
BOARD
DIANA CHUBAK
President, Founder
Piano
dianachubak.com
Dr. Diana Chubak, regarded as an exceptional Ukrainian pianist and educator, is celebrated for her steadfast commitment to both musical performance and teaching. Notable among her recent accomplishments: she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Additionally, she took the top prize at the CCM Concerto Competition for the second time, earning the opportunity to perform George Gershwin’s Concerto in F alongside the CCM Philharmonia orchestra under the baton of Maestro Mark Gibson. Furthermore, she released a digital album titled "Neskoreni, Vol. 1: Bortkiewicz," a poignant expression of her musical talent and dedication to her cultural heritage. As an active performer, Dr. Chubak has maintained her career by cultivating a robust international network through participation in festivals, master classes, and competitions. She delivered noteworthy performances in various venues across the United States and Europe, spanning countries such as Ukraine, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany. Furthermore, she collaborated with several esteemed orchestras, including the CCM Philharmonia and Chamber Orchestras, the Kyiv Symphony, the Lviv Virtuosos Chamber Orchestra, the Ukrainian Presidential Orchestra, and the Ternopil Music College Orchestra. Recent highlights include collaborating with renowned composers like Judd Greenstein at the Art of the Piano Festival and Alex Weiser at the Cincinnati Jewish Music Festival, as well as premiering works by Patrick Harlin at the Chautauqua Music Institution. Additionally, she secured a position at the International Summer Academy of Music in Ochsenhausen, Germany, where she studied under pedagogues Matti Raekallio, Dror Biran, and Lily Dorfman. She was also invited to perform at the Gradus International Piano Festival in Denmark, where she worked with Kevin Kenner. At the Bieszczady without Borders International Piano Forum in Poland, she was honored with the Golden Parnassus award, leading to recitals across Poland and a collaboration with the Academia Dell’Arco Chamber Orchestra. Her active participation in international music competitions, including the Myroslav Skoryk Competition held in Kyiv, Ukraine, the International Siegfried-Weishaupt-Klavierwettbewerb Competition in Ochsenhausen, Germany, the International ProArt Competition in Khmelnytsky, Ukraine, and the Tuesday Musical Scholarship Competition, has resulted in significant awards. Chubak’s work has also been recognized with several financial considerations. She has been a recipient of the Vere Music Fund Grant since 2017, which gave her the financial support to attend music festivals and competitions, organize concerts, and collaborate with orchestras. She received a scholarship from the Richard Wagner Society for her participation in the 2019 Bayreuth Festival and was awarded the Graduate Incentive Full Scholarship by the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Her latest significant award comes from the Dorothy Stolzanbach-Payne Foundation, which supported her latest album release. Apart from her performing and teaching careers, Dr. Chubak is the founder of the charity music series "Music for Ukraine" in Cincinnati, Ohio, aimed at raising awareness and funds for disaster assistance for Ukrainians affected by the war and showcasing music from Ukrainian composers. By performing this music, the project aims to keep her native culture alive and raise awareness among Americans. Born in Ternopil, Ukraine, Dr. Chubak holds an A.M. in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the Ternopil Solomiya Krushelnytska Music College, where she studied under Lesya Korniy. She earned a B.M. in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the Lviv National Academy of Music under the tutelage of Oksana Rapita. Chubak furthered her studies with an M.M. in Piano Performance from the CCM, under the guidance of Dr. Dror Biran. She completed her D.M.A. in Piano Performance with a cognate in Piano Pedagogy from the same institution, guided by mentors Awadagin Pratt and Michael Chertock. From 2022 to 2024, Chubak served as a piano instructor in the Secondary Piano and Pedagogy Department at CCM. She currently teaches piano at Wilmington College.


DMYTRO GNATIV
Artistic Director
Flute
dmytrognativ.com
Dr. Dmytro Gnativ is a flutist and educator whose musical journey began at the age of eight at the local conservatory in Sambir, Ukraine, where he studied flute and piano under Ihor Fedorenko and Natalia Moskalenko. He continued his studies at the Lviv State Music College with Liliana Stadnyk and at the Lviv National Music Academy with Andriy Karpiak, earning a bachelor's degree in 2015. Upon graduation, he was appointed second flute and piccolo with the Khmelnytsky Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he pursued a master’s degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Grim. Following this, he was awarded a fellowship at the University of Miami, Frost School of Music, where he earned an Artist Diploma and subsequently completed his DMA in 2023. Dr. Gnativ is committed to promoting lesser-known classical works, with a particular focus on Ukrainian composers. He has presented lectures and recitals at prestigious events and institutions, including the National Flute Association Convention, Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, Florida Flute Convention, San Diego Flute Festival, Lithuania's X International Čiurlionis Music Festival, University of Miami, Northwest Missouri State University, West Virginia State University, South Dakota State University, and others. Over the course of his career, Dr. Gnativ has premiered over fifteen works for flute, including solo, piano, and ensemble pieces, contributing to the expansion of the flute repertoire. Dr. Gnativ's articles have been published in The Flutist Quarterly, Florida Flute Association Quarterly Newsletter, Voyage MIA, and other outlets. His most recent publication, An Anthology of Flute Music by Ukrainian Composers, 1850–2022, uncovers over four hundred works by Ukrainian composers, many of which are awaiting their first performances. This publication can be found on the University of Miami - Research Portal. He regularly performs with the Palm Beach Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, The Symphonia, and other orchestras in South Florida. Alongside his solo and orchestral career, he maintains a flourishing flute studio and serves at Musicall, Inc. as a private flute teacher, music theory teacher, and chamber music coach, while also coordinating its afterschool music program. Dr. Gnativ is the founder of Kolos Music Publishing, the Artistic Director of the Ukrainian Classical Music Project (UCMP), and the Director of Marketing & Community Engagement at the Miami Music Teachers Association, Miami, FL.
MAKSYM MAHLAY
Director of Outreach and Development
Bandura, Harpsichord
mahlay.online
Maksym Mahlay is a Cleveland-born Ukrainian-American keyboardist, composer, bandurist, singer, producer, lecturer, and private instructor. Maksym earned his double bachelor's degree in Piano Performance and Music Composition at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), and is currently pursuing Masters in Harpsichord at CCM. His primary interests include origins and influences in early music, especially through the lens of regional improvisation and decolonization in Baroque music. He has engaged in exploratory composition projects in the areas of fugues and sacred music. Throughout his Bachelor’s career, Maksym has written over a hundred pieces, most of them exploring the specific genre of fugue. In the academic world, his compositions have been premiered by students and faculty at CCM, as well as performers and ensembles at Cleveland Institute of Music, Bard College, University of Indiana - Jacobs School of Music, University of Iowa, Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music in Kyiv, Vinnytsia Music College, and Lviv Conservatory. Maksym's pedagogical pieces and compositions also serve as cultural education material, with fugal writing using both Baroque and ethnic material as subjects. He is also involved in projects exploring modern music based on improvisational techniques. Within the scope of his academic interests he has been interested in discovering little-known early music era instruments, lecturing and teaching keyboard/ bandura. As a lecturer, Maksym’s tour now is reaching dozens of universities across the country, ranging from conservatories such as CCM and Jacobs School of Music to universities, from Akron University to Florida State University. Studying bandura now for more than a decade, Maksym serves as a permanent virtual and out-of-state teacher for many bandura schools. An alumni of a plethora of bandura camps such as the Bandura at Bobriwka (Bobriwka, CT) and Kobzarska Sich Bandura and Vocal Program (Emlenton, PA), in June 2024, Maksym founded the Poltava Prostir Alternative Bandura Experience seminar in Brighton, Michigan, focusing on bandura within the early classical music performance scene, especially with regards to Baroque lute-bandura repertoire.
