Meet Tetiana Zhmendak

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tetiana Zhmendak. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tetiana , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

I find that, for me to stay creative and keep fresh ideas flowing, I must turn to forms of art other than music. Surely, I often get inspired by other composers’ work and by performances of other violinists, but many would agree that the inner critic will always find a way to turn listening sessions into moments of comparison and analysis, rather than pure creative enjoyment. I go to concerts all the time and I do leave inspired, but I have realized that, for me to keep the pool of creativity alive and flowing with fresh ideas, I must also turn to other forms of art.

I like reading poetry, especially the works of the Ukrainian poetess Lesya Ukrainka; I try to visit museums in every new city I travel to, and I frequently draw inspiration from cinema. During my college years, I would often visit Harvard’s Art Museum whenever I had a break, since it was within walking distance from my music school. Sometimes I would just pop in to see a couple of works, but even that helped me take my mind in new directions through appreciating the talent and worldview of other people.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a violinist and composer in the Boston area. I have been playing music my whole life and for the past six years have been creating projects and paving my artistic way here in the United States. As a violinist, I actively perform in the area as a soloist, a seated member of the DuBois Orchestra, and was recently a guest violinist for Apollo Symphony and Caspian Music Orchestra with Solomiya Ivakhiv as a soloist. Passionate about chamber music, I co-founded the Fabula Trio with my colleagues Arol Rzayev and Leyla Zeynalova, where we strive to reimagine beloved chamber repertoire through a fresh lens, while intertwining it with voices of the 21st century. This May, we made our debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which was an incredible experience.

As a composer, I take great pride in writing for emerging artists and ensembles, which most recently led me to compose my String Quartet No. 2 for the GAIA Quartet—an all-women ensemble dedicated to performing works by living composers. I write across genres and orchestrations, always seeking to blend sounds in a way that conveys my story with clarity and resonance. Because my own life has been directly affected by Russian aggression, my music often becomes a way of raising my voice against totalitarianism and war. At the same time, I find deep pride in sharing elements of my Ukrainian cultural heritage through my compositions. For me, music is both a personal expression and a form of testimony — a way to preserve memory, resist erasure, and create beauty in the midst of struggle.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

That’s such a tough question, because there are so many qualities that feel essential in the life of an artist. I could name many, but I narrowed it down to three pillars that not only carried me to where I am now, but will remain part of my creative toolkit for years to come.

The first is being a good collaborator and communicator. So much of my growth has come through working with others, whether on their projects or my own. To me, collaboration means respecting people’s time, opening your heart to their ideas and experiences, and being receptive to feedback. I try to learn at least one thing from every person I work with. I also want to be intentional about the impression I leave on people.

The second is knowing your values and standing firmly by them. This feels especially important for young artists—and, in my case, as a female artist too. A large part of the journey is discovering who you are at your core, and the one thing I would truly regret is betraying myself by going against those values.

Finally, I would say: keep a sense of creative, childlike curiosity. It’s so easy to get caught up in the seriousness of the professional world and forget to play, experiment, and ask questions. That curiosity—whether in music, life, or relationships—keeps the work alive. I try to constantly ask myself, “What if I try this?” and allow myself to cross the boundaries of what seems conventional.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

I think it really depends on the situation and the specific strengths or weaknesses we’re talking about. In music, for example, if I’m preparing a piece, I make sure to hit all the important areas of practice during the week: intonation, phrasing, working out technical elements, and expressiveness too, of course. You might not give equal focus to each aspect in one day, but what differentiates good musicians is how far they go into details. And that is very hard and takes a lot of effort. But that’s the work process.

If we talk about life in general, that is tricky too, because I think the balance is similar to the one in my creative work. There are things I find worthy of working on, such as confidence, trust in my own vision, and integrity. And it is never a bad idea to take a pause, assess your current place, and figure out which things require more attention.
I wish I could give a clearer answer, but you can never focus on everything at once. There will be moments when you lean into your strengths and other moments when you work on your weak spots. Let’s just say it’s important to know very well what those are for you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiaxnova/?next=%2F
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tetiana-zhmendak-842b97274?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@tanyamakesmusic?si=kVCiPfbm6xD7Aet2

Image Credits

this creator: https://www.instagram.com/geolidaxx/