Oleksandr Zhehalov was born in Odesa, Ukraine (21.02.1998) He is actually a professor at the Conservatoire de Fontainebleau, Serge Rachmaninoff Conservatoire - Paris and at the AIDEMA music school in Essarts-le-Roi. He is a current member of Atelier Ostinato orchestra, reserve member of Verbier Festival Orchestra for the 2023 season, member of the French-German Orchestra for their concert tour of the 2020/2021 season, member of the Odesa Chamber Orchestra for their numerous programs. He has performed as a soloist with Odesa Chamber Philharmonic orchestra, Mykolaiv Symphonic orchestra, Versailles Conservatoire Symphonic orchestra, Lugano (Ticino Festival) chamber orchestra, OSQ « Harmonies of the World » string quartet, Héméra string quartet, he has performed in duo with renowned ukrainian pianist Tetiana Kravchenko for more than 10 years (with contemporary and classical programs) He performed at prestigious concert stages such as Konzerhaus Berlin, Opera de Bastille, Auditorium of Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana, Etihad Museum, Dubai Concert Hall, Auditorium of CRR de Versailles, Auditorium of Vincennes, Théâtre de Suresnes Jean Vilar, Saint-Eustache Church in Paris, St. Nicholaus Church in Potsdam, Szczecin Philharmonic Hall, Odesa Philharmonic Hall, Palazzo Chigi Saracini Concert Hall, Buffet Crampon Showroom in Paris. Oleksandr is a former student of Prof. Philippe Cuper (2015-2022). He graduated from the Stolyarsky Special Music School in Odesa in 2015, where he studied piano and clarinet. In October 2015 he entered the Philippe Cuper’s clarinet class at the Conservatoire de Versailles, where he finished his studies in 2022 with highest distinctions unanimously. (2017 - DEM Ist prize; 2020 - Bachelor of music and interpretation (Conservatoire de Versailles in partnership with University of Saint-Quentin en Yvelines) with highest distinction, 2022 - Master with highest distinction) He has perfected his skills under the guidance of Alessandro Carbonare in Accademia Chigiana in Siena (2022) He is a prizewinner of numerous national and international competitions: Special Prize - « Classic Winds » International Competition for wind instruments (Dubai, 2023); 1st prize - 3rd Lugano International Music Competition (Lugano, 2023); 1st prize and Special Prize - AIMA “Amadeus International Music Awards” (Mozarteum of Salzburg, 2023); 1st prize - International Sirmium Music Fest VII (Serbia, 2023); 1st prize - “Louis Cahuzac International Clarinet Competition” (Versailles, 2022); 1st prize - “Stockholm International Music Competition” (2022); 1st prize - Euterpe Music Awards (2022); 2nd prize - « London International Music Competition » (2022); 2nd prize - « Medici International Music Competition » ; 1st prize - “France Music Competition” / Les Musicales du Centre (Paris, 2021); 2nd prize - International Léopold Bellan Competition (Paris, 2020); 2nd prize - National Clarinet Competition in Picardie (Amiens, 2019); Honorary Prize - Competition for wind instruments in Kielce (Poland, 2014); Special prize - Mulberg National Competition for wind instruments (Odesa, 2014); 1st prize - Yalta International Music Competition. Accademia Chigiana scholarship recipient in 2022; Rotary Club of Versailles scholarship recipient in 2019 He worked with the great masters of the clarinet in master-classes such as Alessandro Carbonare, Stanley Drucker, Eddy Vanoosthuyse, Carlos Alves, Calogero Palermo, Igor Fedorov, Sergey Eletskiy, Mariano Rey, Giovanni Punzi, Staffan Mårtensson, Céline Millet ... He performs solo and chamber clarinet music in such international festivals and workshops as Clarinet meeting around musical klezmer fairytale by Alexis Ciesla “Quand Malka rêvait” (Bois d’Arcy 2022); Franco-German Orchestra-Academy (Versailles-Paris-Sztetzin-Berlin 2018;2021); Atelier Ostinato (Paris 2019;2022); ICA Clarinetfest (Ostend, Belgium 2018); Alexandre Brussilovsky’s chamber orchestra (Paris 2018); “Ticino Musica Festival”, (Lugano, Switzerland 2015); Mürren Music Festival (Mürren, Switzerland 2015); The International Music Festival of Modern Art “Two Days and Two Nights of New Music” (Odesa, Ukraine 2015;2018,2020;2021). Passionate about contemporary music, he has collaborated with many important european and ukrainian composers, among them: N. Bacri, Y. Robin, V. Runchak, K. Tsepkolenko, Y. Gomelska, H. Khoury, Y. Povolotsky, A. Rydin, J.S. Gonzalez Moreno.. Since 2019 he has helped young musicians and promoted classical and contemporary art as a director of the public organization “Youth Units of Artists”, Odesa/Ukraine.