Natalia Ponomarchuk is a Ukrainian conductor, Honoured Artist of Ukraine (2001). She is a laureate of the Stefan Turchak National Conductor Competition (1998), winner of the Wheel of Fortune All-Ukrainian Open Popularity Rating in the Best Young Conductor nomination.
Natalia Ponomarchuk is among the most sought-after orchestral conductors in Ukraine. Natalia Ponomarchuk first took the conducting console of the National Symphony Orchestra during the state exam at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy, which also became her introduction to the world of professional conducting.
Ponomarchuk is a graduate of the National Music Academy of Ukraine with a degree in orchestral conducting (1997), where she studied under the guidance of Allin Vlasenko.
She is a diploma winner of the II Prokofiev International Conducting Competition (St Petersburg, 1996).
The musician frequently tours with the largest symphony orchestras in the country. For many years, she has been successfully collaborating with such ensembles as the National Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra and the INSO-Lviv Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Lviv Philharmonic.
Biography.
Born in Kyiv, she graduated from the Kyiv Music College (1988) and the National Music Academy of Ukraine (1997) as a conductor in the class of Professor A. Vlasenko.
From 1996 to 1998, she conducted the Orchestra of the National Radio Company of Ukraine, whose performances were broadcast on national radio and television channels. She also made audio and video recordings for Polish Radio.
High professional qualities and a wide repertoire earned Ponomarchuk the title of Honoured Artist of Ukraine (2001).
Since 2003, she has been the director and chief conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Dnipro Philharmonic,
From 2007 to 2009 she was the conductor of the National Ensemble of Soloists "Kyiv Camerata". She has also performed as a conductor at international festivals held in Ukraine, including Kyiv Music Fest, Kyiv Summer Music Evenings, Music of Youth, and Contrasts.
Since 2009, Ponomarchuk has also been the second conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. She often performs as a guest conductor with the Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra and the INSO-Lviv Academic Symphony Orchestra. Before moving to Dnipro, she was the artistic director and chief conductor of the Luhansk Academic Symphony Orchestra (1997-2003).
In 2012, she made her debut as a ballet conductor in Spain, presenting Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and The Nutcracker at the Royal Theatre in Madrid, the Euskaldun Conference and Concert Hall in Bilbao, and the Palacio de la Opera in La Coruña.
Career.
As a guest conductor during her European tours, she has performed in such concert halls as Teatro Real, Auditorio Nacional, Teatro Zarzuela (Madrid, Spain), Palau de la Música de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain), Teatro Colón (Coruña, Spain), Palacio de Bellas Artes de la Reina Sofía (Valencia, Spain), Conference Centre and Concert Hall (Bilbao, Spain), Cursaal (San Sebastian, Spain), Auditorio de Galicia (Santiago, Spain), Teatro Monumental (Lisbon, Portugal), Casa da Musica (Porto, Portugal), Sala Verdi Conservatorio (Milan, Italy), Congress Hall (Warsaw, Poland), Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky Hall of the Moscow State Philharmonic, and the National Theatre of Ukraine. Tchaikovsky Hall of the Moscow State Philharmonic (Russia), Megaron (Greece), Tirana Radio Symphony Orchestra (Albania).
Ponomarchuk has collaborated with many world-renowned soloists, including pianist Vadym Rudenko, cellist Oleksandr Kniazev, violinists Qian Zhou and Oleksandr Semchuk.
The geographical scope of Natalia Ponomarchuk's concert activities extends far beyond Europe. She has collaborated with the Orchestra of the Ukrainian Music Academy in Chongqing (China), the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the Ankara Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), the Michoacán Symphony Orchestra in Morelia (Mexico), and the Estado do Espirito Santo Symphony Orchestra (Brazil).
Throughout her conducting career, Ponomarchuk has made numerous audio and video recordings both in Ukraine and abroad.
Iranian composer and conductor Alexander Rahbari[en] shared his impressions of Natalia Ponomarchuk's work:
"Having listened to many professional recordings and watched various recordings of Ms Ponomarchuk, I must say that Ms Ponomarchuk is a talented and serious conductor. She has a strong potential and ability to work with a variety of repertoire and different orchestras."
Natalia Ponomarchuk has performed in such prestigious venues as the Spanish Royal Theatre, the National Music Auditorium and the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Teatro Colón in La Coruña, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Valencia, the Euskaldún Conference and Concert Hall in Bilbao, the Kursaal in San Sebastian, and the Concert Hall of Galicia in Santiago de Compostela; the Portuguese Teatro Monumental in Lisbon, the House of Music in Porto; at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, Italy, and the Warsaw Congress Hall in Poland.
"Natalia Ponomarchuk is a truly rare phenomenon. Despite her youth, she is an internationally renowned conductor. Her unique art is defined by her iron discipline, powerful energy, and the ability to penetrate deeply into the creative intent of music both past and present. Therefore, each of the contemporary Ukrainian composers strives to have their works performed by her." (Composer Yevhen Stankovych)
