DMYTRO HUB'YAK
Biography. Dmytro HUBJAK (pronounced whobyak) was born in Terebovlya, Ukraine on March 18, 1982. In 1990, at the age of eight, he became a member of the childrens’ bandura studio “Kobzaryk” which had been founded and sponsored by the adult Strusivsky Bandura Ensemble named “Kobzar”. In the Spring of 1995, at the All Ukrainian Competition for young bandurists held in Poltava (dedicated to the memory of Volodomyr Kabachok – a leading figure in the art of playing bandura), Dmytro Hubjak was awarded first place from 52 other participants and commended a special Grand Prix for performance. The following year, under the sponsorship of the Ukrainian Cultural Fund, another competition was held in the city of Myrhorod entitled “New Names-Ukraine 1996”. Again, Dmytro came away with “Laureate” together with a nominal stipendiary. Following these successes, Dmytro diversified his talents by composing music for the bandura. In 1997, taking an active part in the Oblast (County) Competitions for young composers, he enhanced his already prestigious reputation by winning Premier Awards for his first compositions, namely: Resonances from History Golden Autumn Roksolana “Why is life so hard?” – music to the words of Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko. During the same year (and still only fifteen), Dmytro represented Ukraine at International level. At the “Young Prince-97” held in Bucharest, Romania and at the “Bohdanovych Festival” held in Hrodno, Belarus, he attained the awards of Laureate and Diplomant (Honorary Musician). In April 2003, Dmytro was awarded with Laureate first prize at the National Bandura Congress (named after Hryhorij Kytasty) held in the capital city of Kyiv. Over the next three years, Dmytro managed to combine his post-graduate studies at the Lviv National Musical Conservatory with small tours to France, Germany and Poland. In November of 2006 he finished his studies (Faculty of Performance) under the guidance of renowned professor Vasyl Herasymenko. In November 2009, Dmytro Hubjak was bestowed with the honour - “Merited Artiste of Ukraine” by President Yuschenko. Currently, Dmytro is a lecturer at the Kremenets Pedagogical Institute and at the Ternopil College of Music.