Striding purposefully through the office, his whisps of gray hair floating behind him, Volodymyr Sheiko exudes the energy of a man on a mission.
Striding purposefully through the office, his whisps of gray hair floating behind him, Volodymyr Sheiko exudes the energy of a man on a mission.
As the artistic director and chief conductor of Ukraine’s leading recording orchestra – the National Radio Company of Ukraine Symphony Orchestra – as well as a Ukrainian folk orchestra, a philharmonic choir and a youth choir, Sheiko has developed a reputation as a hard worker and a hard taskmaster.
He was also granted the title of “Honored Personality of the Arts of Ukraine” in 2003.
“Vladimir Sheiko makes his orchestra play perfectly,” said classical music journalist Viktoria Muratova. “His musicians have no right to make mistakes.”
Vladimir Sheiko makes his orchestra play perfectly. His musicians have no right to make mistakes.
– Viktoria Muratova, classical music journalist
But Sheiko insists that he’s no tyrant. Instead, he focuses on balancing a busy schedule of government-programmed recordings for radio and CD as well as for commemorative events with private requests from local and international clients.
His day-to-day work is at the National Radio Company of Ukraine Recording House, a 1972 combination of faded marble grandeur and squat brick facades.
Not that you’ll find him complaining about the austere but functional recording studio that is his professional home.
With enough space for his 88-membership orchestra, philharmonic choir, 500 enraptured audience members and the mechanical equipment necessary for a quality CD or radio recording, Sheiko said it’s one of the largest recording studios in Europe, although “not very picturesque.”
Under Sheiko’s tenure alone, the room has proved its value. Orff’s Carmina Burana, Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony have all recently been given an airing in this space in south Kyiv to positive reviews.
The sound must also have international appeal given the regular requests Sheiko fields from Hollywood as well as Spanish and Italian television and cartoon programs.
Sheiko took up his position with the Radio Orchestra in August 2005 after five successful years as the chief conductor at the Kyiv Academic Operetta Theatre as well as directing his own creation, Ukraine’s first non-state symphony orchestra from 1991 to 2002.
Despite the current economic climate, the Radio Orchestra benefits from Sheiko’s international renown as he taps into his impressive contact book to call on artists to grace the Recording House’s massive stage.
Recent guests have included the Swiss conductor Silvio Weiler and Deep Purple’s John Floyd in June 2010.
Sheiko’s work has been positively received in Ukraine. According to music expert Victoria Muratova, “there is enormous interest by the Ukrainian public in classical music. Of course, the Radio Orchestra is a part of that.
The orchestra usually plays in many festivals and always meets with great success.”
International touring is a part of Sheiko’s new narrative for the Radio Orchestra. The orchestra has travelled widely since the beginning of
Sheiko’s tenure to some of Europe’s greatest concert houses across Europe.
“We’ve spent over eight months in total traveling in Spain alone,” he said. “I love it there. And I think they love us, too. Once we had 5,000 spectators come to see us perform Verdi’s Requiem in a massive hall in Zaragosa – at 11 a.m.”
They have moved further afield, too, performing in Tehran and spending a long stint in South Korea.
For the immediate future, Sheiko has two grand plans.
“The first is to use the Radio Orchestra for a ‘conducting master class,’ in which young, professional conductors are given their big break,” he explained.
Selected conductors will come to Kyiv at an impressive rate of eight every two months to work and study with the orchestra.
With the benefit of its sound and visual recording facilities, the orchestra will film the conductors over a series of weeks culminating in a gala concert during which each conductor will have 15 minutes to show their skills.
Like the classical music world’s version of the X-Factor, the orchestra members will vote for the best conductor of the series, who will then have the opportunity to make a professional recording with the Radio Orchestra.
The second grand plan sees Kyiv host a recording competition organized by the European Broadcasting Union.
Contact has already been made with talented conductors, soloists and sound recorders from across Europe who will be invited to Kyiv and will put their talents on display with the Radio Orchestra before a jury comprising famous recording houses such as Sony.
All of this is a lot to organize before the end of the year. Last month, Sheiko and his musical team recorded works for the Independence Day celebrations.
In September, the troupe regroups for the Kyiv Music Fest and moves quickly on to a series of concerts in October around Kyiv before hitting the road again in late November through to January 2012.
And for all of these missions, he’ll need every ounce of his energy and single-mindedness.
CDs on the Radio Orchestra’s own “Music Universe” label are available from Media Club at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the second line of shopping mall Globus for Hr 60. Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Kyiv Post staff writer Will Fitzgibbon can be reached at [email protected]
