Bohdan Shevchenko
INSTRUCTOR
Ukrainian musician, Bohdan Shevchenko, currently based in Boston, has established himself as a versatile musician across a broad range of musical instruments and styles. As a proficient pianist, he regularly accompanies and coaches local singers, including his wife, and teaches piano, saxophone, and clarinet lessons.
“My teaching philosophy is that music should be fun, first and foremost, and accessible to anyone. I believe that everyone has something unique to say, and I strive to give my students the tools they need in order to express that.”
During his study at Longy School of Music he played with several Greater Boston area orchestras and opera companies including Boston Opera Collaborative, New England Philharmonic and Du Bois Orchestra. As a soloist, he won Dark in the Song Bassoon Performance Competition (2019), Longy’s Concerto Competition (2018), was awarded Second Prize from the Volodymyr Antonov Competition (2011) and Honorary Diplomas from VI Moscow Conservatory Competition for Wood- and Brasswinds (2014) as well as the VII Carl Maria von Weber Competition (2016). As an orchestral musician, he spent 5 years as a member of K&K Philharmoniker, an Austrian-Ukrainian professional touring orchestra based in Lviv, Ukraine. During those years, he also worked with Ensemble Nostril Temporis, Collegium Musicum Chamber Orchestra, National Radio Company of Ukraine Symphony Orchestra and I, CULTURE Orchestra. Bohdan completed his MM at the West Virginia University, and prior to WVU he studied at Longy School of Music of Bard College (Cambridge, MA), and the National Musical Academy of Ukraine.
Birthday – July 5th
Schools Attended – National Music Academy of Ukraine, Longy School of Music, West Virginia University
Instruments You Teach – Piano, Bassoon, Saxophone, Clarinet
Favorite Music to Perform – I perform wide variety of classical music and especially love baroque music
Something most people don’t know about you – I’m also a serious photographer and as of recently a dog parent
Other hobbies & interests – I love spending time with my family (wife and a Jack Russel puppy), yoga, hiking, sight reading just for fun, and taking and editing pictures
Where you were born & grew up – I was born in Dnipro Region in Ukraine. At age 12 I moved to Kyiv, Ukraine where I lived most of my life.
Heroes – I believe that every small step in life matters so I appreciate anyone who transforms the world for the best.
Practice Tips – I think the most important thing is to figure out what you want to achieve through practice. For some people it’s to prepare a piece, for others it is to have fun or to gain a solid technical foundation to build upon in the future (for most people I think it would be some mixture of those three). Knowing these goals helps the teacher to find the best practice tools and help the student clearly understand how to use those tools.