Maksym Mahlay (Cleveland, OH) is a Cleveland-born Ukrainian musician, teacher, composer and lecturer. Currently, Maksym has given concerts and ethnomusicological lectures nationwide, with the current lecture tour spanning seven universities across the US.

 

Throughout his conservatory career, Maksym has written over 100 pieces, most of them exploring the specific genre of fugue. Personal achievements include three pedagogical-musicological papers on Fugue Improvisation Research, self-created Scriabin Theory Research, and The Evolution of Ukrainian Instruments. In addition, he is currently involved in composing new bandura and liturgical music for musicians abroad, with repertoire performed in Ukrainian conservatories and churches. In addition, Maksym has collaborated with soprano and poet Victoria Popritkin on the creation of one of the century's first composed song cycles.

 

As a cross-conservatory collaborator, he serves as an employee of two ongoing projects, one being Obadiah Baker's Hip Hop and Ukraine Project (through Fulbright and Tender Hearts Crusades), and Martin Hebel's Uplifting Unheard Voices interview project.

 

As a lecturer, Maksym's ethnomusicological tour started out with University of Cincinnati - and now is reaching dozens of universities across the country, ranging from Akron University to Florida State and University of Arkansas. Maksym's pedagogical pieces and compositions also serve as cultural education material. His most recent commission from Terenia Kuzma of Bard's College, "VONA" ("She Is.."), serves not only as a pioneering piece of Ukrainian pagan cultural revival, but also as a milestone in the study of matriarchy and the power of She in worldwide cultures, specifically Ukraine.

 

Maksym's bandura career has been equally as extensive. Studying bandura now for more than a decade, Maksym serves as a permanent virtual and out-of-state teacher for Hryhory Kytasty School of Bandura in Cleveland, Ohio. An alumni of a plethora of bandura camps such as the Bandura@Bobriwka camp in Connecticut and Kobzars’ka Sich bandura and vocal program in Pennsylvania, Maksym has since been involved at teaching numerous bandura camps, including KS, Cleveland Bandura Workshop, Detroit Bandura Workshop, and CYM Bandura Seminar. Personal achievements from the bandura sphere include the 2018 and 2022 concerts by Kobzars'ka Sich Bandura and Vocal Program, where Maksym conducted, wrote, and organized repertoire for the artistic directors. In June 2024, Maksym founded the Poltava Prostir Alternative Bandura Experience seminar, focusing on historical bandura performance as part of his Baroque research.

 

Having graduated as a double major in Piano Performance and Music Composition at the College-Conservatory of Music, he is pursuing his Masters in Harpsichord.