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Kyiv Art Sessions – the International Festival of Ukrainian Art Founded by the Dom Master Klass Cultural Centre – Inaugurates Its 2026 Season
The Kyiv Art Sessions 2026 will open with a distinguished series of concerts devoted to contemporary Ukrainian composers, performed by the Kyiv Chamber Choir under the direction of the renowned conductor Mykola Hobdych.
From 23 to 27 March, performances will take place in London (United Kingdom), followed by Rouen, Paris and Rennes (France).
The season will be inaugurated on 23 March in London with the concert Prayer for Ukraine, to be held at St John the Baptist Church. The programme will present works by eminent Ukrainian composers: Myroslav Skoryk, Yevhen Stankovych, Valentyn Silvestrov, Hanna Havrylets and Victoria Poleva.The concert will be charitable in purpose, with all proceeds donated to the Ukrainian foundation Voices of Children.The event is presented with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom and in partnership with St John the Baptist Church.
After inaugurating the season in London, Kyiv Art Sessions will make its debut in France, continuing the expansion of its international presence.
The subsequent concerts on 25 and 26 March will form part of the Season of Ukraine in France, Voyage en Ukraine, presented in partnership with the Institut français and the Ukrainian Institute.On 25 March in Rouen, a particularly significant event is anticipated: a concert dedicated to the music of Valentyn Silvestrov, with the composer himself in attendance. Audiences will have the opportunity to hear his works performed by the Kyiv Chamber Choir under the baton of Mykola Hobdych, widely regarded as one of the most perceptive and authoritative interpreters of Silvestrov’s music.

On 26 March, the Kyiv Chamber Choir will take part in the closing concert of the Season of Ukraine in France, The Ukrainian Soul, presenting works by Victoria Poleva, Hanna Havrylets, Lesia Dychko and Valentyn Silvestrov. The performance will take place at the Abbaye de Saint-Denis in collaboration with the Festival de Saint-Denis.
The tour will conclude in Brittany – on 27 March in Rennes, at the city’s principal cathedral, the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes – where Prayer for Ukraine, a programme dedicated to the music of distinguished Ukrainian composers, will be performed.This concert will likewise serve a charitable purpose, with proceeds directed to the Ukrainian Firefighters Foundation to support the procurement of armoured evacuation fire vehicles. The event is organised in partnership with the Association Solidarité Bretagne Ukraine.
The concerts in the United Kingdom and France constitute the first major initiative of Kyiv Art Sessions in 2026. Over the course of the year, a series of further cultural events will follow, continuing the festival’s commitment to presenting Ukrainian high art to international audiences.
Kyiv Art Sessions is a multidisciplinary festival dedicated to presenting the finest examples of contemporary Ukrainian art to the global community. Its mission is to affirm Ukrainian culture as an integral and indispensable part of the European and wider international cultural landscape.
Co-founded in 2024 by the Dom Master Klass Cultural Centre and the charitable foundation Art Shield, Kyiv Art Sessions has successfully delivered four seasons in the United Kingdom during 2024-2025. 
In 2025, the festival received three prestigious international distinctions: two SABRE Awards in the category Preserving Art in Crisis, and the PR Daily Media Relations Award.

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The Municipal Chamber Choir “Kyiv” was founded in 1990.Its Artistic Director and Conductor is Mykola Hobdych — Honored Artist of Ukraine, People’s Artist of Ukraine, and an undisputed artistic leader.
Today, the “Kyiv” Choir holds several professional records:The choir entered the Guinness Book of Records thanks to an absolutely unprecedented achievement. At an international choral competition in Ireland — one of the finest in the world — the choir scored 99 points out of a maximum possible 90. In 1997, the “Kyiv” Choir gave a solo concert at Carnegie Hall in New York — a stage every world-class star dreams of performing on.
The world-renowned “Kyiv” Choir has performed more than 1,500 concerts in over 20 countries, which may also be regarded as a record. The choir has recorded 50 CDs featuring Ukrainian and international music — a figure that has not yet been surpassed by any choral ensemble currently active in Ukraine or abroad.
The “Kyiv” Choir has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including the BBC Concert Hall (London, United Kingdom) and Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral (France).

© 2023 Дом Майстер Клас