Kyiv Contemporary Music Days

Kyiv Contemporary Music Days (KCMD) is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization founded in December 2015 by four musicians from the Kroiser Ensemble: guitarist Francisco Morais Franco (Portugal), clarinetist Darko Horvatic (Serbia-Croatia), violinist Junya Makino (Japan-Germany), and composer-pianist Albert Saprykin (Ukraine). The founders met while studying in Graz, Austria, and initially sought repertoire for a single concert in Kyiv. After a social media call for scores, they received nearly fifty works from composers across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, which led to premieres in Kyiv and Lviv and quickly expanded into a full international festival. KCMD operates as an educational and concert platform dedicated to contemporary classical music. Its activities include international festivals, chamber, orchestral, and electroacoustic concerts, video concerts, masterclasses for composers and performers, and lectures (including video lectures) for both professional musicians and the wider public. The organization has collaborated with a wide range of internationally recognized performers and composers, such as soprano Sarah Maria Sun, saxophonist Gerald Preinfalk, pianists Ozgür Aydin and Antonii Baryshevskyi, and composers Åke Parmerud, Alla Zagaykevych, Annette Vande Gorne, and others. Between 2015 and 2022, KCMD organized over 150 events in Ukraine, Portugal, and Japan, featuring musicians from around 25 countries. The platform's mission is to nurture a community around new music, develop its ecosystem, and create new formats and opportunities for education, professional interaction, and artistic fulfillment in Ukraine and worldwide. KCMD emphasizes that it is "about the people first and about the music right after that." Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, KCMD has adapted its activities, continuing to organize events both online and in various European cities, including Berlin. Notable recent projects include the Per Forma grant program for women in performing arts, the tvvo:id project presented in Kyiv and at the Klangwerkstatt Berlin festival, and a 10th-anniversary online concert streamed in December 2025. The organization remains active in promoting Ukrainian contemporary music internationally and fostering cross-cultural exchange.

Kyiv Contemporary Music Days (KCMD) was founded in December 2015 by four musicians from the Kroiser Ensemble: guitarist Francisco Morais Franco (Portugal), clarinetist Darko Horvatic (Serbia-Croatia), violinist Junya Makino (Japan-Germany), and composer-pianist Albert Saprykin (Ukraine). The founders met while studying in Graz, Austria, and initially sought repertoire for a single concert in Kyiv. They posted a call for scores on social media and received nearly fifty works from composers in the UK, Spain, Moldova, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, the USA, and Ukraine. The selected pieces were premiered in Kyiv and Lviv, with composers giving lectures, solo concerts, and workshops. The first concert at the end of 2015 grew into a large international festival featuring nine concerts, two workshops, and five lectures with foreign composers and musicians. The Armonia Ludus orchestra, conducted by Mikheil Menabde (Georgia-Ukraine), performed works by Toru Takemitsu, Giacinto Scelsi, Tristan Murail, and Marc-André Dalbavie, among others. Events took place at nine different venues in Kyiv and Lviv, the largest being the Mystetskyi Arsenal. From 2015 to 2022, KCMD organized over 150 events in Ukraine, Portugal, and Japan, collaborating with musicians from around 25 countries. The platform worked with renowned performers such as soprano Sarah Maria Sun, saxophonist Gerald Preinfalk, KONTRA Trio, pianists Ozgür Aydin and Antonii Baryshevskyi, and composers Åke Parmerud, Alla Zagaykevych, Annette Vande Gorne, Jaime Reis, Maxim Kolomiiets, Mehmet Can Özer, Michael Quell, Sergej Newski, Stefan Prins, and Svyatoslav Lunyov. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, KCMD adapted its activities, continuing to organize events online and in various European cities, particularly Berlin. The organization launched new initiatives such as the Per Forma grant program for women in performing arts and the tvvo:id project, presented in Kyiv and at the Klangwerkstatt Berlin festival. In December 2025, KCMD celebrated its tenth anniversary with an online concert. Throughout its history, KCMD has remained dedicated to nurturing a community around new music, developing its ecosystem, and creating opportunities for education, professional interaction, and artistic fulfillment in Ukraine and worldwide.

• KCMD founded in December 2015 by four musicians from Kroiser Ensemble.

• First concert expands into international festival with 9 concerts, 2 workshops, 5 lectures.

• Over 150 events organized in Ukraine, Portugal, and Japan with musicians from around 25 countries.

• After Russian invasion, KCMD adapts activities, continues online and in European cities.

• tvvo:id project presented at Klangwerkstatt Berlin festival.

• tvvo:id project presented in Kyiv with Goethe-Institut Ukraine.

• Online presentation of Per Forma grant program results 2024–2025.

• KCMD celebrates 10th anniversary with online concert.

Educational and concert platform for contemporary classical music, fostering community and international exchange.

• International festivals

• Chamber music concerts

• Orchestral concerts

• Electroacoustic music concerts

• Video concerts

• Masterclasses for composers and performers

• Lectures and video lectures

• Per Forma grant program

• tvvo:id project

1. 1KYIV CONTEMPORARY MUSIC DAYSkcmd.eu
2. 2KYIV CONTEMPORARY MUSIC DAYS - ПРО KCMDkcmd.eu
3. 3KYIV CONTEMPORARY MUSIC DAYS - ХТО МИkcmd.eu
4. 4KYIV CONTEMPORARY MUSIC DAYS - КОМАНДАkcmd.eu
5. 5Kyiv Contemporary Music Dayswikidata.org
6. 6Kyiv Contemporary Music Daysuk.wikipedia.org