Ukrainian-born violinist Orest Smovzh is taking most interest in artistic collaborations, recital repertoire, creating unusual programs, and solo violin performances. In addition to performing - Orest is dedicated to organizing festivals, promoting contemporary music, and historically informed performance. For the last few years, he works under the mentorship of Midori.

Orest’s repertoire spans over 800 years starting with medieval estampie and renaissance diminutions and ending with he most recent music. He performed numerous world and local premiers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and over the last 15 years Orest commissioned or premiered a majority of the most important Ukrainian contemporary works for violin.

He was a co-founder of Dzenzelivka Classical Week – the first Ukrainian chamber music festival in a village; Collegium Musicum Lviv - one of the most vibrant concert organizations of Ukraine; Melaka Classics – an innovative project in Malaysia, as well as a member of Kyiv Contemporary Music Days. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Orest constantly performed in such cities as Lviv, Kyiv and Kharkiv among others.

Orest collaborated in chamber performances with the members of Orchestre des Champs- Élysées, Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy, pianists Thomas Hoppe, Albert Tiu, Fazıl Say, cellist Michael Kannen, violinist Vadim Gluzman. He recently received most memorable coachings from pianists Ferenc Rados, Leon Fleisher, Jeffrey Kahane, Ellen Mack, conductor Gyorgy Takacs-Nagy, baritone Thomas Hampson and lute player Nigel North. As a soloist, he took part in historically informed performances with Masaaki Suzuki in Singapore and USC Baroque Sinfonia in Los Angeles, as well as participated in several outreach projects in Mexico, USA, and Japan.

Winner of 2015 Tadeusz Wroński Violin Solo Competition and the finalist of 2018 George Enescu Violin Competition, Orest has performed on instruments by Guarneri del Gesù, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, and others, loaned by late Mr. Rin Kei Mei and private collections. He appeared as a soloist with George Enescu Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Yamagata Symphony Orchestra, Uzbekistan National Symphony Orchestra, Lublin Philharmonic Orchestra, Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ukrainian Festival Orchestra, in such iconic halls as Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Hitachi Systems Hall in Sendai among others. His performances were broadcasted by Medici, Danish Broadcast Corporation, Kol Ha Musica, WXQR, Lithuanian National Radio and Television, and The National Radio Company of Ukraine.

Orest holds degrees from National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, and Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where he studied with Yaroslava Rivnyak, Dmytro Tkachenko, Qian Zhou, Midori, and participated in masterclasses by Vadym Repin, Ilya Gringolts, Ivry Gitlis, Pierre Amoyal, Nam Yun Kim, Pinchas Zukerman, Petru Munteanu, Kszysztof Węgrzyn, and David Takeno.