What Is Your Name?
Boris Ulanowicz

Where are you from?
I am from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Where do you live now?
I'm still here in Vancouver.

What instrument do you play?
I play the violin!

How long have you played your instrument?
Nearing 20 years. Time flies!

What made you pick that instrument?
So. I have a childhood friend who I’ve known since I was a month old. Our parents knew each other and I remember as a kid I would always look forward to my mum taking me over to his place for a kid play date. I’d look forward to it for days before the actual date. So one visit, before we broke out the video games and James Bond movies, his mum figured it would be good for him to perform for someone, and so we had a mini concert in the den, and I thought it was cool but didn’t think much of it until the next week when I was at school. There was a signup for orchestra at school, and I wanted to play violin like my friend, so I signed up. It was a good program, I think it’s no longer around due to budget cuts, but I’m very thankful to have been introduced to music through this program as music would become such a big part of my life.

Where did you study?
I studied at the School of Music at UBC.

If you could have dinner with any composer (living or dead) who would it be and why?
I’d have dinner with Elgar. His Enigma Variations are based on an unheard theme (and he took that secret tune to the grave) and is a kind of musical Stonehenge. However, we would be bringing him back to the land of the living for dinner, so maybe he would tell me what the great enigma was? Fair trade?

What is your favourite genre of music, other than classical music?
No favourites because I’ll listen to anything. But I usually don’t listen to country music for more than 5 minutes 😉 not a judgement just an observation!

What is your favourite band?
No favourites, I find that when I have favourite band, I feel lukewarm about others. And there’s room for all of them!

Other than the KSO, who do you perform with?
I’ve played with the Plastic Acid Orchestra, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, Vancouver New Music, and the amazing Mariachi Los Dorados

What are some interesting places you have traveled to?
I’ve been to a few cool places… The beautiful city Oaxaca de Juarez in Mexico with the mariachis, a neat trip up to Estonia with my dad, a yurt in Inner Mongolia on a terrific high school trip, and driving through the canyons in Arizona with friends. There isn’t a shortage of things to see in this world!

What are your hobbies outside of music?
Biking, ultimate frisbee.

What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?
Salted Caramel, dairy free!

What is your guilty pleasure?
Salted Caramel, dairy free!

Do you get nervous? And how do you calm your nerves before a performance?
I don’t often anymore, but I like to take a calm moment to myself before heading onstage. Keeps me sane!

Please add anything that you'd like to share with our audience?
Thank you so so much! There are so many beautiful, powerfully moving moments in music, and we are fortunate for the opportunities we have to experience these moments together.