Oleh Oleksandrovych Martsynkivskyi (* 2 July 1949, Poltava) is a Ukrainian composer and singer, Honoured Artist of Ukraine in 1996, and People's Artist of Ukraine since September 2010.
He was born into a family of singers. After graduating from school, he entered the Mykola Lysenko Poltava Music College, where he studied singing and choral conducting with teachers V. Openko, H. Karchevska, and N. Sheiko.
In 1970, he created the "Oksamyt" ensemble at the Poltava City House of Culture.
He continued his studies of vocal and composition at the Chisinau Institute of Arts - in the class of A. Azrikan, F. Anikeev and G. Bashtan. After graduation, he worked as a soloist in the variety and symphony orchestra of the Radio and Television of Moldova.
In 1980, he became the founder and artistic director of the Medobory Ensemble at the Ternopil Regional Philharmonic. Under his direction, the ensemble took 1st place at the All-Ukrainian Competition "Young Voices" (Ternopil, 1981) and 2nd place at the All-Union International Competition "Crimean Dawns" (Yalta, 1981).
In 1984, he began his solo career as a solo vocalist with Ukrconcert. He created the following thematic programmes
"History of kobzarism in Ukraine",
"Classical Ukrainian Romance",
"Songs of the World".
In 1985, he took 1st place at the All-Ukrainian competition of pop artists.
In 1992, he worked as a soloist of the creative organisation "Kyivshchyna" at the Regional Department of Culture of the Kyiv Region. In 1992, he took part in the Slavic Bazaar Festival.
From 2002 to 2005 he taught at the National University of Culture and Arts at the Department of Solo Singing.
In 2005, he created a new line-up of the Medobory, and presented the artistic renaissance project Three Roads.
In 2007, he was awarded the medal of the Ternopil Regional Administration "Honour and Glory of Ternopil".
From 2007 to 2019, he was the chairman of the jury and a member of the executive board of the International Contest-Festival of Creativity "We are all your children, Ukraine!"
He has written many children's songs. Among them - "I live in Ukraine" based on the poem by O. Kononenko / 1st prize at the international Schoolovision competition in 2016/, "My Planet Earth" based on the poem by O. Kononenko / 2nd prize at the international Schoolovision competition in 2017/. The songs "Language" based on O. Kononenko's poems, "Young Guard" and "Peace to the World" based on her own poems and many others have also become well-known and favourite songs among children.
From 2015 to 2016, he worked again as a lecturer of pop singing at the National University of Culture and Arts at the Department of Solo Singing.
Since 2016, he has been working as a professor of academic vocals at the Department of Academic and Pop Vocals at the Borys Grinchenko Institute of Arts of the Kyiv University.
Creative activity
His creative work includes world and Ukrainian classics, more than 150 folk songs, kobzar dumas, ballads, modern songs, and more than 100 of his own compositions.
His songs have become particularly well known:
"I love only you", lyrics by S. Halabarda
"Star-Ukraine", lyrics by S. Halyabarda
"And storks fly to Ukraine", lyrics by S. Halyabarda
"Who are you, Ukraine?" lyrics by S. Halyabarda,
"My Dawn" and "Song of the Kobzar" - based on poems by B. Kharytonov,
"In the Temple of Love", "Guilt" - based on poems by M. Lukiv,
"Slave of Grey Sorrow" - based on poems by M. Tkach.
"Pan Stepan" based on poems by I. Koval
"Lullaby for Mum" based on his own poems
Hymn of Love" poems by N. Bahmut
The repertoire of his academic works is quite extensive.
Among them, the most applauded are the most popular: Canio's recitative and arioso from R. Leoncovallo's opera "Pagliacci"
Cavaradossi's second aria from Puccini's opera Tosca
"Be my love" by N. Brodsky
"Granada" by A. Lara
"Passione" - N. Valente and E. Tagliaferri
Romance "An Interesting Night" by O. Romaniv
"Let the wind blow to the Ukraine" by S. Rudansky
Nemorino's aria from the opera "Love Drink" by G. Donizetti
Since 2010, he has been collaborating with the leading soloists of the National Opera, Honoured Artist of Ukraine I. Semenenko, People's Artist of Ukraine Anzhelina Shvachka and Honoured Artist of Ukraine Susanna Chakhoyan. Many duets have been recorded with them. Among them are "Prayer" by Carole Bayer and David Foster, "The Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber, "Amigos para siempre" by Andrew Lloyd Webber and others.
