Hello everyone! My name is Dmytro Kyryliv and I am a young composer and clarinetist. I have been studying in Austria for two years and it is my third year here. I am studying composition with Dirk D’Ase and clarinet with Reinhard Wieser in the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna.
Do you have any tips for other scholarship holders on how to be successful in Austria?
The most important tip is very primitive - work hard. This tip always works well and in my opinion contributes to 90% of the success, especially in Austria. Because here, hard work is appreciated and if you are persistent too, you will find and receive a lot of opportunities, or opportunities will find you. Do not be scared to try something, even if you think that it is impossible. Try every possibility that is given to you. I tried almost all competitions, opportunities etc. of which I was informed and 80% of them failed, which is normal. But the 20% in which I succeeded gave me new and much more valuable opportunities. That’s why I am trying and trying, again and again. “Seek, and ye shall find” (Luke 11:9) - this quote describes the main rule of my life. And of course, Austria is very open for people who are seeking and going forward.
What experiences have been particularly important for you so far?
There is one very funny story about seeking. There was one composition competition for Fanfare in Vienna, the piece of the winner will be performed at the Vienna Ball of Sciences 2023. I think the deadline for this piece was at the beginning of December and I saw it just a few days before on the weekend. That’s why I decided not to participate, as it was too little time and a lot of work. On Monday, I met with one of my professors and she told me to only try to write something, try a new style, just for fun. I came home in the evening and decided to compose a bit for fun, it was 2,5 hours before the deadline, a good opportunity to compose a two-minute piece for a Brass Ensemble. I was very motivated, and I do not know how, but I finished it and sent it. I was happy that I did this task, but I didn’t expect that I would win or receive something. The judging took place a few days later, and as I said I didn’t expect something, but the judge's decision was completely unexpected for me: I made it to the final round!
Funny, that sometimes fast decisions will bring you success. That’s why I am trying all possible opportunities because you never know when you will succeed. Sometimes it is when you least expect it.
What motivates or inspires you on the themes of your compositions and why did you name one of them "The Ghost of Kyiv"?
Sometimes with motivation comes inspiration. But most of all I love to create music. I could not imagine my life without music. Maybe this is my motivation.
Inspiration is an interesting thing, you will never know when it comes to you. Sometimes you are just sitting in the chair and you have powerful ideas and a lot of motivation to create it; sometimes you just have a goal (motivation) and inspiration comes during the process.
But in general, true inspiration is everywhere!
“The Ghost of Kyiv.” was composed during the first month of Russia’s war and terror against Ukraine. It was a very hard month for me and for all Ukrainians, and I needed to express all my emotions somewhere, and of course it was music. There was a hero pilot who protected Kyiv and people against missiles and his mystery name was “The Ghost of Kyiv.” We do not know if it was one person or a few of them, but the legend is about a pilot hero who protects Kyiv from the sky. That’s why I wrote a piece dedicated to him.
Why did you apply for Ernst Mach Ukraine?
I applied, because I wanted to have more possibilities and time to compose more music, develop and distribute Ukrainian music in the World, and of course create something new.
About Dmytro Kyryliv:
Dmytro Kyryliv was born on the 12th of May 2002 in Ternopil, Ukraine. He started his music education at the age of five in his hometown by the initiative of his grandmother. When Dmytro turned 11, he started to compose and fell in love with it. It was very interesting for him to express his emotions with music. His first composition and music theory teachers were Olga Drahomyretska and Natalia Didyk. They taught him all the basics he needed to continue his music education. He liked music more and more and continued his music education in Ternopil Music College. There he learned to play the clarinet with Evgeny Gayda and started his orchestration/arrangement education with Mykhaylo Viyatyk.
From 2018 to 2020 Dmytro visited Vienna regularly to take clarinet lessons with Stefan Neubauer. During the pandemic in 2020, Dmytro began online composition lessons with David Mastikosa. Dmytro recorded his debut album “Madness” with his own music in his hometown and in the same year it premiered in Vienna. In 2020, Dmytro decided to move to Vienna and continue his music education at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. He began his clarinet studies with Reinhard Wieser and Composition with Dirk D’Ase. Pieces of Dmytro were premiered with success by several orchestras, ensembles and musicians in Ukraine, Poland, Denmark, Austria and USA. From 2020 to 2022 Dmytro also performed a lot of orchestral and chamber concerts at several Viennese venues, including the Wiener Musikverein and the MUTH concert hall. He is also a winner of several international competitions in Europe and USA as a composer and clarinetist.
Links:
Video of the premiere of "The Ghost of Kyiv..."
Video of the premiere of my Rhapsody for Piano and Chamber Orchestra.