Authors

Olha Kushniruk¹;  ¹ University of Cambridge, Faculty of Music, UK

Discussion

The question of integrating a composer’s national identity into a broader, international context remains highly relevant, with each case offering a distinct approach. This overview highlights the successful creative career of composer, pianist, organist, and producer Alla Sirenko (UK), who presents a clear and dynamic expression of her Ukrainian heritage. Her flexible approach to promoting her own compositions, as well as works by other Ukrainian composers, enriches the artistic exchange between Ukraine, Britain, the USA, France, Italy, and Germany, achieved through her participation in festivals and concerts.
Sirenko, born in Lviv, Ukraine, completed her studies across three conservatories: Kyiv (piano), Lviv (composition), and Tallinn (organ). Her career in Ukraine took off in the early 1990s with notable works such as the opera Verona (based on Shakespeare), Missa for string orchestra, the chamber cantata The Bells, and the vocal cycle Rose Songs. In 1992, she relocated to the UK.
Alla Sirenko’s London period began in 1999 when she and her husband moved to the capital. Her opera The Golden Penguin, premiering at London’s Royal Opera House in 2001, marked a milestone as the first opera by a Ukrainian composer performed in the UK. Sirenko continued her work as a producer and artistic director at the Ukrainian Cathedral Concert Hall in London’s Mayfair (2014–2020), where she organized a variety of notable events, including performances for young audiences, featuring musicians from the UK, Ukraine, France, the USA, and Italy. Ukrainian music was always a central component, and the concerts consistently sold out, attracting diverse audiences. This period coincided with key events leading up to the ongoing war in Ukraine, including the Revolution of Dignity, Russia's annexation of Crimea, and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. During this time, Sirenko composed The Poem for symphony orchestra (dedicated to the victims of Chernobyl and Fukushima), Ukrainian Fantasy for violin, viola, and symphony orchestra, and Requiem for a Soldier in memory of Vasyl Slipak, the Ukrainian singer and soldier killed by a Russian sniper in 2016.
In one of her recent initiatives, Sirenko established the Ukrainian Cultural Association in the United Kingdom (UCA–UK) in London in 2020 to promote Ukrainian culture, traditions, and history. As a key organizer and manager, she introduced impactful events, notably the "Spirit of Ukraine" concert series (2022–2024), which aimed to raise funds to support children’s hospitals in Lviv and Kyiv, as well as orphanages and elderly Ukrainians, in light of Russia's large-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. This tragic period in Ukraine's modern history shaped the concert programming, emphasizing themes of remembrance for the fallen and hope for Ukrainian victory. During this time, Sirenko composed Elegy for st