Creative activity by G. Kkunkin in the context of the development of the military brass band’s culture of the Chernihiv region

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the activities of the military musician, conductor of the brass band of the Chernihiv Higher Military Aviation College of Pilots, one of the founders of the modern orchestral culture of the Chernihiv region, Major Gryhory Borysovych Kunkin (1927–2009) in the context of the development of military music of Chernihiv region, his contribution to the formation of regional cultural space of the second half of 20th century. The author examines the life of G. Kunkin against the background of the development of the military-musical performance of the Chernihiv region. The methodology is based on historical-chronological, source-study, logical-generalizing, and comparative methods for elucidating the chronology of the development of military musical art of Chernihiv region of the 20th century, the study of G. Kunkin's creative biography, and generalization of information about military conductors of Chernihiv region – his contemporaries, memoirs of G. Kunkin's colleagues, identification of factors influencing his work on the development of the cultural space of Chernihiv region. The scientific novelty of the publication lies in the first domestic musicology study of the life of G. Kunkin as one of the prominent figures of the military-musical culture of the Chernihiv region. Conclusions. The results of the study indicate that G. Kunkin during his career as a military conductor had a significant impact on the development of the military and musical culture of the Chernihiv region. With his activity he revived the regional military-musical life, outlined the main directions of its further development, which were realized in the works of military conductors of Chernihiv region at the beginning of the 21 century; G. Kunkin's concert activity of the military brass band popularized the brass art among the population of the region and, as a result, conditioned the social demand for learning to play wind instruments, intensifying the activity in this direction in art schools of Chernihiv region and music college named after L. Revytsky. The successful combination of musical experience, personal qualities, and organizational abilities allowed G. Kunkin to make a significant contribution to the potential of the spiritual culture of the Chernihiv region, which is worthily presented in Ukraine and abroad by military brass bands of the region.