Volodymyr Kushpet is an influentian Ukrainian baritone

Baritone

Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

 singer, and player on torban

Torban

The torban is a Ukrainian musical instrument that combines the features of the Baroque Lute with those of the psaltery. The Тorban differs from the more common European Bass lute known as the Theorbo in that it had additional short treble strings strung along the treble side of the soundboard. It...

, kobza

Kobza

The kobza is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family , a relative of the Central European mandora...

, bandura

Bandura

Bandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...

 and lira, noted reconstruction of traditional playing techniques on these instruments.
He is the author of a primer for these instruments and an in-depth study of the institution of Kobzar

Kobzar

A Kobzar was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment.-Tradition:Kobzars were often blind, and became predominantly so by the 1800s...

 Guilds, associations of itinerary blind singers in Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

.

Volodymyr Kushpet studied bandura

Bandura

Bandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...

 initially under Andriy Omelchenko

Andriy Omelchenko

Andriy Fedorovych Omelchenko-Biography:Omelchenko initially began to play bandura from Makar Osadchyj in Dniprodzherzhinsk and joined the bandura capella there...

 and then later completed his studies at the Kiev Conservatory

Kiev Conservatory

The Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music education. Its courses include postgraduate education.-History:...

 under Serhiy Bashtan

Serhiy Bashtan

Serhiy Vasylievych Bashtan is a professor of Bandura at the Kiev ConservatoryBashtan was born in the village of Novi Birochky, now Velykyj Khutir, Cherkasy Oblast....

. Along with Kost Novytsky

Kost Novytsky

Kostantyn Heorhiovych Novytsky, better known as Kost' Novytsky is one of the more influential bandurists in Kiev today. Originally, he studied under Andriy Omelchenko and later at the Kiev Conservatory under Serhiy Bashtan...

 he was one of the founding members of the KOBZA pop group and played an electrified bandura

Bandura

Bandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...

 in the ensemble.

Later Kushpet performed in a duo with Novytsky playing instrumental primarily classical transcriptions on the bandura. Kushpet became extremely interested in the authentic bandura and particularly the kobza as played by Ostap Veresai

Ostap Veresai

Ostap Mykytovych Veresai , was a renowned minstrel and kobzar from the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire...

, after being introduced to Heorhy Tkachenko

Heorhy Tkachenko

Heorhiy Kyrylovych Tkachenko .-Biography:Tkachenko was able to complete his high school education in Kharkiv before continuing his education in Moscow. He completed his education in Moscow as an architect in 1929 and continued to live in Moscow where he designed many of the parks around the city...

. From the transcriptions made by M. Lysenko in the 1870s Kushpet has managed to restore most of the repertoire performed by Veresai.

Kushpet teaches as the kobzar school in Strytivka near Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

 and at one time at the Kharkiv Musical-Drama Institute. Recently he has also taught the torban

Torban

The torban is a Ukrainian musical instrument that combines the features of the Baroque Lute with those of the psaltery. The Тorban differs from the more common European Bass lute known as the Theorbo in that it had additional short treble strings strung along the treble side of the soundboard. It...

 for a short period of time at the Kiev Conservatory

Kiev Conservatory

The Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music education. Its courses include postgraduate education.-History:...

.

Publications

• Kushpet, V. - "Samonavchytel' hry na starosvits'kykh muzychnykh instrumentakh" - K. 1997