Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts


Kharkiv National University of Arts named after I. P. Kotlyarevsky is the leading music and drama institution of higher education in Ukraine. The university trains about 900 undergraduates, graduates and postgraduates in music and theatre art. It enjoys Level IV accreditation, which is the highest under Ukraine's national standards, and is licensed to train foreign students.

History

The roots of the University can be traced back to the Musical classes opened in 1871 under the aegis of Kharkiv branch of the Russian Imperial Music Society. Kharkiv Conservatory was established in 1917, a result of professional music education development in Kharkiv. Prominent among those who stood at the origins of the conservatory were P. Tchaikovsky, O. Glazunov, I. Slatin. The conservatory was several times renamed. Since 1920 it was known as Music Academy, but in 1923 with the opening of theatre major the academy was turned into the Institute of Music and Drama, and later into Kharkiv State Conservatory and Institute of Arts. All these names reflect the search for the most optimal model of artistic education.
In 2004 the institute was awarded the university status and the highest Level IV accreditation. That was another step into the future; it confirmed integration into the European system of education and contributed to the strengthening of the university's international credibility. On the occasion of its 90th anniversary the University was awarded the Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministry of Ukraine and a gold medal of the Academy of Arts of Ukraine. In 2011 it was given the status of National importance.

Directors and Rectors

The university occupies two buildings: Conservatory and Theatre Department.
Conservatory, the main building, houses three halls, an opera studio, practice rooms, lecture rooms, a computer class and administrative offices. The building also has a library with about 240 000 depository items; a record and video library with more than 15000 records on CDs and DVDs, audio and video cassettes and vinyl records; an educational folklore laboratory created with the aim to collect, explore and preserve traditional music artefacts of Sloboda Ukraine.
Theatre Department is a smaller building which includes a big auditorium for drama performances, a small auditorium for puppet performances, rehearsal rooms, lecture rooms, dance rooms, a library, and a puppet's work-room.

Courses/Programs

Kharkiv National I. P. Kotlyarevsky University of Arts offers preparatory courses majoring in academic singing and theatre art as well as full-time and part-time courses for BA and MA degrees in Music Art and Theatre Art. The undergraduate degree programs take four years and the graduate degree programs – 1 year
Academic majors are piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, folk instruments, variety arts and jazz, composition, orchestral and choral conducting, organ, percussion, academic singing, musicology, theatre studies, drama and cinema acting, stage directing, acting and directing of the theatre of animation.

Admissions

Admission into the university is by a live audition and interview. To get master's degree foreign students must defend a qualification paper, and take an exam in Ukrainian language.

Structure

Faculty of Musicology and Performance

The Faculty of Musicology and Performance has rich professional traditions followed by its leading specialists in the field of musicology, composition and performance.
Degree-Granting Departments:
The Orchestra Faculty established by a prominent musician and cultural professional I.І. Statin offers educational opportunities in performance studies to help students develop their creativity and to prepare them for careers in music.
Degree-Granting Departments:
Theatre education provided by Kharkiv National University of Arts has always been very prestigious. Its deep long-standing traditions took shape under the influence of L. Kurbas, I. Maryanenko, D. Antonovich, M. Krushelnytsky, V. Afanasyev, A. Pletnyov and A. Gorbenko and many other famous coryphaei of theatre art. Notable alumni of the faculty work all over the world including Kiev, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Degree-Granting Departments:
The Postgraduate Studies Office opened in 1993 in Kharkiv State I.P. Kotlyarevsky University of Arts provides training in speciality 17.00.03 - "Music Art" and postgraduate internship course in specialities 17.00.03 - "Music Art" and 17.00.02 - "Theater Art". In 2008 I.P. Kotlyarevsky University of Arts opened a Centre for Doctoral Training.
University postgraduate internship centre is a real school of performing and teaching skills. Some postgraduate internship trainees are engaged in research work. During the study they take PhD exams, participate in research conferences and after completing the postgraduate course program they get an additional year to get ready for the thesis defense.
Duration of study at the Postgraduate Studies Department is 4 years, post-graduate internship department – 2 years.
The University offers internship in higher education institutions of Poland.

Performing ensembles and companies

Kharkiv University of Arts has a variety of student performance ensembles.
Kharkiv University of Arts actively establishes partnerships with the main educational institutions all over the world. It actively participates in international collaboration with arts schools in Cincinnati, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Naples, Geneva, Helsinki, Brussels, Lublin, Vancouver, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don as well as music colleges of Spain and drama schools of Poland, France, Russia, etc. Besides, the University maintains active partnerships with Goethe-Institute in Ukraine, French Cultural Center, Consulate General of Poland and Russia, Austrian and Swiss Embassies in Ukraine, British Council, and Rotary Clubs. It has formalized partnership agreements with universities of Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland and China. Concert tours, workshops and research symposia are arranged within these agreements. Such renowned musicians as Sergei Krivonos, Krzysztof Penderecki, Grzegorz Syerochynsky, Timothy Reynish, Burkhard Rempe, and Volodymyr Lukashev are honourable Doctors of Kharkov National I. P. Kotlyarevsky University of Arts.

Professors