Valeriy Horodovenko was born in Kharkiv in 1944. After graduating from secondary school in 1961, he entered the Kharkiv Music College in the domra class..
While studying at the music school, he initiated the creation of a student folk instrument ensemble and mastered courses in conducting and instrumentation ahead of schedule. The school environment at that time was fertile ground for developing the creativity of young musicians: as a second-year student, Valeriy Horodovenko took the conductor’s podium of the student folk instrument orchestra for the first time. He also began arranging music for orchestras and ensembles and, with the help of senior student V.I. Lebedev (now a Professor at the Kharkiv Institute of Arts), mastered the oboe and played in the student symphony orchestra.
His studies were interrupted by military service (1963-1966), where, as a musician in a military brass band, Valeriy Horodovenko mastered the flute and soon became a soloist. During his service, Horodovenko created a folk instrument orchestra that performed successfully for both military personnel and the civilian public.
After his service, Horodovenko began working (on September 1, 1966) at the Kharkiv Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren as the conductor of the pioneer song and dance ensemble. Simultaneously, he completed the 3rd and 4th years of music school in a single year and entered the Faculty of Folk Instruments at the Kharkiv Institute of Arts in 1967.
Since 1966, Horodovenko’s life has been inseparably associated with the Folk Instruments Orchestra of the Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren (now the Regional Palace of Children and Youth Creativity).
After graduating from the Institute of Arts in 1972, Valeriy Horodovenko worked at the Kharkiv Institute of Culture as a conducting teacher in the wind and pop orchestra department. He led student wind orchestras, participated in teaching folk instrument ensembles, and engaged in methodical work.
Since 1975, Valeriy Horodovenko has worked at the Kharkiv Music College—first as a conducting teacher and, since 1984, as the head of the student folk instrument orchestra. Horodovenko’s multifaceted creative and public activities are well known in musical circles across the Kharkiv region and abroad. For over 55 years, he has conducted fruitful creative activities in the field of musical education for youth through folk instrumental music. Horodovenko has proven to be a talented conductor, teacher, and organizer—a tireless public figure constantly engaged in creative search.
Leading three large youth folk and instrumental teams, Horodovenko succeeded in bringing them to leadership positions among similar orchestras and ensembles. They became well known to audiences not only in many cities of Ukraine but also in the Baltics, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Belgium.
The Folk Instruments Orchestra of the Kharkiv Regional Palace of Children and Youth Creativity, which Horodovenko has managed for over 55 years, is a large youth collective with a high level of performance culture. Its brilliant technical level, fine cantilena, and impeccable ensemble quality place this team alongside professional orchestras.
Thanks to Valeriy Horodovenko’s leadership, the orchestra received the honorary title of laureate at republican and international festivals, including those in Poland and Slovakia. Since 1985, the orchestra has held the honorary title of “Exemplary Collective“.
The orchestra serves as a perfect creative laboratory that has educated many professional musicians and helped countless newcomers join the treasury of folk music. The Folk Instruments Orchestra of the Kharkiv Music College, which Valeriy Horodovenko has headed for over 37 years, occupies a leading place in the cultural life of the Kharkiv region. Distinguished by its high performance culture, skill, and diverse repertoire, the orchestra serves its educational mission while conducting active cultural work among the general public.
Lecture-concerts have become a tradition for orchestras under Horodovenko’s management, including performances across the Kharkiv region, creative reports in the city’s major halls, television appearances, and radio recordings. The orchestras frequently perform in major holiday concerts alongside the city’s best professional teams.
One of the significant achievements of Valeriy Horodovenko’s musical and social activities was the creation of the “Nadiya” folk music ensemble in 1991. By gathering talented youth around him, Horodovenko created an original team with a rich concert life. The ensemble has made recordings for the State TV and Radio companies of Ukraine and Radio Zielona Góra (Poland).
Horodovenko combines his work as a conductor and artistic director with teaching. Many of his students (graduates) have continued their education at higher musical institutions. Valeriy Horodovenko enjoys great respect among colleagues across Ukraine, providing advisory and methodical assistance, organizing creative exchanges, and sharing his own musical arrangements.
Among Valeriy Horodovenko’s most significant creative initiatives today is the idea of creating a professional orchestra of Ukrainian folk instruments in Kharkiv to reflect the originality of the folk musical culture of Slobozhanshchyna, as well as the organization of international youth festivals and the creation of an International Folk-Instrumental Music Association.