Zachary Senick (Захар Сенюк)

Originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he began his bassoon studies at age 16 with Marie Sellar. He holds a BMus in Orchestral Performance at McGill University under Stéphane Lévesque and a MMus in Instrumental Performance at the University of Toronto under Eric Hall, and a doctorate of musical arts from the University of Toronto where he defended his thesis "Slava Ukraini: An Annotated Catalog of Ukrainian Solo and Chamber Bassoon Works." It was supervised by Robin Elliot with involvement from other committee members Gary Kulesha and Eric Hall.

He has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Orchestre de la Francophonie and a substitute with the Canadian Opera Company, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, Guelph Symphony, and Ontario Philharmonic. An avid contemporary performer he has works written for and dedicated to him by Ukrainian composers in chronological order: Dmytro Kyryliv: (Molfar for bassoon and piano), Andriy Lehki (Phasing in 4 for woodwind quartet), Sergei Pilyutikov (Turns for bassoon and piano), Dmytro Demchenko (Naiad for bassoon and piano; Corona Australis for woodwind quartet), Renanta Sokachyk (Three Pieces in F for bassoon and piano), Tatiana Stankovych (Unstoppable Wind of Freedom for woodwind quartet, Rozdum for chamber ensemble), Olena Arkhypova (Rondo for solo bassoon; Scherzo for bassoon and piano), Valeriy Antonyuk (Ironic Moment for solo bassoon), Usein Bekirob (Darkness for solo bassoon), Anastasia Sysenko (A-ff-air for solo bassoon), Zakhar Ozerskyi (Cycle of Thought Impromptu no. 1 for solo bassoon), Andriy-Ivan Kostiv (Etude for solo bassoon), Anna Stoianova (The New Life for solo bassoon), Olena Lys (Monologue for solo bassoon), Volodymyr Chernenko (Ballade: Ukrainian Pattern for bassoon and piano; Concertino-Folk for bassoon and orchestra), Volodymyr Shumeiko (Shumka for wind quintet), Sergey Zav-Slobozhan (Zakarpattia Chants for wind quartet), Serhii Novokhatsky (Batiary for chamber ensemble), Dmytro Malyi (4 Archaic Songs for wind quartet), George Reshetar (Forgetten Legends for wind quartet), George Savransky (Travel to Yourself for bassoon and string quartet), Bohdan Syroyid (Kozak Suite for solo bassoon), Nadya Poklad (The Moon and the Stars for bassoon and piano).

He has also given the world premiere of works by Ukrainian composers Alexander Jacobchuk (Sonata-ballade for bassoon and piano), Yuri Polovotsky (Concerto op. 29). Oleksii Shvyrkunov (Four Miniature Scenes for oboe and bassoon),and Volodymyr Pavensky (Wind Quintet op. 23), Nathan Lomov (Melodie for solo bassoon) along with the North American premiere of around 20 works. In 2022, he was awarded the Hnatyshyn Foundation's Ukraine Heritage-Spirit and Future grant and performed for the Governor General of Canada at Rideau Hall in June 2023. He has performed internationally giving a solo recital in June 2025 at the International Double Reed Society conference at Butler University, USA.

Senick is the founder and director of the Slava Ukraini Winds (www.slavaukrainiwinds.com) that perform, premiere, and record works by Ukrainian composers. They have provided the first existing recordings of many works and are performing a recital in July 2026 at the International Double Reed Society in Ohio, USA.

In addition to performing, he is currently a music editor for Éditions Plamondon producing publications for their Slava Ukraini Series.

He has been working as an archivist and music librarian as he is currently the orchestral librarian for the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. In the past he was a summer library assistant for the Canadian Music Centre at their national office in Toronto and curator for the George Zukerman Collection through the Council of Canadian Bassoonists, and a music librarian at the International Music Camp.

In the past he has been a music instructor at the Vernon Cadet Training Centre's summer program for 2018-2019, and maintains an active woodwind private studio. In his free time, Senick is an avid cook, and his favorite things to make are вареники (varenyky/perogies) and борщ (borsch).

The website features recordings and information regarding private lessons. Browse the Recordings tab to find recordings by Ukrainian composers. Browse the Lessons tab for more information on private lessons.