King Charles honours Ukrainian conductor Kyrylo Karabyts

Ukrainian conductor Kyrylo Karabyts has been recognised with an Honorary OBE (Order of the British Empire) from King Charles III for promoting Ukrainian music.

He received the award from His Majesty on 21 March "for Services to Music and the promotion of symphonic works from Ukraine and Eastern Europe in the UK," the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Opera Wire have reported.

Kyrylo Karabyts, known outside Ukraine as Kirill Karabits, is a native of Kyiv who has been the principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the south-west of England since 2009.

In October of this year, after a 15-year tenure, he will become Artistic Director of Voices from the East.

During his 15 years at the helm of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Karabyts has led performances of over 60 works from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

His Voices from the East series features works from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Macedonia, Poland, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

"I am deeply grateful to receive this Honorary OBE for the journey I have been privileged to share with the BSO’s musicians and audiences over the past 15 years – I’m deeply proud of what we have achieved together," Karabyts said.

He added that he was looking forward to performing in Bristol, Poole and London this spring.

Dougie Scarfe, Chief Executive of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, also commented on the honour.

"We are thrilled that Kirill’s impact on the UK’s musical landscape has been recognised with an Honorary OBE. He is a musical detective unlike any other and it has been an adventure to explore this music," Scarfe said.

Background: Kyrylo Karabyts, the son of the composer Ivan Karabyts, took over at the helm of one of the UK's major symphony orchestras in 2009.

He has also worked with other famous orchestras worldwide, including Vienna, Chicago, the National Orchestra of France, the Sydney Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

During the full-scale war, Karabyts, like conductor Oksana Lyniv, has been criticised for performing works by the Russian composers Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.

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