The conductor

Oksana Kryuchkova (1972) was born in the small town of Bila Tserkva in Ukraine.
In the 1970s and 1980s, there was little technological progress in Ukraine, and partly because of this, there was a great deal of beautiful singing. People sang many, often centuries-old folk songs in harmony at parties and gatherings, on park benches, and in front of apartment buildings.

It was almost impossible not to notice the beauty of Ukrainian folk music, which instilled in her a love for Slavic folk music from an early age. She herself sang in the local church choir and played the piano for a folk dance group.

In addition, Oksana developed a strong passion for classical music. She graduated with a major in piano from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Kiev, and later studied piano and music theory at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.

After working as an accompanying pianist for various choirs for several years, Oksana became captivated by conducting, which motivated her to study choral conducting. She initially studied at the Bourdon School of Music and later at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. During her studies, she also worked as a choir conductor for various mixed, oratorio, and chamber choirs.

Currently, Oksana is pursuing her master's degree in choral conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp.

Since August 2023, Oksana has been the successor to Gregor Bak as the first conductor of the Ural Cossacks Choir.