Yuriy Oliynyk (1 December 1931, Ternopil - 13 September 2021, Sacramento, USA) was a pianist, composer, teacher, Ukrainian cultural figure, foreign member of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine
Biography.
Son of lawyer Oleksiy Oliynyk, brother of Oksana Oliynyk (Shkolnyk). He spent his childhood in the village of Kupchyntsi (now Koziv district, Ternopil region). He studied at gymnasiums in Ternopil and Germany (from 1944). After the forced emigration, while staying in the camps for migrants in Germany, he studied with the famous pianist and teacher Roman Savytskyi. Later, in Bavaria, his teacher was Franz Wagner.
In 1950, the family moved to the United States, where Yuri graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music (1956, Bachelor's degree) and Case Western Reserve University (1959, Master's degree). He taught piano, theory and composition at the San Francisco Conservatory (1960-1967), the University of California (1985-1987, 1990-1993), and others. He performed with his wife, bandura player Olha Herasymenko.
His repertoire includes works by Vasyl Barvinsky, Mykola Kolessa, Stanislav Liudkevych, Levko Revutsky, Roman Savytsky and others, as well as his own compositions. As a composer, he used the intonational origins of Trypillian culture. He is the author of original compositions: for bandura - sonata, toccata, rondo "Ukrainian Christmas"; a cycle of suites for bandura and piano "Four Journeys to Ukraine" (1994) - "Spring Dance", "Rye", "Colourful Autumn", "Winter Contrasts"; 4 concerts for bandura and symphony orchestra.
Chairman of the Ukrainian Heritage Preservation Society of Northern California. At his own expense, he published a reference book on the cultural life of Ukraine. Yuriy Oliynyk's author's evening was held in 1995 at the Lviv Philharmonic.
He died on 13 September 2021 in Sacramento, California.
Awards.
Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (19 October 1999): "for significant personal contribution to the development and popularisation of Ukrainian culture abroad, preservation of national art, creative initiative in organising and conducting artistic events"
Order of Merit, III class (2008): "for a significant contribution to the popularisation of Ukraine's historical and contemporary achievements in the world"
Honorary Award of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, III degree (2011): "for a significant personal contribution to the preservation and development of Ukrainian musical art, strengthening of Ukrainian-American relations, promotion of a positive image of Ukraine in the world and on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of his birth"
