Reflections on the Lived, Endured, Overcome... (for the 80th birthday of Bohdan Yaremko)

Abstract

In the article outlined the life path of Professor Bohdan Ivanovych Yaremkо as a researcher of traditional Hutsul and Boyko panpipe-type instruments, a performer, an innovative educator in high school, and a representative of Ukrainian and European organological science. After graduating his studies at the Lviv Conservatory in the clarinet class, Yaremkо began his career in the Department of Wind Instruments of the Rivne Art University. Over the 41 years of his work at this institution, B. Yaremkо evolved as a panpipe (“sopilka”) music performer and, from 1977 onwards, as a researcher of Hutsul and Boyko traditional music. From 1979, he also became the founder of the “sopilka” class. In the article identified key milestones in the perfor- mance activities of Yaremkо’s panpipe class students, who, in different years, became laureates and diploma winners of international, national, regional competitions, and festivals, leaving a lasting impact on their artistic careers. A significant result of 29 B. Yaremkо’s research activity, involving meticulous transcription work, systematic folklore expeditions mainly in the Carpathian region, creative interactions with folk musicians and folklore experts at various scientific events, and laboratory experiments, is his doctoral dissertation “The Role of Performance in the Formation of Musical Tradition (based on the material of Ukrainian sopilka music of the Carpathians)” and the publication of several dozen scientific articles and three study books: “Utorop Sopilka Improvisations”, “Boyko Sopilka Music”, and “Ethnoorganology”. In the article is characterized the final period of B. Yaremkо’s work in Rivne, marked by the same circle of scientific interests, as evidenced by over 20 publications dedicated to “sopilka”, violin, and “trembita” вthemes. From 2013, the Lviv period of B. Yaremkо’s career began, associated with his work at the T. Shevchenko Kremenets Regional Humanities and Pedagogical Academy and the publication of the monograph “Sopilka Music of the Hutsuls”, numerous scientific articles, and participation in online scien- tific conferences.