OXANA SHEVCHENKO

1. What slogan would represent you and your art the most?  

 - In all seriousness, I could not come up with a beautiful compact moto, but if not to be serious, it should look like a commercial for wizard services:  “I will show other worlds, open emotional clamp, and   touch the innermost strings of your soul. Effectively. Fast. 100% Guarantee.  

2. What do you value the most in music?

 - It is amazing, but what I value the most about music is the music itself. Music is a huge different world, and it is a very special happiness to be "connected" to this world, understand and speak in the language of music, communicate through music with people from different centuries, countries, cultures, and even to travel! 

This became especially convenient in a pandemic, when everyone stays home, and we, musicians, can transfer you to another place just playing, for example, Gershvin works, and you feel yourself like in New York. 

Music may answer all questions - you just ask and then listen carefully. Also music heals. For real. Every musician faced such cases that while playing the music they got healed from incessant cough, stuffy nose, and headache. 

3. Many musicians say that they get to know themselves more and open own new talents because of your art…How the music influenced you?

- Hard to say, because doing music since 7 years, I can safely say that I don’t remember and don’t know myself beyond the music world, therefore, probably all my existence is about the music. Perhaps, a perfect pitch helps me to grasp foreign languages ​​on the fly, and auditory memory helps me memorize large layers of information, but I am more inclined to seek feedback - what can I experience and put into music, what are the things I could be impressed with, what I can learn, what experience I can get, so that it will fuel my emotional baggage and make me more convincing as a musician. 

Generally, every case or commotion could bring experience, put it in an imaginary box in memory and get it when it is needed for the music being played.

4. What does music mean to you?

 - Music is a universal language which I can speak and happy to express my feelings in it, and at the same time I can be sure that I will be understood equally well both in China and in Colombia.

An amazing property of music is that it can penetrate the heart of even the most inexperienced listener if the listener is in it.

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5. Who are your idols?

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- I have no idols, I do not like the word “idol”, because I hear its first meaning – statue, idol. Clearly, there are people whom I admire and there are many of them, but these are mostly not world famous performers, but, for example, philanthropists, parents taking care of children from the system, investigative journalists, environmental activists - people who go upstream and are the law unto themselves, the people of will and soul. 

6. If you weren't a musician, what would you be?

- As a kid I could not even think that something else could take place of music, but as long as I live the world around looks more immense and interesting and the palette of missed possible activities grows wider. This is genetics, astrophysics, architecture and theater.

If I was left without my profession in this very moment, I would work where I could use my skills of knowing 5 foreign languages.  But if I was offered to go back to the time 25 years ago, I still would choose the music.

7. Do you think that musicians have all opportunities to become popular and successful in Kazakhstan (on globally)? Why? 

- Clearly, there are many advantages and I believe that there is always a demand in society for new names, new heroes and new stories. Still I should add that every successful musician is promoted not only by his hard work, but also by professionalism of managers, without whom nobody will likely know about musician and his work. That’s why everything is possible if you possess a natural talent and external professional support. 

8. What is the ideal life for you as a musician?

- I would like to answer this question not only like a musician but also as a human, because even the biggest happiness of performer, the most awesome concerts will not bring a joy if you have no inner power generating an inspiration. 

Music without inspiration is a just broken silence, and fortunately, inspiration is a renewable resource that every musician could seek it in his own way-for example, I feel inspired at home when loved ones are next to me. Therefore, my perfect life is when everyone at home is happy and healthy, that I can happily soak myself in music:  go on tours, play music with my friends, make records, perform with orchestras and all the happiness is in this harmony.