Leonid Sandulenko (*19 August 1956, Kyiv) is a Ukrainian singer. People's Artist of Ukraine (2000).
Biography and creative activity
Leonid Sandulenko was born on 19 August 1956 in Kyiv into a large Roma family. His father was a performer of world dances, and his mother was engaged in the upbringing of children. In the early 1960s, his older brother Borys was called the local Roberto Loretti, but he stopped singing after he developed a voice mutation. Leonid, who started singing at the age of six, became a famous singer, the first Roma to be awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine.
He graduated from the Mykola Lysenko Kyiv Music School (conducting and choral department) and the Kyiv State Conservatory.
While studying, he sang in restaurants in the evenings. He worked at the Kyiv Music Hall and toured with the family ensemble Gilya Roma (Gypsy Songs), which he created, throughout the former USSR.
Later, he became a soloist of the Kyiv Military District Ensemble, where he was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Ukraine, and after a while - a leading soloist of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, where he was awarded the title of People's Artist (2000). Winner of the Mykola Lysenko International Literary and Art Prize "Rhapsody" (Ukraine, 2020)[3]. Winner of the Vasyl Symonenko International Ukrainian Song Prize (Kyiv, 2021).
The singer's repertoire includes Ukrainian, Russian and gypsy songs, romances, classical and original works, domestic and foreign hits. He has performed in the United States, Canada, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany, singing songs in English, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew.
He considers the legendary Mykola Slichenko to be his godfather, and his wife Tamara to be his guardian angel. He has adult children: son Mykhailo and daughter Oleksandra.
Albums
The Well of Love (2003)
The police with the people (2005)
Let's defend Ukraine (2006)
Police of Ukraine. 15 years (2006)
On guard of law and order (2007)
20 years of the Internal Affairs Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (2007)
Professional CD "Soul of a Gypsy" (2008)
CD "With Earthly Dews".
Songs
Light the fire (lyrics by V. Kryshchenko / music by O. Morgun)
The Oath to Ukraine (lyrics by V. Melnikov, music by V. Melnikov, O. Burmytskyi). The lyrics of the song "Oath to Ukraine" have been translated into all official languages of the UN, OSCE and many other languages, including Greek, Latvian, Spanish, Italian and others
Love forgives everything (lyrics by O. Sharvarka / music by Y. Peresunka)
Wells of love (lyrics by O. Sharvarka, music by Y. Peresunka)
My native land (lyrics by V. Kryshchenko / music by L. Nechyporuk)
May night (lyrics by O. Sharvarka / music by Y. Peresunka)
Tamarochka (lyrics by R. Talsky / music by V. Melnikov)
Hello, relatives! (lyrics by Serhiy Dziuba, music by Borys Radenko)
The holiday advisor (lyrics by Serhiy Dziuba, music by Borys Radenko)
Snow (lyrics by Andriy Demydenko, music by Borys Radenko)
