Renata Sokachyk – composer

She was born in 1990 in the village of Vylok (Transcarpathian region). From 2005 to 2009, she studied at the piano department of the Uzhhorod State Music College, named after D. E. Zador (Natalia Shutko’s class). At the same time, she mastered the basics of composition in Viktor Telychko’s class. In 2014, she completed her studies at the composition faculty of the Kyiv National Music Academy of Ukraine (course of Prof. Hanna Havrylets). Later, she continued her postgraduate studies there (Department of History of World Music, academic supervisor — Prof. Larysa Nebolubova). In December 2019, she defended her scientific dissertation, having obtained the degree of Candidate of Art Studies (Ph.D.).

Renata Sokachyk’s composition includes chamber instrumental, vocal, and orchestral works. Her opuses are performed at prestigious domestic festivals by outstanding ensembles, in particular, the Academic Chamber Choir “Khreshchatyk”, the National Ensemble of Soloists “Kyiv Camerata”, the National Chamber Ensemble “Kyiv Soloists”, the Ensemble of Contemporary Music “Ricochet”, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, etc. Twice, she participated in international master classes of the contemporary music foundation of the famous Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös (Budapest, Eötvös Institute). She took consultations with prominent composers, including Gerd Kühr, Pascal Dusapin, and Toshio Hosokawa. In May 2018, the composer won first place at the “Contemporary Musical Dialogue in the Carpathian Region” competition. Her vocal-instrumental work “Radnóti-fragments” was performed in various Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia cities. In the same year, along with the works of other young Kyiv composers, Renata Sokachyk’s piece for solo violin “Samotność (ona przychodzi, kiedy jesteś sam)” was selected for the Polish-Ukrainian dialogue project “Miedzy wiekami” and performed in Poznan, Katowice and Warsaw by Ukrainian violinist Natalia Kolyada. In September 2020, the composer became a finalist in the international project “O Blissful Loss of Self” (the project of the contemporary music ensemble “Anima Vox Duo”, State of North Carolina, USA).

In addition to her creative and scientific work, the composer is also engaged in teaching. From 2011 to today, he has taught music-theoretical disciplines at the Kyiv Children’s School of Arts, named after Stefan Turchak. Since 2021, Renata Sokachyk has been a member of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine. In 2022, she became a co-founder of the festival  “Ukrainian Composers for Children”, dedicated to the memory of Hanna Havrylets.

Renata Sokachyk is a laureate of the Levko Revutskyi Prize in 2023.