ULYSSES CO-COMMISSION: POLINA POHOZHA

Polina Pohozha is a Ukrainian composer and free improviser based in Gothenburg. Originally trained as a classical pianist, she began composing in 2022 and has since developed a distinctive musical language through independent practice, experimentation, improvisation, and two years of study at the Gotland School of Music Composition. Her principal sources of inspiration are folk music and sound itself. Fascinated by raw, primal sounds, she creates sonic worlds that emerge intuitively during the compositional process and gradually take shape as musical narratives. She has worked with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Collettivo_21, Ivo Nilsson, Jorgen Pettersson, GotlandsMusiken, Sophie Kauer, Uppsala Kammarsolister, NYKY Ensemble, the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra, and others. Her composition teachers have included Joseph Lake, Ida Lunden, and Yan Maresz. She has received grants and scholarships from Konstmusiksystrar, STIM, and other organisations.

Polina's new work a-a-a-i-i-i is commissioned in the context of the ULYSSES Platform by members Warsaw Autumn and Lviv National Philharmonic. It is inspired by research into sperm-whale communication and the patterned click sequences known as codas.

The programme is performed by NeoQuartet and Ensemble Nostri Temporis. Founded in 2007, Ensemble Nostri Temporis is one of Ukraine’s leading contemporary music ensembles. Through close collaboration with composers of different generations and nationalities, the ensemble has championed the work of emerging artists, inspired numerous new compositions, and performed at major contemporary music festivals as well as in its own concert projects. An important aspect of its activity is the development of interdisciplinary projects combining new music with visual art, poetry, theatre, and film. Ensemble members Natalia Kozhushko-Maksymiv (flute), Bohdan Kozhushko (accordion), and Nazarii Stets (double bass) perform extensively both as soloists and as members of the ensemble. In 2026, they were invited to participate in Pro et Contra: The New Music Scene, a chamber concert series presented by the Lviv National Philharmonic as part of the ULYSSES Platform. 

Also within ULYSSES, Natalia Kozhushko-Maksymiv, Bohdan Kozhushko, and Nazarii Stets were invited to participate in the Polish–Ukrainian project Dialogue without Borders, to be presented in autumn 2026. This initiative was launched by the Ukrainian Institute, Myroslav Skoryk Lviv National Philharmonic, Warsaw Autumn Festival, and Neo-Arte Association.

Programme

21:30 – MARATHON, PART 5: Online

Nazarii Stets Perspectives of the Sky 

Anna Zaradny Stolen Time 2026 Kujawiak & Oberek  

Mykhalio Chedryk Emotion №2: Rush 

Kuba Krzewiński Tactile sketches  

Polina Pohozha a-a-a-i-i-i  

Dominik Strycharski ReThink 

NEOQUARTET:

Karolina Piątkowska-Nowicka violin
Paweł Kapica violin
Michał Markiewicz viola
Antoni Majewski cello

SOLOISTS OF THE ENSEMBLE NOSTRI TEMPORIS:

Nataliia Kozhushko-Maksymiv flute
Bohdan Kozhushko accordion
Nazarii Stets double bass
Katarzyna Figat, Dominik Wilczyński sound projection

Read more