Ukrainian born Solomiya Ivakhiv is an accomplished concert violinist, chamber musician, collaborator, educator, and champion of new music. Concertizing internationally, her wide range of repertoire includes the premiere of numerous new works for violin.
Her solo album, Ukraine: Journey to Freedom – A Century of Classical Music for Violin and Piano, was featured in the Top 5 New Classical Releases on the iTunes billboard.
Dr. Ivakhiv showcases the poetic and rhapsodic style of Ukrainian, American, British, and French composers on her soon-to-be-released album Poems and Rhapsodies. The album includes American Rhapsody, a lyrical romance for violin and orchestra portraying the beauty of the American landscape written by Grammy winning-composer and fellow UConn professor Kenneth Fuchs.
PERFORMANCES
Dr. Ivakhiv has performed solo and chamber music at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, CBC Glenn Gould Studio, Curtis Institute Field Concert Hall, Italian Academy in New York City, Pickman Hall in Cambridge (MA), San Jose Chamber Music Society, Old First Concerts in San Francisco, Astoria Music Festival (Portland), Tchaikovsky Hall in Kyiv, Concertgebouw Mirror Hall, and at UConn’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.
She has made solo appearances with the Istanbul State Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Henderson Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hunan Symphony Orchestra in China, the AACC, and the Bach Festival Orchestra.
MASTER CLASSES AND COLLABORATIONS
A dedicated educator, Dr. Ivakhiv has conducted master classes and coached chamber music at Yale, Columbia, Penn State, the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, Boston Conservatory, Curtis SummerFest, the University of Maryland, Bard College Prep, SUNY – Fredonia, Oberlin, and Guangzhou and Hunan Conservatories (China). She regularly collaborates with high schools in outreach programs throughout the United States and is a member of the Connecticut Chapter of the American String Teachers Association.
Dr. Ivakhiv is Artistic Director of the Ukrainian Institute’s Music at the Institute (MATI) Concert Series in New York City, a position she has held since 2010. She collaborates with other musicians regularly on the series.
AWARDS
2019 Alumni Excellence Award from the Curtis Institute of Music
Silver Medal, Global Music Awards, for Ukraine: Journey of Freedom – A Century of Classical Music for Violin and Piano (2016)
University of Connecticut School of Fine Arts New Scholar Award 2016
Fritz Kreisler Gold Medal from the Curtis Institute of Music (2003)
Second Prize, Sergei Prokofiev Competition (2000)
Honorable and Mrs. Peter H.B. Frelinghuysen Fellowship (2001 Tanglewood Music Center)
Honored (Merited) Artist of Ukraine 2021
Solomiya Ivakhiv and the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
It has been my privilege and honor to have met and hosted wonderful Solomiya, whose personal warmth and verve are matched by the passion and sensitivity of her musical performance. I was introduced to her by a friend, Julie Skolnik, the founding director Mistral Music, on whose board Iris and I have served.
I was fortunate to grow up with a cultured father, who introduced me to violin performances of Heifetz, Oistrakh, and Piatigorsky. Listening to Solomiya’s interpretative artistry and beginning a friendship is wonderful.
Solomiya and Remi
She loves Remi, and over wine, we learned that we both love the concept of serendipity. When I returned home after an absence, Solomiya had positioned a vase of sunflowers in our kitchen. I realized we both treasure the presence of the vibrant flower that Ukrainians view as a symbol of peace and resilience. I learned that the national flower of Ukraine also represents renewal and hope, They have planted around the land of Chernobyl nuclear disaster. and help to extract toxins from the devastated soil.
She has already assumed her mentor's role, reaching out to invite Olli as her guest to her concerts, and I am dreaming and conspiring in my mind to create a future Carnegie Hall, Music for Life International benefit for Ukrainian refugees. I sit on their Board as their strategic Adviser.