Mentors and participants of the COURSE new music composition masterclasses, which are taking place for the tenth time at the Lviv Philharmonic, met online on December 7 to present the event and get to know each other.

The art director of the masterclasses, Bohdan Sehin, gave a welcoming speech, noting that this year the event was strengthened by an international partnership with the ULYSSES platform, and is co-financed by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.

The masterclass coordinator, Dzvenyslava Safian, spoke about the schedule of activities during the first half of the program, namely:

• On January 15-25, 2025, participants will present the first sketches of the works, which will be discussed with the performers during a separately scheduled meeting during this time period.
• On February 17-22, an active phase of live master classes will take place in Lviv, where daily classes with mentors will be held. From February 19, consultations and rehearsals with performers will be added to these activities, and on February 22, at the final concert, we will hear the premieres of the participants’ works and the compositions of the mentors.
• On March 1-3, an online meeting will be held to discuss the achievements of the participants and announce the selection of the composer for a special new commission.

One of the participating composers will receive a special commission to write a new piece from the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Contrasts”, and this music will be presented in the fall of 2025 as part of the 31st edition of the festival. The decision to award this award will be made by our mentors.

Mentors from Ukraine, Poland and Germany — Alla Zagaykevych, Sławomir Wojciechowski and Luxa — congratulated the participants and wished them a successful start to their creative work.

The young authors will write a piece for the full ensemble of Ensemble Nostri Temporis, which includes Nataliia Kozhushko-Maksymiv (flute), Taras Hamar (clarinet), Andrii Pavlov (violin), Nazarii Stets (double bass) and Maksym Shadko (piano). The length of the piece should be from 7 to 9 minutes.

Olena Balyuk acted as the interpreter of the event.