Our Team

The project participants are Ukrainian women - music teachers, professional musicians and amateurs, music students who were forced to temporarily leave Ukraine due to the full-scale war and take their children to a safe environment, as well as cultural figures from Romania, Poland, Ukraine and France who live in Austria and have migration experience

Arina Chernenko-Movilyan

Founder and choirmaster of the Music Space initiative, music educator. Received her higher musical education at the Odesa National Academy, specializing in opera and concert singing and music education. She has years of experience teaching solo singing, directing children, adult, and church choirs. Arina is also the winner of numerous vocal competitions and festivals. Before being forced to leave her Ukrainian homeland and move to Vienna with her children in the spring of 2022, Arina was actively involved in learning activities and organizing and being a member of the jury of music festivals in her hometown of Odesa. After moving to Vienna with her children, Arina became an active member of the displaced music community. In summer 2022, she united other displaced music professionals, pedagogues, students, and amateurs in the Music Space initiative in Vienna. Through this initiative, Arina and her team provide free teaching lessons, coordinate choir, and organize concerts for the local Austrian and displaced community, as well as work on creation of the therapeutical vocal-dance performance on the displacement experience.

Marius Lupu

Viloinist, chormester and music educator. He studied violin and music education at the University of Art George Enescu in Iasi, Romania and gained extensive experience working as a violin teacher at the Music High School in Bacau and as permanent 1st violin player/soloist at the Mihail Jora Philharmonic in Romania. Marius was an initiator and leader of the Romanian choir NGO Acapella Sens, that consisted of professional and amateur singers. As the chorus master and music director, he had extensive experience in leading the choir, concert, tour organization and sound production. Marius currently resides in Vienna and continues to pursue his passion for music and art together with activities in dental sphere. He has joined the Music Space initiative in winter 2023, where he supports displaced Ukrainian musicians and music enthusiasts as a second choirmaster, sound producer, and violin player. Given his migrational background, he understands the struggles that displaced families face and is committed to supporting them.

Kateryna Antonova

Solo singer and music educator. Obtained a junior specialist degree in the field of "academic singing" from the R.Glier Kyiv Institute of Music. She is currently a student at the Department of "opera singing" at the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kyiv. She is a laureate of national and international competitions and has many years of experience singing in a church choir and teaching. In the spring of 2022, she was forced to leave Ukraine and move to Vienna.

Taisiia Barilovska

Master of History and Ethnology as well as a Master of Law. She received her higher education in History and Law from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. She also received a musical education in vocal and choral studies from the H. Zhukovsky School of Arts in Kyiv. She has participated in regional and international competitions with the choir and has several years of experience singing in a church choir. In her free time, she enjoys photography, graphic design, and mediation.

Olga Bolibok

Project and event manager specialized in culture, art, and development. With over a decade of experience working on various intercultural and international projects in Ukraine and the EU, Olga has developed a deep understanding of promoting trust-building through culture and art. Her work has included managing international forums and conferences, coordinating cultural and educational projects, and facilitating cooperation with European partners. She coordinated projects at the European Commission, Government of Ukraine, with MFA of UK and Denmark, University of Vienna and College of Europe. Her resent postcolonial art project the Queer (In) Visibility was featured in the Vienna Design Week 2022. Olga holds a Master's degree in IS Management from the Vienna University of Applied Sciences and Business Administration from Kharkiv University of Economy. Olga sings in the Symphonic Women Choir of Vienna and has joined the Music Space in autumn 2022 as a singer, expert in transcultural art practices, and project manager.

Oleksandra Vasyuta

Choreographer. A student of the University of Vienna, majoring in "Transcultural Communication," and Uzhhorod National University, majoring in "Tourism" (specialty 242). She studied choreography for ten years at the Contemporary Dance Studio BLITZ. Together with her team, Oleksandra participated in numerous dance championships in different countries, where they repeatedly won top places. After finishing school, Oleksandra moved to Vienna, where she studies and works. She devotes her free time to sports and music.

Alla Havrylina

Solo singer and music educator. Received higher musical education at the Odessa National A. V. Nezhdanova Academy of Music, specializing in opera and concert singing, as well as teaching in higher educational institutions. She has many years of stage experience in both opera and concert performances and has toured throughout Ukraine and beyond. She is a laureate of international vocal competitions and festivals and has also been involved in teaching activities. She has a wide chamber and opera repertoire, experience in choir singing, and a large repertoire of spiritual music. Until February 24, 2022, she worked at the Odessa Philharmonic. On March 17, she was forced to leave her homeland with her daughter and on August 11, she moved to Vienna.

Yelyzaveta Kalaidzhian

Violin player and choir singer. A student at the I.P. Kotlyarevsky Kharkiv National University of Arts, specializing in orchestral string instruments. She is a laureate of international competitions and has participated in numerous vocal and symphonic concerts. She has also worked as an illustrator for a children's symphony orchestra. Yelyzaveta has experience singing in choir ensembles and teaching. In the spring of 2022, she was forced to leave her homeland in Ukraine and move to Vienna.

Olena Kravchenko

Solo singer, choirmaster and music educator. Received higher education at the Odessa National A. V. Nezhdanova Academy of Music in choral conducting (master's degree) and solo singing (bachelor's degree). Since the start of her college studies at the age of 15, she has gained experience working with various types of choirs, including children's, professional, amateur, student, and church choirs, both as a participant and a choirmaster. Olena also had experience working and conducting with a symphony orchestra. She has experience teaching solo singing and music theory. Olena is a laureate of national and international competitions in both specialities. She has toured Ukraine and abroad. Due to the hostilities, she was forced to leave for Vienna at the end of spring 2022.

Oksana Kozlova

Lawyer, master of law, specialist in musical art, concert singer, and singing teacher. She received higher education in law at Zaporizhzhya Institute of State and Municipal Government and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, and music at the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kyiv. Currently, she continues her studies at JAM MUSIK LAB GmbH Friedrich Gulda School of Music in Vienna in the faculty of vocal pedagogy. She has many years of experience in the field of civil and commercial law of Ukraine (representation of interests in courts, legal support, etc.), photo and video advertising and TV series as an actress, choral singing, and solo chamber singing.

Tetiana Liubaranska

Concertmaster, choirmaster, pianist and music educator. Received her higher musical education at the Kyiv National Music Academy, specializing in choral conducting. She also studied at the Zaporizhzhia Music School in the piano department. She has 20 years of teaching experience and has directed a children's choir that has won victories in all-Ukrainian and international competitions and festivals. She also teaches piano and vocals and has many years of experience singing in a church choir. In the spring of 2022, she was forced to leave Ukraine with her children and now lives in Vienna.

Lidiya Mashek

Multiple award-winning cellist Lidiya Mashek was born in Kiev, Ukraine. She completed her Master's degree in Solo Cello (with distinction) and her Postgraduate degree (Aspirantur) in Chamber Music - Cello at the Tchaikovsky National Ukrainian Academy of Music. She is a prize winner of multiple music competitions, such as 1st Prize in the International Festival in North Carolina, USA, 2nd Prize in the International Competition in Worsel, Ukraine, and 2nd Prize in Koschizi, Slovakia. Lidiya Mashek has extensive experience as a solo cellist and orchestra member in Europe, Asia, North and South America.

Tomasz Piętak

Baritone completed his musical education in organ and singing at the Fryderyk Chopin Music University in Warsaw. He was a member of the Warsaw Chamber Opera, where he debuted as Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and played other roles in Polish operas. As a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Poland, he studied with Claudia Visca at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, as well as song and oratorio with KS Robert Holl and Peter Edelmann. In Vienna, he sang Orestes in Iphigenie auf Tauris (New Studio Stage Vienna), Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro (Schönbrunner Schlosstheater), and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (Concert Hall of the Vienna Boys' Choir). He also sang in Woyzeck 2.0 - Traumfalle and Biedermann und die Brandstifter at the Neue Oper Wien and played Sciarrone in Tosca at the St. Margarethen Opera Festival. Currently, he works as an organist in several churches in Vienna and sings in the Philharmonia Chor Wien, among others, at the Salzburg Festival.

Kateryna Sihaieva-Kopylova

Psychologist, chorister, cellist and music educator. Obtained a master's degree in the Faculty of Psychology and Social Work at the Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University. She also graduated from the Faculty of Arts at National Academy of Culture and Arts Management in Kyiv with a specialization in "Sound Engineering" and received a qualification as a cellist at the M.V. Lysenko Kyiv Specialized Secondary Music School. She is a diploma holder of international competitions as a soloist and as part of a chamber ensemble, and has participated in festivals and competitions with choral and dance groups, such as "Shchedryk", "Lileya", and others. She has improved her qualifications in numerous trainings and seminars on spiritually-oriented psychology, Waldorf pedagogy, and music therapy in preschool institutions, among others. Kateryna has many years of experience in church choir singing. With the beginning of the war in Ukraine, she moved with her son to Vienna.

Sofiia Smyrnova

Orchestra conductor, domra player, choir singer. A student of the Kharkiv I. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts, specializing in Ukrainian folk instruments. She is also receiving qualifications as a conductor. Sofiia is a laureate of national and international competitions. She has participated in many concerts and events and was an illustrator in the folk orchestra of the music school. In the spring of 2022, she was forced to leave her Ukrainian homeland and move to Vienna.

Alla Stashchenko

Creative producer and television producer with over 15 years of experience working on Ukrainian national TV channels (1+1, Novyi Kanal, Inter). She is a showrunner and creator of the social-entertainment project "Community of a Million" and the international season "Community of a Million. Exchange of Experts". She is a producer and creative producer of documentary films and the founder and producer of the video production company "Kryla Communications". Her portfolio includes music videos, numerous social ads, and an 8-episode social project "DNA of the City". In the spring of 2022, I was forced to temporarily leave Ukraine and move with my children to Vienna. Her recent projects include special projects for Ukrainian House Davos - a short documentary film "7 Women and War" and a social video about the state of destruction in Ukraine. Alla's project "7 Women and War" became part of the exhibition "Women Avant-garde: FIGHT, SISTER!" at the Austrian Museum of Folk Art.

Viktoriia Fedotova

Horn player, choir artist and music educator. Received her education as a musician at the Kryvyi Rih Regional Musical College specialising in French horn in 1996. She is a laureate of national and regional competitions. In 2001, she received higher education in music pedagogy from the Kryvyi Rih State University. Since 1995, she has worked as an artist in the orchestra of Kryvyi Rih Academic City Theater of Drama and Musical Comedy named after Taras Shevchenko. Viktoriia was also an illustrator in the student wind and symphony orchestra, and has many years of experience in singing and directing a church choir. In the spring of 2022, she was forced to leave her Ukrainian homeland and move with her children to Vienna.

Grégoire Fedorenko

Tenor and violoncellist was born in Brittany, France. He studied at the conservatory in Nantes and later in Boulogne-Billancourt. He continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin. Grégoire has played in orchestras such as the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Ensemble Orchestra Kanasawa in Japan, and was a member of the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra. He has participated in several Orchestra Academy of Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals, performing as a piano trio with Christoph Eschenbach and as a solo cellist of the orchestra under the direction of Kurt Masur or Jukka-Pekka Saraste. In 2012, he moved to Vienna, where he has since been regularly performing as a choral soloist in productions at the Theater an der Wien, the Styriarte, and the Salzburg Festival, among others. He is now working as a violoncellist in the Vienna Volksoper. Having Ukrainian roots, Grégoire actively supports the Music Space initiative as a tenor soloist, member of the choir, and violoncellist.