Yana Yurkevichiute

I'm Yana, a music teacher from Ukraine, now based in Riga. Music has been my world for over eleven years, and I love helping people find their own way into it — gently, at their own pace.

I hold a Master's degree in Music from the Mikhail Glinka Dnipropetrovsk Academy of Music (2017–2019), specialising in folk instruments, with qualifications as a performer, ensemble and orchestra artist, and orchestral conductor. I also completed professional training in orchestral wind instruments at the Myroslav Skoryk Kamianske Music College (2021–2022), which deepened my work with flute and recorder.

As a performer, I've been a laureate of Ukrainian and international competitions, including a First Prize at the "Racconto di Primavera" international competition in Ravenna, Italy (2021), "Perpetuum Mobile" in Drohobych, "Art-Dominanta" in Kharkiv, and the All-Ukrainian conductors' competition "Prometheus" in Kamianske. Many of my students have also become laureates of national and international competitions. I've also performed with the Ukrainian folk ensemble "Ukrainochki".

I began teaching in 2014. For nine years I taught at Dnipro Music School No. 16, working with children and adults on a range of instruments, and for four years I also taught accordion and bayan, along with ensemble classes, at the Dnipro Academy of Music. Since moving to Riga, I've been running my own private music studio, teaching piano, flute, accordion and recorder individually online, and leading ensemble classes in person.

I work mostly with beginners and with people returning to music after a long break. My approach is warm and calm — I believe anyone can learn when they feel comfortable and understood.

My focus is on strong musical foundations — technique, reading, rhythm, and listening — the core skills that later let students learn the pieces they love on their own. I teach through classical and popular music (rather than jazz or country), and I adapt each lesson to the student's needs and goals.