СУЧАСНИЙ СТАН І ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ РОЗВИТКУ ДИТЯЧОГО НАРОДНО-ОРКЕСТРОВОГО ВИКОНАВСТВА В УКРАЇНІ

The significant creative achievements of children’s orchestral performance in the field of domestic folk instrumental art have been a typical feature of recent decades. In this regard, the study of the peculiarities of the children’s folk orchestral performance evolution is of interest in the present. Objectives. The objectives of this study are to provide a theoretical substantiation of the current state and trends of children’s orchestral performance in the folk instrumental art of Ukraine. Methods. The methodological basis of the study comprises the interaction of scientific approaches, among which the historical, cultural, systemic, structural and functional, and musicology methods play an important role Summary. Children’s domestic folk orchestral performance during the last decades, due to strong state support, demonstrates a certain degree of developmental stability, as evidenced by the large number of the functioning and newly created cultural institutions, the out-of-school and specialized educational institutions of the ensembles. The creativity of many of them reflects the general tendencies in the development of this kind of folk instrumental performance, in particular aiming at the principles of professional academic art, growth of the performance level, expansion of the repertoire genres and styles, intensification of concert activities, strengthening of creative relationships with composers, etc. In the system of elementary specialized education, most children’s musical schools and art schools have orchestras of folk instruments. The instruments of these ensembles include mainly the instruments that are studied in special classes not only in the departments of folk instruments, but also in the departments of bowed string instruments, wind and percussion instruments, therefore the most typical are the mixed orchestras. Often the leaders also use electronic instruments (bass guitar, synthesizer). In educational institutions of district centers and village centers of Western Ukraine, there are the ensembles that use traditional musical instruments, such as Hutsul tsymbaly, trembita, buhalo, etc. The ensembles differ from each other not only by the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the instrumental component, but also by the selection of the leading orchestral group (domra/kobza or violin). The field of the out-of-school education is represented by the folk orchestral ensembles of the youth centers and the students’ centers, which are numerically inferior to the previous group. However, they are the largest by the number of participants, have a strong teaching staff, many years of organizational, educational, artistic and creative activities, introduce new approaches, forms and methods of work with children and are considered the outposts of the development of the folk orchestral genre in children’s environment. The basic instruments of these ensembles include domra, balalaika, accordion, the sound of which is often added by violin, bandura, tsymbaly, flute, clarinet, electronic instruments. The ensembles of out-of-school education facilities initiate various culture-and-art projects, such as holding musical meetings with creative ensembles, musical and educational concerts for school children and youth, concert meetings of members of different generations. Today, the number of children’s folk instrument orchestras of the village, district and city cultural centers and community halls is the smallest in comparison with other ensembles, but this does not prevent them from preserving and developing the traditions of educating children with the means of folk instrumental art, providing favorable conditions for creative growth, communication and exchange of experience, as well as organizing musical festivals and contests. Concert performances at reviews, contests, festivals of local, regional, all-Ukrainian and international levels, held in different cities of the country, as well as in the international music and folk festivals, which took place in Poland, Belgium, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Greece, became promising directions of creative activities of contemporary folk orchestral ensembles. A characteristic trend for many ensembles is the preservation, revival and renewal of traditions. A vivid example of continuity of traditions and their renewal in the experience of subsequent generations is demonstrated by the folk instrument orchestras of the P. I. Tchaikovsky Kharkiv Children’s School of Arts No. 2 (headed by Ya. Babenko) and the Kharkiv Boarding School No. 12 for Visually Impaired Children (headed by Ye. Maslak). Children’s folk instrument orchestras continue to be an excellent base for the practice of the students of musical education institutions, who are qualified as “Conductor of Folk Instrument Orchestra”, as well as a base for holding a state conducting examination. Their high performance level allows performing quite complex musical compositions different by genre and style, in particular the adaptations of samples of domestic and world classics, the number of which in recent decades has significantly decreased, arrangements of folk songs and dances, works of contemporary domestic and foreign composers, as well as pop, variety, jazz and even rock music. It is these trends in recent decades that attract the attention of a wide listening audience. In the concert programs of some orchestras of the western regions of Ukraine, which have kept strong autochthonous music traditions, there are often the works that are closely related to the regional traditions of the folk instrumentalism. Positive changes also occur in the evolution of scientific and methodological conceptions in the fi eld of children’s folk orchestral performance. The leaders of ensembles generalize their own experience of traditional and innovative approaches to the organization of educational and artistic work with children, represent their experience on the pages of periodicals, on the Internet, etc. (I. Blyznychenko, V. Zhukov, V. Budionnyi, etc.). An important stimulating factor is holding of regional conferences on the modern methods and practices of teaching and educating children by means of the folk instrumental art, creative laboratories of the leaders of folk instrument orchestras. Results. The results of the research support the idea that modern children’s folk orchestral performance in Ukraine reveals the signs of stable development as a component of academic musical art; it has a peculiar creative system that is distinguished by the originality of the artistic and performing ideas of ensemble leaders concerning the timbre palette of orchestral sound, genre and style priorities in the selection of musical compositions, their interpretation and stage presentation, and this creative system is also characterized by the growth of artistic level and cultural potential, activation of concert activities and expansion of its geographical boundaries, innovative approaches in the methods of teaching and educating children. Conclusions. The results of the study are important for teaching the course History of Folk Instrumental Performance, Methodology of Work with Orchestra.