Artist biography

Theodore Kuсhar (USA) is the first conductor in the history of Ukrainian musical culture to lead as principal conductor three of the most prestigious symphony orchestras of Ukraine: the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, and the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine.

Winner of numerous music awards, including: GRAMMY Award Nomination, BBC – Recording of the Year; Gramophone Magazine, Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Recording of the Year.

The most recorded conductor of his generation. His creative output includes over 150 CDs for such well-known labels as Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Ondine, Marco Polo, Toccata Classics.

Teodor Kuсhar was the artistic director and principal conductor of such symphony orchestras as the Queesland Philharmonic Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Simponica de Venezuela, Slovak National Symphony Orchestra/Slovak Sinfonietta and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. With the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, over 300 concerts were held in Kyiv and on four continents, and over 70 CDs were recorded.

Maestro Kuсhar conducted numerous master classes, performed with orchestras in England, the Czech Republic, Israel, Venezuela, Finland, China, Turkey, South Africa, Argentina, Ukraine and other countries. He collaborated with such soloists as Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Mstislav Rostropovich, James Galway, Hilary Hahn, Sara Chen, James Busswell, Lynn Harrell and others.

Since 2020, Theodore Kukhar has been the Chief Conductor of the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, with which in 2023 he made a 40-concert tour of US cities, including performing on the stage of Radio City Music Hall and the legendary Carnegie Hall, where the first subscription concert of a Ukrainian orchestra in the history of Ukrainian music was held with a full house.

In 2024, the Lviv Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Theodore Kuсhar went on a tour of the cities of England, performing in London and Birmingham, among others.

Since 2025, Theodore Kuсhar has also been the Chief Conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine (Kyiv).