Students of the Odesa Academy of music pass their practical training and its graduates successfully work at the Odesa National State Opera and Ballet Theater, the Odesa National symphonic orchestra, the Odesa theatre of musical comedy, the V. Vasilko Odesa Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater, in many concerts, scientific and educational institutions of Odesa, Ukraine, Autonomous Republic of Crimea, in Russia, France, Finland, Germany, Poland, Italy, Austria, Yugoslavian republics, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, China, Vietnam, and in many other countries of the world.
The Odessa conservatoire (for the time being – the Odessa national A. V. Nezhdanova academy of music) was created on donations of V. A. Orlov, the chairman of Management of the Odessa branch of IRMS(the Imperial Russian Musical Society), and those of other members of this branch, as well as due to the decision of the Main Management of the Russian musical society based on the Odessa musical school (founded in 1897) on the 8-th of September 1913. On the Russian empire's territory, the Odessa conservatoire became the fourth higher educational musical institution – after St.-Petersburg, Moscow and Saratov conservatoires. The Odessa conservatoire's fast development was provided by the attraction of outstanding teachers-musicians from Italy, Poland, Czechia, Germany, Austria, St.-Petersburg, and Moscow. A Polish composer, a pianist, a conductor and a musicologist Witold Maliszewski (Witold Iosifovich Malishewski) – N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov's disciple – became the first rector of the Odessa conservatoire. Therefore the Odessa conservatoire turned into a higher educational musical institution of the European level from its very beginning.
Among the scientific and pedagogical professional community of the Academy are worthy of being noted:
- Four academicians
- 41 professors
- 11 doctors of sciences
- 89 senior lecturers
- 76 candidates of science
- 9 National Artists of Ukraine
- 32 Honored Artists of Ukraine
- 17 Honored Workers of arts of Ukraine
- 6 Honoured Workers of the culture of Ukraine and 1 Honoured Worker of education of Ukraine
The scale of W. Maliszewski's creative activities was tremendous. He entered into the Odessa conservatoire history as its talented principal and a musician and as a progressive public figure. E.g., in 1917, the first rector addressed the congress of directors and senior teachers of conservatories in Petrograd. "The southern musical bulletin," wrote: "Only the director of the Odessa conservatoire Professor W.Maliszewski who had girded up his loins for the congress offered six very considerable and important questions to its consideration: 1) separating of musical schools from conservatories 2) the relation of the state to IRMS 3) revision of rights as to diplomas and certificates 4) cancellation of the category of free listeners in conservatoires 5) revision of military privileges 6) on returning of the new Statute of the Conservatoire from the ministry and its consensual formalization".
In the first year of the Odessa conservatoire's existence, 396 pupils from 603 persons who submitted their applications for entering this educational institution were enrolled. Along with that, 395 persons were transferred from the musical school. The most significant number of pupils was accepted in piano classes, a smaller quantity – in violin, vocal, wind instruments, necessary orchestral instruments and music theory classes.
From the beginning of the existence of Conservatoire vocal and young opera classes make themselves known alongside numerous piano classes. J. Reider, D. Delfino-Menotti and Palibina were chief teachers in these classes during those years. In 1913 N. Baryshev, a performer of the opera theatre having stage director's abilities became the opera class's head. Using N. Baryshev's efforts, the opera class realized its best performances. The bright culmination of the opera class's work became "Concerts devoted to national epic" arranged by N. Baryshev at the city theatre in 1916 where students of the conservatory's final year were acting. N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov's operas "Kashchey the Immortal", "Vera Sheloga" and fragments from "The Tsar's Bride" accompanied by the conservatoire orchestra under W. I. Maliszewski's direction were executed. Thus, the first turn-out of vocalists confirmed that the Odessa conservatoire became really "a musical and singing conservatoire" – as musical figures of the city dreamed about it long before its opening.
Notably, all these structural changes were perceived only as external factors. No reorganization could extinguish the spirit of creativity reigned in the Odessa conservatoire and educational institutions connected with it.
The Odesa Academy of music renders methodical assistance and provides teaching personnel for Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Uman, Ternopil, Simferopol, Kirovograd, Kryvyi Rih; it works in close cooperation with the South Ukrainian national pedagogical university K. D. Ushinsky. Almost all Odesa branch members of the National Union of Ukraine are graduates from the Odesa conservatoire.
Teachers of the South Ukrainian national pedagogical university K. D. Ushinsky, of the Odesa school of culture and arts K. F. Dankevich, of the Odesa special Prof. P. S. Stolyarsky music school, pass their training at the Odesa Academy of music.
