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. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto researching solo bassoon and wind chamber music written by Ukrainian composers.

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, and Ontario Philharmonic. An avid contemporary performer he has works written for and dedicated to him by Ukrainian composers 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), and Volodymyr Chernenko (Ballade: Ukrainian Pattern for bassoon and piano).

He has also given the world premiere of works by Ukrainian composers Alexander Jacobchuk (Sonata-ballade for bassoon and piano), Oleksii Shvyrkunov (Four Miniature Scenes for oboe and bassoon),and Volodymyr Pavensky (Wind Quintet op. 23) 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.

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

In the past he has been a music instructor at the Vernon Cadet Training Centre's summer program for 2018-2019, and a music librarian at the International Music Camp in 2017. 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.