Venera ( Valeriia Svyryda )

Valeriia Svyryda was born on April 2, 2004, in Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk Region, Ukraine, where she graduated from a music school with a specialization in piano. During her school years, she composed piano miniatures, although she did not notate them. From 2019 to 2023, she studied piano at the Denys Sichynskyi Ivano-Frankivsk Professional Music College, where she participated in concerts and competitions for piano and chamber ensembles. 

Following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, she moved to Prague, where she studied at a music lyceum. However, after some time, she decided to return to Ukraine and complete her studies at the Ivano-Frankivsk College. During this period, she began notating her compositions and independently studying other instruments. In 2023, she was admitted to the Mykola Lysenko Lviv National Music Academy, majoring in composition, and began studying composition in the class of senior lecturer Bohdan Sehin.

From her very first year of study, she has been actively involved in the Academy’s concert life. Her works are regularly performed at student concerts and thematic events. Since 2025, while still a second-year student, her compositions have been performed at prominent contemporary music festivals in Ukraine, including the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Contrasts 31” (Lviv), “Virtuosi 44”, “Music of Young Composers”, “Kyiv Music Premieres”, “Songs of Coal and Stee”l for Ensemble24, with Sven-Ingo Koch as mentor, and “Pro et Contra”.

As part of a ULYSSES Journey, Valeriia was commissioned for the Pro et Contra New Music Scene series — a cycle of exclusive chamber-format concerts taking place in one of Lviv’s most unique artistic spaces, Ideas Museum. Trust Temple. Her work, "Rituals" was performed on 25 April 2026.

Valeriia Svyryda is a recipient of the President of Ukraine Scholarship (2026).