Igor Bilozir

Ihor Yosypovych Bilozir (born March 24, 1955, Radekhiv; died May 28, 2000, Lviv) is a Ukrainian composer, performer, People's Artist of Ukraine, and leader of VIA Vatra.

Igor Bilozir was born on March 24, 1955 in the city of Radekhiv, Lviv region. He studied at Radekhiv Secondary School № 1. I. Bilozor's first musical compositions were performed by the school vocal-instrumental ensemble, and the first professional recording took place in 1969 on Lviv Radio in the program "Traveling Meridian".

He later moved to Lviv. In the city of Leva he lived at 4 Fredra Street. Today a memorial plaque hangs on this building, and a museum of the composer has been created in the apartment. He studied at the Lviv Music and Pedagogical School and the Lviv Conservatory. Internships in the USA and Canada.

Since 1977 he has been the head of VIA Rhythms of the Carpathians of the Lviv Bus Plant, and since 1979 he has been the artistic director and soloist of VIA Vatra of the Lviv Regional Philharmonic, which performs most of his songs to this day. He also writes songs for his wife, vocalist Oksana Bilozir, and performs some songs himself.

He died of his injuries on May 28, 2000, at an ambulance in Lviv. Buried in Lviv Lychakiv Cemetery (field № 2).

On August 7, 2002, the Lviv Oblast Court of Appeal sentenced Dmytro Voronov, accused of killing composer Ihor Bilozor, to 10 years in prison. Yuri Kalinin was sentenced to eight years in prison as an accomplice. The court also decided to conduct an official investigation in the medical institution where Bilozir died.

Author of pop songs, chamber and instrumental compositions, works for orchestra, music for theatrical performances. Among the works of the song:

• "Wheat oar", "Mother's room", "Wedding march" - in the words of B. Stelmakh;
• "Like yesterday", "Beloved" - in the words of P. Zapotichny;
• "Blue Snow", "Knights" - in the words of Anna Kanich.
• His work has gained recognition in the United States, Canada, Germany, Poland and Russia. In 1996 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine.

• In Radekhiv, for the first time in Ukraine, a street (formerly Zirkova) was named after Bilozor, as well as the music school where the composer studied. A bronze memorial plaque (sculptor Anatoliy Galyan) is installed on the facade of the school.
• On August 19, 2013, a monument in the form of a white angel was consecrated on the grave of Igor Bilozor in the Lychakiv Cemetery Museum-Reserve. It is made of Italian marble. The sculptors worked on it for over a year and a half. Relatives, friends and more than half a thousand Lviv residents came to honor the memory of the artist. The monument was created by sculptors Andriy and Volodymyr Sukhorsky, architect - Konstantin Malyarchuk.

Among others, Oksana Bilozir spoke:

"August 19 is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord and Igor himself, and his life, and the mission is suffering and companionship. It is like the transformation of an ordinary person into God's plan, God's plan and into the Lord's plan. His death was also a huge shock to many Ukrainians who wondered who they were and why they were here. "

• Also on the opening day of the monument at 7 p.m. A concert "Footprint on the Earth" dedicated to the memory of Igor Bilozor took place in the premises of the National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater named after Maria Zankovetskaya. The composer's songs were performed by VIA "Vatra", "Vatrovi", Oksana Bilozir, Maryan Shunevych, Ihor Bohdan, the band "19th grade", Antonina Matvienko, Oksana Hryb, Oleg Marcinkivsky, Oleg Yarema, Maria Gev, shared memories of Fedor Stryg , B. Stelmakh, P. Zapotichny and others.