Yurii Kerpatenko

Yurii Leonidovych Kerpatenko (Ukrainian: Керпатенко Юрій Леонідович; 9 September 1976 – 28 September 2022[1]) was a Ukrainian conductor, orchestrator, and accordionist who was the principal conductor of the Mykola Kulish Music and Drama Theatre from 2004 until his death in 2022. He was also the principal conductor of the Gileya chamber orchestra of the Kherson Regional Philharmonic from 2000 until 2022. Kerpatenko declined to cooperate during the Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast and was killed by Russian soldiers in his home in September 2022.

Yurii Kerpatenko
Керпатенко Юрій Леонідович
Born9 September 1976
Kherson, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died28 September 2022
Kherson, Ukraine
Alma materKherson School of Music
Kyiv Conservatory
Occupation(s)Conductor, orchestrator, accordionist
Years active2000–2022

Life

Kerpatenko was born 9 September 1976 in Kherson.[2] He graduated in the accordion class from State Secondary School No. 1 in 1991 under teacher A.V. Kostrub.[2] Kerpatenko attended the Kherson School of Music from 1991 until his graduation in 1995 where he studied under V.I. Melnichenko.[2][3] He graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory in 2000 where he studied in the department of folk instruments and was part of the accordion class.[3] He was considered a virtuoso player of the Bayan.[4] In 2004, Kerpatenko also graduated with distinction from the department of opera and symphonic conducting under professor V.B. Hnyedash and instrumental science and orchestration under professor Lev Kolodub.[2]

He became the principal conductor of the Kherson Regional Philharmonic's chamber orchestra, "Gilea" in 2000.[5][6] Since August 2004, he was also the principal conductor of the Mykola Kulish Music and Drama Theatre.[5][2] During the Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast, Kerpatenko continued posting defiant messages on Facebook through May 2022.[7]

Death

In September 2022, family members of Kerpatenko outside of Kherson lost contact with him.[7][8] The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information Policy reported that he had declined to participate in an upcoming October 1 concert hosted by the Russian occupiers.[7] The Russian administration planned to feature Kerpatenko's Gileya chamber orchestra in a concert "intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called 'improvement of peaceful life' in Kherson".[7] Later, the Ukrainian ministry claimed that he was shot dead in his home by the Russian military due to refusing to cooperate with them during their occupation of Kherson Oblast.[5][9] His death was reported on 13 October 2022.[10]

Reactions

Ukraine's Kherson regional prosecutor's office is investigating his death "on the basis of violations of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder."[7] Musicians Dalia Stasevska, Semyon Bychkov,[7] Vlad,[11] and Roger O'Donnell[12] and writer Andrey Kurko[11] responded to the news of his death on social media.[11]

See also

References
  1. Callaghan, Louise (2022-11-19). "Martyred for his music? The outspoken Ukrainian conductor shot dead by the Russians". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  2. "Керпатенко Юрій Леонідович" [Kerpatenko Yurii Leonidovych]. Арт Кавун (Art Watermelon). Archived from the original on 2017-11-04.
  3. "Народні інструменти" [Folk instruments]. Херсонське музичне училище | Херсонское музыкальное училище (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-10-15. [Among its best graduates of different years are O.I. Serdyuk (in the 1990s - head of the city's culture department), Yu.M. Ivanenko - director of the Kherson Regional Philharmonic, Yu.L. Kerpatenko - conductor of the Drama Theater named after M. Kulisha.]
  4. "Ocupantes rusos asesinan a conductor ucraniano" [Russian occupiers kill Ukrainian Conductor]. news.eseuro.com. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  5. Zahorodnii, Mykhailo (15 October 2022). "Renowned conductor Yurii Kerpatenko killed by Russians". Ukrainska Pravda. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  6. "Yurii Kerpatenko refused to bow to Russian orders". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
  7. Higgins, Charlotte; Mazhulin, Artem (2022-10-16). "Russian troops kill Ukrainian musician for refusing role in Kherson concert". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  8. Specia, Megan (2022-10-15). "An orchestra conductor has been killed after refusing to cooperate with Russian occupiers, Ukrainian officials say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-10-17. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  9. "Kyiv told to save electricity after Russian missile strike". BBC News. 2022-10-15. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  10. Петік, Марина (2022-10-14). "Окупанти в Херсоні автоматною чергою через двері вбили відомого музиканта: подробиці трагедії" [The occupiers in Kherson killed a famous musician with an automatic burst through the door: details of the tragedy]. OBOZREVATEL NEWS (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  11. Khaled, Fatma (2022-10-16). "Ukrainian killed by Russians for refusing to perform at propaganda concert". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  12. Hoffman, Jordan (2022-10-16). "Ukrainian Orchestra Conductor Murdered By Russian Troops After Refusing to Perform". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
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