Two-week masterclasses at Boston's prestigious music school — Zhyzhchenko teaches students to integrate folk into contemporary production practice.
Berklee College of Music (Boston, USA) invited Nata Zhyzhchenko to two-week masterclasses in visiting artist format in September 2026. This is the first invitation for a Ukrainian music author after Sviatoslav Vakarchuk (2019). The programme includes 6 public lectures, 8 individual coaching sessions with selected students, and 1 final showcase concert at Berklee Performance Center. Course theme — 'Modern Production with Ethnic Roots': how to integrate national folk tradition into contemporary electronic production practice without cultural appropriation. Zhyzhchenko will present her methodology, developed over 10 years of ONUKA work — from field recording through digital processing to live performance. Working material includes several tracks from the new 'RoOots' album. A separate block is dedicated to business aspects — how to build a global career from a national sound foundation. Zhyzhchenko will share the ONUKA case study, which grew from a 2013 student project to a 20-city tour in 2026 (see separate news). Berklee students will present their own tracks created during the course at the final concert on 26 September 2026.
