Olga Zaitseva-Herz

Olga Zaitseva-Herz (* 1987) is a Ukrainian ethnomusicologist and instrumental and vocal teacher.

Career

Olga Zaitseva-Herz comes from Dnipropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine¹ and has lived in Germany since 2008: in Wiesbaden, Frankfurt am Main and in Hünfelden in central Hesse. She studied violin at the conservatory in Dnipro and sound design at the Kyiv I. K. Karpenko-Kary University of Theatre, Cinema and Television,² completed a degree in biology at the same time³ and studied classical singing and violin at the Wiesbadener Musikakademie. She received a diploma from the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (HfMDK) in Frankfurt am Main.⁴ She is an experienced theatre musician and composer, has worked as a vocal teacher at the Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz⁵ and is pursuing a doctorate in musicology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. She has received numerous awards and scholarships for her research, including from the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.⁶ As part of her studies she took part, for example, in a public roundtable event of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen on the topic “Trauma in the Context of Global Migration”.⁷ She works as a research associate and music lecturer at the Kule Folklore Centre of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta, where her research includes the depiction of immigration in Ukrainian-Canadian songs.⁸⁹¹⁰

Musical career

Zaitseva-Herz performs worldwide as a singer and violinist and has already played with Andrea Bocelli, David Garret and others. She is an ensemble member of the Figurentheater Kania in Offenbach, for which she took on, for example, the composition, vocals and accompaniment on percussion, violin and theremin for the project “Dreams” (2021).¹¹ She is also a member of the Künstlerhaus43 in Wiesbaden, where she has appeared, for example, as a cabaret artist with the programme “Das Leben ist ein Schock! Oder: Frauenlogik für Anfänger”.¹²

Zaitseva-Herz also works on unusual projects: for the Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Idstein, Zaitseva-Herz sang during a devotional service.¹³ For the project “Sound of Frankfurt” she took on the vocal improvisation to the sounds of a lawnmower in the artistic “experiment” for the district of Praunheim.¹⁴ Together with Marek Herz and other musicians, she offers musical accompaniment for weddings.¹⁵

In 2012 she founded the folk band “Olga Zaitseva und Band”,¹⁶¹⁷ In 2013 the band was expanded to six members and renamed Zaitsa.¹⁸ Its style oscillates between jazz, Balkan pop, classical music and Ukrainian folk music. As Zaitseva-Herz grew up bilingual, she sings in Ukrainian and Russian.¹⁹ In 2012 Zaitsa was invited to the Mela Festival in London on the occasion of the opening of the Olympic Games.²⁰²¹ When performing, she usually wears a traditional flower wreath as a headdress, which is part of the Ukrainian folk costume.²²²³

In 2021 Zaitseva-Herz was awarded an Ottilie-Roederstein-Nachwuchsstipendium (Ottilie Roederstein scholarship for young artists) by the Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst for her project “Die Musik in Goethe”. In it, “as a composer, singer, instrumentalist and performer, she devotes herself to the sonic poetry of Goethe’s poem cycle Die römischen Elegien. To this end, she combines work with the voice, folk singing techniques and various musical styles with classical German poetry”.²⁴²⁵

Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, Zaitseva-Herz has performed at various protest events against the war, e.g. in Wiesbaden at the #WIstandwithUkraine festival on 13 March 2022²⁶ or at the festival “Sound of Peace” at the Brandenburg Gate on 20 March 2022.²⁷

Awards

Publications

2012: Olga Zaitseva & Band, debut EP
2016: Olga Zaitseva, Frauenlogik für Anfänger …
2018: Zaitsa, Zaitsa (album)
2020: Zaitsa, Quarantino (single)
Zaitseva-Herz, Olga (2020): Wild Music Sound and Sovereignty in Ukraine by Maria Sonevytsky. In: Kyiv-Mohyla Humanities Journal (Ukrainian Humanities Studies in the 21st Century), 7, pp. 255–257. Online at: http://kmhj.ukma.edu.ua/article/view/219685 (accessed 14/03/2022).

External links

Website of the band Zaitsa
Video on Olga Zaitseva-Herz’s Ukrainian-Canadian research project

Machine translation: This article was translated automatically from the German original.

1
Künstlerhaus43 (n. d.): Team. In: Webseite des Künstlerhaus43. Online at: https://kuenstlerhaus43.de/olga-zaitseva/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
2
St. Vladimir Institute (2022): Ukrainian folk songs in the Carpathians and on the Canadian Prairies. In: Webseite des St. Vladimir Institute. Online at: https://www.stvladimir.ca/calendar/2022/5/15-ukrainian-folk-songs (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
3
Fittkau, Ludger (2016): Ethno-Popband Zaitsa. Ein bisschen Ukraine in Hessen. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur, contribution of 19/02. Online at: https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/ethno-popband-zaitsa-ein-bisschen-ukraine-in-hessen-100.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
4
Figurentheater Kania (n. d.): Ensemble. In: Webseite des Figurentheaters Kania. Online at: https://www.figurentheater-kania.de/ensemble/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
5
Webseite der Band Zaitsa. Online at: http://www.zaitsa.com/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
6
Figurentheater Kania (n. d.): Ensemble. In: Webseite des Figurentheaters Kania. Online at: https://www.figurentheater-kania.de/ensemble/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
7
Zentrum für Globale Migrationsstudien (CeMig) der Universität Göttingen/Stiftung Adam von Trott (2019): Public Roundtable: Trauma in the Context of Global Migration – Opening up an Analytical Field. In: Webseite der Universität Göttingen. Event of 04/03. Online at: https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/workshop+program/637442.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
8
Interessengemeinschaft der Deutschen aus Russland in Hessen (IDRH) (2021): Memories. In: Webseite der IDRH, contribution of 28/12. Online at: https://idrh-hessen.de/memories/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
9
Ukrainian Canadian Congress (2021): Ukrainian Immigration to Canada in Songs with Olga Zaitseva-Herz. In: Webseite des Ukrainian Canadian Congress, event of 03/10. Online at: https://www.ucctoronto.ca/events/ukrainian-immigration-to-canada-in-songs-with-olga-zaitseva-herz (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
10
St. Vladimir Institute (2021): Ukrainian Immigration to Canada in Songs, with Olga Zaitseva-Herz. In: Webseite des St. Vladimir Institute, event of 03/10. Online at: https://www.stvladimir.ca/calendar/ukrainian-immigration-to-canada-in-songs (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
11
Figurentheater Kania (n. d.): Ensemble. In: Webseite des Figurentheaters Kania. Online at: https://www.figurentheater-kania.de/ensemble/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
12
Watschounek, Volker (2015): Das Leben ist Schock!? – oder Frauenlogik für Anfänger. In: Wiesbaden aktuell, article of 04/03. Online at: http://www.wiesbadenaktuell.de/startseite/news-detail-view/article/das-leben-ist-schock-oder-frauenlogik-fuer-anfaenger.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
13
Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Idstein (2020): Video-Andacht. In: Webseite der Evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Idstein, event of 17/05. Online at: https://www.unionskirche-idstein.de/leben-im-glauben/gottesdienstangebote/predigten-archiv/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
14
Bibo, Michael/Herz, Marek (2021): Sound of Frankfurt. In: Webseite des Projekts. Online at: http://www.marek-herz.de/SOF/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
15
Die Traupartner (n. d.): Unsere Partner. In: Webseite der Traupartner. Online at: https://traupartner.de/unsere-partner (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
16
Fittkau, Ludger (2016): Ethno-Popband Zaitsa. Ein bisschen Ukraine in Hessen. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur, contribution of 19/02. Online at: https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/ethno-popband-zaitsa-ein-bisschen-ukraine-in-hessen-100.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
17
Before that, she founded the Zaitsa Duo with Marek Herz. See: St. Vladimir Institute (2021): Sweet Malanka. Webseite des St. Vladimir Institute, event of 21/01. Online at: https://www.stvladimir.ca/malanka-2022 (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
18
Leppert, Georg/Reckmann, Madeleine (2022): Friedendemos in Frankfurt und Wiesbaden. In: Frankfurter Rundschau, article of 11/03. Online at: https://www.fr.de/rhein-main/friedendemos-in-frankfurt-und-wiesbaden-91405512.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
19
Troschke, Antonia (2022): Frankfurter Band Zaitsa. „Es ist nicht möglich, ukrainische Kultur zu vernichten“. In: hessenschau.de, contribution of 13/03. Online at: https://www.hessenschau.de/kultur/frankfurter-band-zaitsa-es-ist-nicht-moeglich-ukrainische-kultur-zu-vernichten,ukraine-band-zaitsa-100.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
20
Fittkau, Ludger (2016): Ethno-Popband Zaitsa. Ein bisschen Ukraine in Hessen. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur, contribution of 19/02. Online at: https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/ethno-popband-zaitsa-ein-bisschen-ukraine-in-hessen-100.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
21
Watschounek, Volker (2015): Das Leben ist Schock!? – oder Frauenlogik für Anfänger. In: Wiesbaden aktuell, article of 04/03. Online at: http://www.wiesbadenaktuell.de/startseite/news-detail-view/article/das-leben-ist-schock-oder-frauenlogik-fuer-anfaenger.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
22
Fellinghauer, Dirk (2014): Das große 2×5-Interview: Olga Zaitseva, Musikerin, 27 Jahre. In: Sensor Wiesbaden, interview of 13/04. Online at: https://sensor-wiesbaden.de/das-grose-2×5-interview-olga-zaitseva-musikerin-27-jahre/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
23
Troschke, Antonia (2022): Frankfurter Band Zaitsa. „Es ist nicht möglich, ukrainische Kultur zu vernichten“. In: hessenschau.de, contribution of 13/03. Online at: https://www.hessenschau.de/kultur/frankfurter-band-zaitsa-es-ist-nicht-moeglich-ukrainische-kultur-zu-vernichten,ukraine-band-zaitsa-100.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
24
Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst (2021): Hessen fördert neun Künstlerinnen mit neuen Ottilie-Roederstein-Stipendien. In: Webseite des Hessischen Ministeriums für Wissenschaft und Kunst, article of 17/12. Online at: https://wissenschaft.hessen.de/Presse/Hessen-foerdert-neun-Kuenstlerinnen-mit-neuen-Ottilie-Roederstein-Stipendien (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
25
Milch, Volker (2022): Neue Töne für Goethes Dichtkunst in Wiesbaden. In: Wiesbadener Kurier, article of 06/01. Online at: https://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/lokales/wiesbaden/nachrichten-wiesbaden/neue-tone-fur-goethes-dichtkunst-in-wiesbaden_25103556 (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
26
Fellinghauer, Dirk (2022): Die Wahrheit schreien und Hoffnung machen – Auf zum #WIstandwithUkraine-Festival für den Frieden am 13.3. In: Sensor Wiesbaden, article of 12/03. Online at: https://sensor-wiesbaden.de/die-wahrheit-schreien-und-hoffnung-machen-auf-zum-wistandwithukraine-festival-fuer-den-frieden-am-13-3/ (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
27
Klöppel, Robin (2022): „Putin will unsere Kultur zerstören.“ In: Nassauische Neue Presse, p. 15, article of 31/03. ↩︎
28
n. a. (2018): Shortlist announced for 2018 Edmonton Music Prize. In: CBC, article of 14/12. Online at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/shortlist-announced-2018-edmonton-music-prize-1.4947378 (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
29
Milch, Volker (2022): Neue Töne für Goethes Dichtkunst in Wiesbaden. In: Wiesbadener Kurier, article of 06/01. Online at: https://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/lokales/wiesbaden/nachrichten-wiesbaden/neue-tone-fur-goethes-dichtkunst-in-wiesbaden_25103556 (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎
30
Romahn, Ilse (2021): Hessen fördert neun Künstlerinnen mit neuen Ottilie-Roederstein-Stipendien. In: Frankfurt Live, article of 20/12. Online at: https://www.frankfurt-live.com/hessen-f-oumlrdert-neun-k-uumlnstlerinnen-mit-neuen-ottilie-roederstein-stipendien-138294.html (accessed 14/03/2022). ↩︎

Canada, Ethnomusicologist, Musician, Singer, Ukraine, Violinist

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Jessica Zeltner
: Olga Zaitseva-Herz. In: Equalpedia.

Online unter:

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(Zugriff am 26. September 2026).

Erstellt am: 23. September 2026
Verfasser*in: Jessica Zeltner
Zuletzt bearbeitet am: 24. September 2026
Biographies, Culture, Music, Theatre
Canada, Ethnomusicologist, Musician, Singer, Ukraine, Violinist