private piano studio.
Education.
Dr Filenko's extensive education is not limited to music. He has participated in the Carnegie Mellon University Executive Program and the US-European Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. He also holds a diploma in public administration from the Academy of Management in Ukraine.
Dr Filenko has worked for over twenty-five years in the fields of music history, ethnomusicology and music performance (piano and organ). In 1986, Dr Filenko was appointed to teach Ukrainian music, piano and piano literature courses at the National Music Academy of Ukraine. For five years he also worked as a lecturer at the Department of History of Ukrainian Music, and later as an assistant dean of the Department of Conducting and Voice for five years. He also worked as a researcher at the Institute of Ukrainian Studies at Kyiv National University.
Successfully combining the work of a scholar, teacher and performer, Filenko lectured, taught and performed all over the world. He has given concerts in England, France, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Russia, the Baltic States, Serbia, Canada, Costa Rica, and the United States. His recordings include arrangements of classical music and jazz. His concerts and media appearances often promote the work of contemporary Ukrainian composers.
Dr Filenko studied piano and musicology at the National Music Academy of Ukraine. He later received a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. Due to his unique knowledge and specialisation in the history of Ukrainian music, Taras has been invited to teach and perform at universities in England, France, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Russia, Yugoslavia, Canada, the Middle East and Asia, in addition to throughout the United States.
Publications.
In addition to his direct musical teaching, Taras has contributed to the publication of over 100 different works that "span ethnic studies, music culture, politics, ethno/historical musicology, music and poetry. His most recent work, The World of Mykola Lysenko: Ethnic Identity, Music, and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Ukraine, which provides an in-depth look at the life of Mykola Lysenko, has won numerous international awards. In 1989, Taras joined his mother in publishing and researching this book. In 2001, supplemented by UMF, the team of Filenko and Bulat finally published the book. It immediately won the Book of the Year award from the Ukrainian Publishers Association. It was also enthusiastically reviewed by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. A Ukrainian-language version is being prepared, and 2002 was declared the "Year of Mykola Lysenko" in Ukraine. At the Ukrainian Cultural and Humanitarian Institute, Taras also wrote a short Introduction to Ukrainian Classical Music.
Awards
1982 - First prize of the All-Ukrainian National Competition of Concert Artists
1983 - Baltic State Prize for Contemporary Musicians of the first degree
1985 - Prize of the Union of Ukrainian Composers for the promotion of contemporary music
1986 - First degree diploma for scientific works, International Music Conference, Baku, Azerbaijan
1994 - Fulbright Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
1996 - Yulia Petesh Scholarship in Historical Musicology
1998 - Scholarship of the Shevchenko Scientific Society
2010 - Presidential Award of the Publishers' Forum, Lviv
