Born in 1966 in the Ukraine, Alla Zagaykevych is a graduate of the Tchaikovsky National Conservatory in Kiev (composition and orchestration studies with Y. Ichtchenlko). From 1991 to 1993, she was the assistant to the Chair of Composition at the conservatory. She also received a publicly-funded grant in order to complete her thesis on the particularities of timbres and textures in contemporary music. In 1995-96, she participated in the IRCAM Cursus (IRCAM’s composition and computer music course). While at IRCAM, she studied with Tristan Murail, Marco Stroppa, Philippe Manoury, and Antoine Bonnet.

In 1998, with support from the Soros Foundation, she participated in the creation of the computer music studio at the National Academy of Music in Ukraine. She is a member of the IRCAM forum and regularly uses IRCAM software. In 1986, she began studying traditional Ukrainian song, taking part in numerous ethnomusicological field trips. She also works with Drewo Ensemble at the National Academy of Music in Kiev.

Her works have been performed in the Ukraine, notably by the National Orchestra (cond. V. Sirenko), Tchaikovsky National Conservatory Orchestra (cond. R. Kofman), Tchernigiv Philarmonic (cond. P. Totstukha), and elsewhere by ensembles such as Cat, Cluster and Archi, Court-Circuit, and Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal. Her music has been recorded by Radio Ukraine and Radio Canada.

© Ircam-Centre Pompidou, 1999