Kuzmenko’s works demonstrate a strong affinity towards the mainstream tradition of classical music. She imbues her music with strong melodic sense, and a firm rooting in traditional, albeit extended tonal processes. She has appeared as a pianist in several countries, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, the St. Lawrence Centre, Roy Thomson Hall, and Massey Hall, as well as several other venues throughout Canada.
Larysa Kuzmenko is currently on staff at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, where she teaches piano, harmony, and composition. She is married to Canadian composer Gary Kulesha.
Christopher Plummer- Peter Oundjian, conductor
- Toronto Children's Chorus
- Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
- Christopher Plummer, narrator
The Portrait Society of Canada presented 'The Art of Canadian Music' on March 8 to April 1, 2011 at the John B. Aird Gallery in celebration with the many tributes to the March 8 Juno awards. More than 35 portraitures were showcased in a variety of contemporary portrait styles, including classical realism, impressionism, primitivism, and photo realism that captured Canadian Composers and performers by professional artists and members of the Portrait Society of Canada — the country's leading group for this art genre.
The exhibit was organized by Veronica Kvassetskaia-Tsyglan, president and founder of the Portrait Society of Canada, who has worked professionally as a portrait artist for over 25 years. Kvassetskaia-Tsyglan, who paints in the classical tradition (old masters style), contributed three paintings: Tapestry New Opera director Tom Diamond, pianist Lucas Porter, and Juno-nominated composer Larysa Kuzmenko.
“Humbled by the mystical nature of composition, both musical and literary, Kvassetskaia-Tsyglan wanted to pay homage to the art form, which is why she painted Kuzmenko.Kuzmenko's Portrait
In the painting, Kuzmenko is seated at the piano, dressed in a long black concert dress, composing. Propped up against the piano is the score for her "Memoriam for the Victims of Chernobyl," a eulogy to the 1986 Ukrainian nuclear disaster.
Shy, caught up in her world of creativity, the composer does not look up, providing a challenge for the painter.
"You have to take the music from somewhere," says Kvassetskaia-Tsyglan. "You have to invent something new. It's like being a radio station—you have to accept some radio signal from space. I have the same feeling about composing. That's why I chose a composer."
— Madalina Hubert (The Epoch Times)
Behold the Night
“Kuzmenko's new work, Behold the Night, is a two-movement setting of a pair of poems from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: "Over hill, over dale," and "Now the hungry lion roars." Scored for orchestra and children's choir, it's a harmonically conservative work – as charming and colourful as any film score by Danny Elfman or John Williams.
— Colin Eatock
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Composer, Pianist, & Conductor.
Award winning cellist.
Critcal Acclaim Pianist.
Critcal Acclaim Pianist.
Poet and Novelist,
Awarded the Order of Canada.
recording company dedicated
in promoting performing musicians.
