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Sergei Vladimirovich Kossenko uniquely blends in his music rich European
artistry with current American music industry trends. Originally coming from
the heart of Russia -- Moscow, Sergei has gone through 16 years of extensive
music studies. He has a composer's diploma from the world-renowned Moscow Conservatory of Music, a dual
degree in composition and piano performance from the Central Music School in
Moscow, and, as a "modern addendum" to his classical background, a master's
degree in electronic music from Dartmouth
College, an Ivy League school.
Sergei started to work professionally in the music field when he was a second-year student at the Conservatory. At the age of 20, he was already writing music for a radio show called Unicum, or The Improbability Theory aired bi-weekly on the all-Russian Station 3. This collaboration lasted for more than a year, and Sergei's background music is still aired frequently on various Russian radio stations. He also composed and performed music for two episodes of Early in The Morning, a children's show on Russian television. At the same time Sergei started to work as an arranger for the Russian Presidential Orchestra in the Moscow Kremlin. His orchestral arrangements have been played by the orchestra both in Russia and abroad, including the leading venues in the United States such as the Lincoln Center in New York City. Sergei's first symphony received its premiere at the Moscow Autumn 19th International Festival of Contemporary Music performed by the Russian Ministry of Defense Orchestra with Victor Lutsenko conducting. In the electronic music field, Sergei began his path by traveling to former Yugoslavia to record Pitches of Life, a composition blending classical tradition with pop and new age influences. This trip was made possible by a grant from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Serbia. Pitches of Life attracted attention of Andrei Smirnov, director of the Theremin Center for Electroacoutic Music in Moscow, which lead to Sergei joining the center. There, Sergei composed electronic music of the experimental genre, going as far as creating an interactive fantasia for bicycle and computer. Two of Sergei's electronic compositions, Voicy and Men's Job, are featured on Mrs. Lenin, an album released by the Theremin Center on SoLyd Records in Moscow. Sergei has always been an active piano performer in addition to his specialty as a composer. At the age of 12, he was already featured in the Young Pioneers cinema journal shown at the time in many theaters across the former Soviet Union, performing his piano suite The Ancient Russia and talking about his musical inspirations. Studying at the Conservatory, Sergei toured in Russia and Europe playing classical repertoire as well as his own music. While at Dartmouth, Sergei performed two solo piano recitals, and also participated in Dartmouth Annual New Music Festival giving a U.S. premiere to his piano sonata. The last of those solo recitals, Russian Music Through Two Centuries, was presented by the Hopkins Center for The Performing Arts and gathered an audience of over 400 listeners. In connection with this recital, Sergei had an hour-long feature on Vermont Public Radio playing live on the air. Sergei's recent recording of piano improvisations entitled Love to The Piano was made at the Bolshoi Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the "Russian Carnegie Hall." In the field of music for media, in addition to his work in Russia, Sergei composed music for technical videos and interactive presentations about the U.S. Space Program, and scored an Isidis Films short My Name Is Leila. He also acted as an arranger, mixing engineer, and co-producer on a record album Legends Free by singer/songwriter Dan Keenan, released on Rocket Science Records. Sergei's native tongue is Russian, but his English proficiency makes him truly bilingual. He studied English since the age of 9, and when the time came he adapted well to the American dialect and culture in general. He is open-minded, fast-learning, and always anxious to expand his artistic horizons. Sergei's music is very picturesque, "visual", and in that way lends itself well to any visual media, as well as to both active and passive listening. Sergei is well-versed in a variety of genres and techniques, be it scoring for a full symphony orchestra or working in a keyboard-oriented music production studio. His diverse musical background and interests make him an ideal resource for enterprises in need of an imaginative yet recognizable musical signature for their productions. 
Design and content © 1998 Sergei Kossenko. All rights reserved. Photo by Jill Porter. |