Ukrainian pianist trades wartime concert halls for Nairobi's Korogocho slum

Dr Taras Filenko, a concert pianist, ethnomusicologist and researcher of Ukrainian musical heritage. [Courtesy]

A Ukrainian pianist has arrived in Nairobi carrying his country's musical heritage, with stops ranging from university lecture halls to the streets of Korogocho.

Dr Taras Filenko, a concert pianist, ethnomusicologist and researcher of Ukrainian musical heritage, is in Nairobi from February 15 to 20 as part of a cultural initiative aimed at strengthening artistic exchange and dialogue between Ukraine and Kenya.

His residency, supported by the Embassy of Ukraine in Kenya and in partnership with Black Motion Art, includes a session at Ghetto Classics in Korogocho, bringing professional-level mentorship to young musicians in a community where access to the arts is limited.

Filenko will also conduct lectures and masterclasses at leading Kenyan academic institutions, with his background in historical musicology enabling interdepartmental dialogue with scholars and students in history and cultural studies.

On Monday, February 16, he opened the residency at Strathmore University, guiding choral musicians through intonation and ensemble technique as they prepare for the Interkultur Kalamata Festival in Greece.

 On February 18, he heads to Kenyatta University to explore links between Ukrainian and African ethnomusicology.

The flagship performance takes place that same evening at the Kenya National Theatre, where Filenko shares the stage with Kenyan singer-instrumentalist Muhonja, dancer Brian Otieno Oloo and violinist Ken Mwiti.

Mwiti is a classically trained musician with over 15 years of performance experience, a member of the Enkare String Trio who has performed with orchestras in Kenya, Tanzania, Europe and the United Kingdom, and the co-founder and Music Director of Chamber Music Kenya.

Oloo is a dancer, choreographer and cultural practitioner whose work explores identity, community and social issues through movement.

Based in Kisumu, he draws on African traditional and contemporary dance practices and is the founder of Aduwa Fiesta of Dance and the Dancing Feet Collective.

The residency concludes on February 19, at St. Austin's Parish with a sacred organ recital.

All events are free of charge and open to the public. The Ukrainian and German ambassadors are expected to attend.

Filenko holds two doctorates, one in music history from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine and another in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh, and is a two-time Fulbright scholarship recipient with over 100 academic publications.

He was named Ukrainian of the Year in late 2024 by the Ukrainian Technological Society of Pittsburgh for his sustained cultural diplomacy work since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.