Ihor Ivanovych Pron (1942-1984) was born in the village of Stare Selo, Lubachiv district. Ryashiv district (Poland) - conductor, composer, teacher, public figure.
He was born into a large family of middle-class peasants. From an early age, Igor Ivanovich was surrounded by song. His mother Maria Mykhailivna Napora had a voice of extraordinary beauty. Eventually, the whole family was singing. The family was involved in the education and upbringing of children from an early age. This atmosphere had a positive impact on the little boy's musical talent and instilled in him a lifelong love for his native song and his native land.
During Operation Vistula, the Pron family was deported to Ukraine to the village of Mykhalche, Horodenka district, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Here, Ihor received a general education, and his first music teacher was his uncle Ivan Napora. Until the seventh grade, Ihor Pron studied in his village, and continued his education at school No. 1, Horodenka, where he also studied violin with teacher Simko.
In 1962, Ihor Ivanovych graduated from the Lviv Music and Pedagogical College, where he began to study music more professionally. After graduating from this educational institution, Ihor Pron worked as a head teacher at the Shumsk Music School, taught at the Brody Pedagogical School, and directed the RBC Choir. While studying at the pedagogical school, he met his future wife Maria Smush, whom he married in July 1963.
He worked at Brody and Kremenets pedagogical colleges, Shumsk Music School, Kremenets RBC, and Ternopil Pedagogical Institute.
During his teaching career, Ihor founded and gave birth to a number of artistic groups. Among them: the Kremin male vocal quartet and the Husliari folklore ensemble at the Kremenets Regional House of Culture, and the choir of medical workers at the Kremenets District Hospital. During his career, he worked as an artistic director and conductor of the choirs of Lviv Polytechnic and Ternopil Pedagogical Institute.
Pron proved himself not only as a conductor but also as an amateur composer. He has composed a number of works to the words of I. Blazhkevych, Demkiv, and Pavlychko. He is the author of arrangements of folk songs and arrangements, siphonic choral works, works for choir and orchestra of folk instruments. In addition to his creative work, Ihor Ivanovych was a scholar, working on his PhD thesis in choral conducting. He is the author of many programs in special music disciplines and specialized art courses.
Studying at the conservatory
In 1965, in order to improve his educational level, conducting skills and develop his musical talent, Ihor Ivanovych entered the conducting faculty of the Lysenko Lviv State Conservatory, where he could obtain a professional musical education. Here he plunged into the world of choral music and conducting. М
His mentors and teachers at the conservatory were S. Liudkevych, M. Kolessa, A. Kos-Anatolsky, and Y. Vakhniak. Scrupulously studying music-theoretical subjects, music history, and practicing conducting skills, Ihor Ivanovych was able to fully develop his talent as an original composer. At the same time, he became interested in researching the work of the composer M. Koliada, which formed the basis for his thesis.
Head of the choir of the Ternopil Pedagogical Institute.
In 1964, he began working at the Kremenets Pedagogical Institute as a director of the choir and amateur performances. Having intensified the cultural and artistic life of the groups, the conductor gave them a new life, and in the same year the choir of the Kremenets Pedagogical Institute took part in the republican festival dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Shevchenko's birth. For the first time, it became a diploma winner of the regional festival, and its repertoire included such works as "The Sun Goes Down" by by Razdolsky, "Hear, My Brother" by Stetsenko, "Song of Happiness" by Tsehlyar, and "Testament" by Revutsky.
A year later, he changed his job, but 10 years later he became the director of the choir of this educational institution in Ternopil.
The choir of the Ternopil Pedagogical Institute under the direction of Pron, as well as other groups he created, has repeatedly participated in festive events of the institute, the city and the region, republican and all-Union amateur festivals. Among them: the Brest Spring Festival, conferences, and places of military glory. At the All-Union Festival of Amateur Artistic Creativity, the team was awarded a first-degree diploma. In 1974, the choir won a silver medal at a festival in Bulgaria.
Due to the political situation in those days, choirs were forced to perform nomenclature music, which was obligatory at every performance or concert. However, despite this, the repertoire of the Ternopil Pedagogical Institute's choir was replenished with gems of world and national music: "Evening Song" by G. Purcell, "And the Battle Continues Again" by O. Pakhmutova, Bulgarian folk song "Hubava si my goro", Latvian folk song "Viy, vetere", "Serenade" by S. Taneyev, "Cherry Orchard near the House" by A. Vakhnanyn, "Magic Violin" by I. Poklad, "Spinning Wheel" by M. Leontovych.
Kremenets period of life
The activity of Ihor Ivanovych Pron at the Kremenets District House of Culture deserves special attention. In Kremenets, Ihor Ivanovych also created a choir of medical workers at the district hospital. He composed several original works for the choir: "Our Doctor" based on the lyrics by A. Zelinsky, "The Pine Tree". O. Zelinsky, "Song about Kremenets" on the words of P. Yemets. P. Yemets.
Raising the national culture to a new level of development, the original and unique for that time ensemble "Husliari" and the male vocal quartet "Kremin", an octet, and other small forms were created. Correspondent Tytarchuk wrote in the newspaper "The Banner of Victory" on August 14, 1971: "Perhaps few people in Kremenchuk have not heard the performance of the Kremin male vocal quartet, which has already become a favorite of many song fans. Ihor Pron, Yevhen Lirskyi, Mykola Sapiga, and Anatolii Brodin have proven themselves to be excellent performers.
Over the two years of its existence, the quartet has participated in more than 180 concerts. It is known in Ternopil, Zalozhtsi, Belarus, and Volyn. Our "Kremin" visited the village of Kolodyazhne and sang the famous song by composer M. Leontovych "Kozak is being carried away" at the grave of L. Ukrainka. Those who have attended the quartet's concerts will definitely want to come back for more. Wherever the quartet performs, it is always a great success. It is rewarded with thunderous applause, and people express their wishes for new successes in their creative work."
Scientific and pedagogical activity
A senior lecturer at the Department of Music and Fine Arts, signed by Rector Butnytskyi (1984), characterizes Pronya as follows:
"During his work, he proved to be a highly qualified teacher of music and choral disciplines, a researcher of choral art, a talented conductor, an amateur composer, and a skillful organizer of the educational process. He developed the texts of lectures and prepared methodological developments for students in the courses "Methods of Music Education", "Choral Studies", "Choir Class and Workshop with the Choir", and "Conducting". He is proactive in his work, honest, morally stable, enjoys authority and respect among the team."
Pronya's scientific self-improvement consisted of working on the dissertation "Choral Art as the Basis of Musical Training of Students of the Faculty of Vocational Education and Training with an Additional Specialty in Music". The results of research on the topic were presented at the Republican Scientific Conference in Mykolaiv and at the All-Union Conference in Minsk.
He published abstracts, draft programs for the courses "Choir Class and Workshop on Working with the Choir", "Conducting", "Special Instrument" (accordion, piano). He created a new curriculum for music disciplines for the faculties of the Vocational Education and Training College with an additional specialty in music. Pron had active creative relationships with Anatolii Avdiievskyi and Nina Matvienko.
He was a composer.
Working with amateur and professional choirs, Ihor Pron actively popularized folk songs. As an original composer, he wrote a number of songs based on the words of I. Blazhkevych, B. Demkiv, and D. Pavlychko, as well as arrangements of choral folk songs and arrangements, including "Oh, You Flint Pea," "Oh, You Horse, Gray Horse," and "The Mother Went to the High Mountain."
The score of the symphonic and choral poem "Haidamaky" remained unfinished. There is a large number of original compositions based on texts by local authors. Ihor Ivanovych was infinitely fond of the Kremenets region, to which he dedicated several of his works.
