She spent two sabbaticals in Paris and has performed abroad in France, England, Italy, Spain, Poland, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, Russia, and South Africa. Known as both a solo and collaborative performer, Kautsky has performed chamber music at the Aspen, Tanglewood, and Grand Teton festivals, and presented masterclasses on five continents, including January 2018 appearances in Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi.

In 2022, . In it, she plays works from a huge variety of composers—Bach, Haydn, and Mozart to Ruth Crawford Seeger, George Walker, and George Crumb—while discussing how the music came to be.

She holds a Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory, a Master’s of Music from the Juilliard School, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from State University of New York at Stony Brook.

We caught up with Kautsky to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info: What’s one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

Maybe I’d like them all to know that despite the fact that I’m certainly older, and am supposedly wiser, I’m constantly grappling just like they are—with doubts, with failures, with efforts to change. That I’ve lost plenty of competitions and had plenty of applications turned down and given plenty of performances I wasn’t happy with—and that none of that overturns the incredible joy of spending your days and life doing something you totally love.

Getting energized: What work have you done or will you be doing at Âé¶čÓ°Ôș that gets you the most excited?

You know, I’ve been doing the same thing here for many years, so you’d think I might be tired of it, but teaching my private piano students still feels to me like just about the most exciting thing I could possibly be doing. The combination of dealing every day with music that I’ve loved my whole life and getting to know students at a time in their lives when they’re grappling so intensively with who they are feels like such a privilege.

Going places: Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional, or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

I’d say that my trip to Vietnam a few years ago to give masterclasses was both wonderful and surprising.  I grew up in the Vietnam war era, and I’d been very active as an anti-war activist. I was staggered to find when I visited that country 50 years later that Americans were both forgiven and welcomed. The family of one of my wonderful students made sure that I had an unforgettable time there.

Out of the classroom

This or that: If you weren’t teaching for a living, what would you be doing?  

Ooh, that’s a hard one since music is something that gets inside you so young—my guess is that most likely I’d still be a college professor, maybe teaching English or history? My family is chock-full of people in academia, so that feels very natural.  And I love reading and libraries and college-age students.

Right at home: Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what’s your favorite spot on campus?

I think the library is my favorite spot. I love the library staff; they’re incredibly helpful. And the first thing I always do on entering is peruse the selection of new books that’s right by the circulation desk. I can never believe my luck that someone is putting all those latest books that I’d just read about right there in front of me. Another favorite, if I’m allowed two, is the Chapel. Playing music in there is such a gift—such beautiful sound in that grand space.

One book, one recording, one film: Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

Crazy to try to choose just one of each, so know that there’s really no first place among many I could just as well have listed, but here are a few top choices:

Film: I loved The King’s Speech because it grabbed so perfectly the paralysis of stage fright and the struggle of overcoming one’s inner demons. How great is it that it all happened to a king?

Book: I recently read a novel called Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien, which is about the fate of Western-style musicians during China’s Cultural Revolution. It chronicles the enormous emotional power of music and all the intersections of the State with people’s most private lives. I found it incredibly moving and sad—losses of personhood that could result in suicide.

Recording: I guess one of the very first recordings (and these were LPs) I loved was Artur Schnabel’s recording of the Schubert Bb sonata. That piece is now a sort of iconic masterpiece that every pianist knows, but when I was an 11-year-old kid discovering it, it was a revelation. I had no idea why I loved it, which I guess is part of the beauty and power of being a kid. Just sheer emotional impact.

Marcy O’Malley, Âé¶čÓ°Ôș’s director of international admissions, said she and her Admissions colleagues erupted in cheers when she got the text from Bohdan that his interview with the consul in Poland went off as planned, the visa was secured, and he was on his way.

“Yes, we do this job to keep our colleges vibrant and viable, but every once in a while, we are able to see how a college can pull together and beat all the odds and change a student’s life,” O’Malley said. “It probably shouldn’t have worked, but like so many things that we have learned about the Ukrainians, Bohdan’s family never gave up and Âé¶čÓ°Ôș was able to respond. 
 It was my favorite day at Âé¶čÓ°Ôș.”

A life disrupted

The story of Bohdan’s journey is one of heartbreak, hope, and perseverance.

Music was ever-present for Bohdan as he grew up in Vynnychky, a small village 13 miles outside Lviv in western Ukraine. His father would sing Ukrainian folk songs; his mother would play the stringed bandura, a Ukrainian folk instrument. Like his three siblings—an older brother, younger sister, and younger brother— Bohdan would study music from his earliest years.

“Music was everywhere and in everything,” Bohdan said. “All the time, I was surrounded by music.”

Until he wasn’t.

It was a year ago Feb. 24 that Russia invaded Ukraine, launching a war that has killed tens of thousands and upended lives across Ukraine and beyond. Bohdan was 18 and midway through his final year at a music preparatory school, with plans to enroll in the fall at Lviv National Music Academy to continue his piano studies.

Russia’s invasion short-circuited those plans, setting off a series of events that would lead to Bohdan landing in Appleton, more than 4,000 miles from home, in time to begin classes in Âé¶čÓ°Ôș’s Conservatory of Music in September.

“Everything changed”

When the war began, Bohdan thought he’d be heading east to join the fight. But he has asthma, making him ineligible to serve in the Army. While he did volunteer work—helping to load supplies on trucks that were heading to the front lines and working with a territory defense group that produced handmade blood-stopping harnesses—his focus would remain on his studies.

“We’re not in the worst part, not part of the front. But alarms were going off. Alarms would go off and you’d have to go to the shelter because you don’t know if there are missiles flying through your area.”
– Bohdan Tataryn 

“Life changed,” Bohdan said. “Everything changed. We’re not in the worst part, not part of the front. But alarms were going off. Alarms would go off and you’d have to go to the shelter because you don’t know if there are missiles flying through your area. Once I looked up and saw a missile flying above my house. It’s a terrible feeling.”

Mary Deckert, meanwhile, was watching news reports out of Ukraine from her home in Richland Center, a city of 5,000 midway between Madison and La Crosse in southwestern Wisconsin. She had hosted Bohdan’s mother, Natalia, as an exchange student 25 years earlier. They stayed in a touch for a while, with Deckert twice visiting in Ukraine, the last time 18 years ago, when Bohdan was 4 months old.

“We had kind of lost track of each other,” said Deckert, now 83. “Eighteen years is a long time.”

News reports of the war were alarming, and Deckert went in search of a phone number so she could check on her old friend. She and Natalia began having frequent conversations, including about the possibility of Bohdan coming to the United States to study music. Natalia sent Deckert four demo videos.

“I’m not a pianist, so I took them to people who are and who teach piano,” Deckert said. “The first guy said, ‘He needs to be in a conservatory; he is very, very good.’ I took them to three other places, and they all said the same thing.”

Âé¶čÓ°Ôș steps up

That led Deckert to Âé¶čÓ°Ôș, where she first connected with Rosie Cannizzo in the Conservatory and then O’Malley in Admissions. It was late spring, well past the usual window for considering international applicants.

While there was a want to help, O’Malley admitted she wasn’t optimistic Bohdan was ready to join a Conservatory of this stature or if there was enough time. And then she watched one of the videos.

“When I saw it, I was blown away,” she said. “I ran—I’m not exaggerating—I ran down the hall and got Mary Kate [Smith, director of Conservatory admissions]. We watched it together. The recording wasn’t great, but it was clear that this was a gifted musician. Mary Kate said, ‘Yes, we’d want him here,’ and she went to work coordinating the Conservatory audition.”

There were still finances to consider, a student visa application, and travel dilemmas.

“There were so many obstacles to enrollment, but our thought was we’d keep trying until we ran out of time,” O’Malley said.

A generous scholarship was approved. The Office of Financial Aid fast-tracked an offer.

“In international admissions, we admit the bulk of our students in the winter and early spring,” O’Malley said. “Because the review of foreign credentials and the creation of a visa application is a longer process, it is difficult to process an admit quickly. Additionally, the Conservatory audition process logistically takes time and coordination between the Conservatory Admissions team and the Conservatory faculty, and it was already finished for the year. But we had heard so many stories of the war in Ukraine; everyone I spoke to was feeling the same way—if we have a chance to help a student out of that, then let’s try.”  

“Everyone I spoke to was feeling the same way—if we have a chance to help a student out of that, then let’s try.”
– Marcy O’Malley, director of international admissions

Anthony Padilla, a piano professor in the Âé¶čÓ°Ôș Conservatory, joined the conversation. The withdrawal of another student from his piano studio had provided an opening.

Bohdan’s audition recordings included a dramatic etude by Ukrainian composer Viktor Kosenko that left Padilla and colleagues impressed.

“None of us in the Piano Department had ever heard it,” Padilla said.

A need to learn English

Bohdan spoke Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian fluently. His English was minimal.

His mother spoke English; she even taught it in Ukraine. She would serve as Bohdan’s tutor for the next four months. Each night after school, she and Bohdan would huddle for English lessons.

“Three hours every night,” Bohdan said. “It was difficult.”

Come early summer, in the middle of those marathon study sessions, he got word from Âé¶čÓ°Ôș that he had been accepted, contingent on the visa process being doable.

“During those months of preparing to come here, I kept saying, ‘What have I done?’” Bohdan said. “At first, I couldn’t even understand, oh my God, I’m going to the U.S. to a university. I thought I was dreaming. It couldn’t be like that. It all happened very quickly.”

On Sept. 2, he would fly from Poland, where he was able to get the visa with just hours to spare. He would make a stop in Norway en route to the U.S., then in Florida and Georgia before landing in Appleton. It was his first time flying alone, first time being away from his family, first time traveling outside of Ukraine.

For nearly 30 hours, Bohdan said, from the time he left Poland until he touched down at Appleton International Airport, he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“It was a lot of stress,” he said. “Somehow, I handled it.”

Deckert, who signed on as his sponsor, was there to meet him at the airport.

Life at Âé¶čÓ°Ôș

Activities in the Conservatory take up much of his time, Bohdan said. It often feels overwhelming. Homesickness and worry about his family are constant companions. The welcome he’s felt at Âé¶čÓ°Ôș, though, has eased his concerns.

“Everyone was, and still is, very nice to me,” Bohdan said. “I don’t know if it is because of my accent or if people here are just nice. It was not difficult to get used to life here.”

In the Conservatory, Padilla said Bohdan quickly found his groove. He called Bohdan a “wonderful addition to my studio, the Âé¶čÓ°Ôș Piano Department, and the entire Conservatory.”

Padilla has helped Bohdan stay connected to music from home, including the piece from Kosenko that he first shared in his audition video.

“I encouraged Bohdan to continue performing it in my studio classes, in our fall recital, and at the state auditions of the MTNA [Music Teachers National Association] Young Artists Piano Performance Competition in order to introduce unfamiliar Ukrainian music to American audiences,” Padilla said.

Âé¶čÓ°Ôș’s music librarian set out to locate a score for the Kosenko work and found that it is out of print and unavailable at any library in North America. Bohdan then arranged to have the score sent from his instructors in Ukraine for use at the MTNA event. Bohdan would earn an honorable mention award in the competition, held in Rice Lake.

This term, Bohdan is learning a piano work by another Ukrainian composer, Stanislav Lyudkevich. Again, no score was available in North America, so Bohdan began corresponding with the artistic director of a museum in Ukraine about accessing music by Lyudkevich and other Ukrainian composers.  

“Bohdan’s piano studio colleagues and I are fascinated by this unfamiliar repertoire and are eager to learn and perform these works as well,” Padilla said

Staying in touch with family

Bohdan said he’s been able to talk or text with his family daily. They feel safe, Bohdan said, but the war hangs over every conversation.

“I read news reports every day,” he said. “In the morning, during lunch, at night.”

Deckert, meanwhile, is in frequent contact with both Bohdan and his family. Bohdan stayed at her Richland Center home during the nearly six-week winter break and may do the same come summer. A newly donated piano in Deckert’s home is available to Bohdan whenever he’s there.

“He’s a wonderful young man,” Deckert said. “What he’s accomplished in the first months at Âé¶čÓ°Ôș is unbelievable—overcoming English, overcoming leaving home for the first time, leaving with his family in such a perilous position. He’s just a well-deserving young man.”

Bohdan said he can’t begin to thank Deckert enough for the investment she’s made in him and his family.

“At the age of 83, she became the main initiator and a driving force of the whole process of my coming to the USA,” he said. “She is not only an amazingly generous person 
 but also she is a kind, caring grandma who gives me her constant support and warmth when I am so far away from home.”

Bohdan said he’s equally grateful for the efforts Âé¶čÓ°Ôș made to bring him here, including staff in the Conservatory, Admissions, and Financial Aid offices working above and beyond to make his enrollment possible.

“I thank them very much for awarding me the exceptional scholarship, and I understand that I received it for my high academic achievements as a pianist, but also that it was a great, decisive, unprecedented, and sincere act of support for Ukraine.”