In 1979, this one of the leading musical ensembles of Ukraine was established as the State Wind Orchestra on the initiative of the Union of Composers of Ukraine. Now, in our country, it still is the first and only civilian brass band of such level and status.
The first Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the orchestra was a known Ukrainian conductor, an enthusiast of wind music, People's Artist of Ukraine Vasyl Okhrimenko. Today Mykhaylo Moroz is the artistic leader of the team.
The foundation of the State Brass Band was intended to enrich the artistic palette of national culture, to promote the best examples of classical music heritage, to develop the academic genre of wind music in Ukraine.
The Band is a kind of creative laboratory for composers of Ukraine and to some extent - methodical center of the wind music in the country. The team repeatedly has participated in the plenary sessions of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine performing original works specially written for Band.
The basis of the Band repertoire consists of works of world classical music composed by Bach, Beethoven, Verdi, Wagner, J.Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Khachaturian, Shostakovich, Schedrin, Sviridov. Considerable part of its concert programs is presented by Ukrainian music – by works of Lysenko, Stetsenko, Lyatoshynsky, Shamo, Skoryk and many others. For the first time in Ukraine, Band performed Masses for chorus and wind by Bruckner and Stravinsky, compositions for brass band by composers of the XX-XXI centuries: Hindemith, Read, It was the National Symphonic Band of Ukraine that, for the first time in its genre, gave concert performances of operas: "The Poet" by Ukrainian composer Levko Kolodub (about the national prophet Taras Shevchenko), and the comic opera "The Spanish Hour" by Maurice Ravel.
In its active concert repertoire the Band presents all musical genres - from Baroque music to Jazz pieces. Series of concerts are dedicated to symphonic and operatic music of classical composers arranged for symphonic band. So, the Series "Musical Portraits" offers monographic programs of music by Bach, J.Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Shostakovich, Gershwin, Bernstein, Morricone, Williams etc. In addition, with the same success, the Band performs music from classic operettas, popular works of classical music and traditional repertoire for brass bands performed in the open air, famous film music, classical jazz standards and musical hits. Genre diversity of concerts is perhaps the most characteristic feature of creative collective face that highlights its artistic uniqueness.
The Band has a rich creative biography. During its existence, the Band was and is a regular participant of many significant events of cultural and artistic life of Ukraine. They were prestigious music festivals, art festivals and celebrations. Many times it successfully represented national musical art abroad by taking part in festivals of wind music in the Netherlands and in Germany.
In 2004 the Band obtained the Academic status for its performing mastery. The same year, the first CD of live recordings of the State Academic Brass Band of Ukraine was published.
In 2008 the Band obtained the highest artistic status in Ukraine for its significant creative achievements. According to the Decree of the President of Ukraine it became the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine.
Leading Ukrainian soloists-vocalists: People's Artists of Ukraine Svitlana Dobronravova, Valeriy Buymister, Femi Mustafayev, Ivan Popovych, Gregoriy Garkusha, Oleksandr Vasylenko; honored artists of Ukraine Lyudmyla Davymuka, Yuriy Oliynyk, Irina Zyabchenko, Irena Zakharko, Galyna Titova, Elizaveta Lipityuk, Valentyna Matiushenko; laureates and diploma winners of international competitions Sergiy Bortko, Anatoliy Yurchenko, Dmytro Ivanchenko, Tamara Khodakova, Dmytro Kostenko – all of them collaborate actively with the Band.
The Band has successful experience of concert performances with soloists-instrumentalists, including the Honored Artist of Ukraine Yuriy Kot (piano), winners of international piano competitions Olena Voronova and Antoniy Baryshevsky; Andriy Ilkiv (trumpet), an American of Korean origin Grace O (piano), the world-famous - Canadian Richard Stewart (trumpet), Norwegian Oysten Baadsvik (tuba), French Bastien Boma (euphonium), American pianist David Witten. As conductors of the orchestra appeared: a member of the National Association of Conductors of Netherlands Bert Langeler, Professor of University in Toronto Stephen Shenett (Canada), famous Ukrainian conductor, People's Artist of Ukraine Ivan Gamkalo, Honored Artist of Ukraine Victoria Zhadko, Honored Artists of Ukraine Dmytro Antoniuk and Gennadiy Grygoriev, conductors Andriy Kibita, Petro Tovstukha.
National Academic Symphonic Band repeatedly appears with various concert programs on stage of the Lysenko Concert Hall of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, at the other known concert venues in the capital of Ukraine. Since 2002, during every its season, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine includes a special subscription with concerts-lectures of our Band for schoolchildren in Kyiv.
The possibility to hear well-known pieces of music arrenged for wind instruments is attractive for growing number of listeners that is certified by full houses during concerts of the Band in the city of Kyiv and during the team tours in various regions of Ukraine and abroad.
Today the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine, which unites talented creative young people, have great professional potential. It is in a constant state of creative search and is ready to reach new heights of development one of the oldest and most democratic genres of music - brass music - in Ukraine.
