Founded by Anton Kushnir, the Ukrainian Flute Society — the first organization of its kind in Ukraine — provides a platform that unites flutists, fosters collaboration, and highlights the role of music as a source of hope and cultural identity.
contact: uaflutesociety@gmail.com
The society has also built connections with flute organizations across Europe, offering Ukrainian flutists global support and access to an international network of colleagues, which has been especially meaningful in times of creative resistance to aggression.
In 2019, Professor Ludwig Böhm, a descendant of the renowned 19th-century German flutist and composer Theobald Böhm, visited the National Music Academy of Ukraine. His visit included a joint concert featuring the Academy’s flute classes, lectures, and a scholarly conference, reflecting both the collaborative spirit of Kyiv’s flute community and its potential for future partnerships.
In October 2021, the First International Flute Festival “Kyiv Flute Days” took place, initiated, organized, and art-directed by Anton Kushnir. The festival welcomed prominent flutists from Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Germany. A young performers’ competition in four age categories attracted over 50 participants from across Ukraine, as well as from China and Georgia. The festival quickly gained international recognition, receiving positive reviews in flute journals in Germany, France, Spain, and the USA. The next edition is scheduled for April 2024 and will feature collaboration with the German Flute Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Flöte e.V.), with its chair, Professor Ruth Wentorf, serving as the jury head for the young performers’ competition. A major innovation for 2024 will be the expansion of festival locations to include Chernihiv, alongside Kyiv, under the title “Ukrainian Flute Days: Kyiv – Chernihiv.”
Due to the situation in 2022, many planned flute events were canceled. Nevertheless, the society focused on educational and outreach activities, promoting works by Ukrainian composers internationally and using concerts to affirm Ukraine’s cultural freedom and resilience.
In 2023, the Kyiv Flute Days Festival was revived in a national format. In collaboration with the Association of Music Professionals on Wind and Percussion Instruments of the National Ukrainian Music Union, the festival included a scholarly roundtable dedicated to the anniversaries of prominent Ukrainian flutists and professors Andriy Protsenko and Volodymyr Antonov. Participants included flutists from Dnipro, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv, including soloists from leading orchestras such as the National Opera of Ukraine, National Philharmonic, and National House of Music.
