When Illia Ovcharenko takes the stage with the Calgary Philharmonic later this month to perform Tchaikovsky’s grand Piano Concerto No. 1, it will be something of a full circle moment for the brilliant young pianist. 

When he was just six years old, his mother took him to hear a performance of that very piece in his native Ukraine. It was at that concert that Ovcharenko decided what he wanted to do with his life: become a pianist. 

Precocity is very much the through line in Ovcharenko’s story to date. At the age of nine he began formal piano studies; at 12, he gave his first concert with the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. A year later, he was off to a special high school for gifted musicians in Kyiv. 

By the time Ovcharenko was named winner of the illustrious 2022 Honens Piano Competition at the age of 21, he had already performed with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Poland’s Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Versailles Conservatory String Orchestra, and, yes, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.  

In the short time since, his star has only gotten brighter with Ovcharenko consistently in demand on leading stages around the world, including a two-night stand at Carnegie Hall. 

The pleasure, he says, is all his: 

“I’m so happy when people hear me play and say I brought something new to their life or let them forget about their current troubles. Playing the piano is usually a much better way of communicating since there is something intimate involved in this process.”

Join the Calgary Phil for Illia Ovcharenko performs Tchaikovsky on 31 May and 1 June 2024. Following Piano Concerto No. 1, the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus and soloists will join Music Director Rune Bergmann and the Orchestra for Anton Bruckner’s glorious Te Deum, which the composer considered his greatest work and the ultimate statement of faith.