Born on March 5, 1994, in Ukraine, cellist Glib Tolmachov began studying the cello at the age of six, displaying exceptional talent and dedication. In 2019, he graduated from the Kharkiv National University of Arts with a master's degree in Musical Art, specializing in Orchestral String Instruments. His professional qualifications include Artist of the Orchestra, Artist of the Chamber Ensemble, Scientist-Researcher, and Teacher of Higher Education (Cello).
His extensive orchestral experience includes serving as the first cellist with the Youth Academic Symphony Orchestra "Slobozhansky" in Kharkiv from September 2012 to November 2017, and again from September 2019 to January 2022. This orchestra was recognized as the "Best Youth Symphony Orchestra of Europe" at the European Music Festival of Youth Symphony Orchestras in Copenhagen in 1996. Glib has also held positions as a first-category cellist with the Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Kharkiv Regional Philharmonic, Mykolaiv Regional Philharmonic, and the Chernihiv Regional Philharmonic Center for Festivals and Concert Programs.
In February 2022, due to the war in Ukraine, Glib was evacuated to Japan. He currently resides in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, where he is studying the Japanese language at a language institute.
From April 2023 to September 2024, Glib has performed in over 120 diverse concerts across Japan. Notable performances include the concert “Vienna Promenade, Vol.5” in the main concert hall of Fukushima City with the support of the Austrian and Ukrainian embassies, "World Music Journey from Tsukuba/Ukraine" and concerts organized by the International Associations of Tsukuba, Moriya, and Ryūgasaki. He has participated in festivals in the prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saitama, and Tokyo, performed at the Museum of Modern Art in Gunma Prefecture and the main office of JICA in Tokyo.
Glib is also committed to charitable work, giving numerous concerts in hospitals, senior homes, and schools. His performances have been featured in various newspapers and in a special release on the NHK channel.
Throughout his career, Glib has collaborated with esteemed conductors such as Vanessa Benelli Mosell (Italy), Theodore Kuchar (USA), Jurek Dybal (Austria), Giuseppe Mengoli (Italy), Kirill Karabits (Ukraine/England), Virko Baley (USA), Vladimir Fanshil (Australia), Dionysios Grammenos (Greece), Christopher Gayford (Great Britain), Burkhard Rempe (Germany), David Drummond (Great Britain), Timothy Reynish (Great Britain), Volodymyr Sirenko (Ukraine), Vitaliy Protasov (Ukraine), Viktor Ploskina (Ukraine), Allin Vlasenko (Ukraine), Petro Tovstukha (Ukraine), and Gabriel Heine (USA).
He has performed alongside renowned soloists including Valeriy Sokolov (Ukraine), Anna Tifu (Italy), Dmytro Udovychenko (Ukraine), Elizabeth Pitcairn (USA), Oleksiy Shadrin (Ukraine), László Fenyö (Germany), Tomasz Strahl (Poland), and Aleksey Semenenko (Ukraine).
Glib has enriched his artistry by participating in master classes with prominent cellists such as Leonid Gorokhov (England/Germany), László Fenyö (Germany), and Denis Severin (France). As a chamber musician, he has performed in various ensembles—including duets, trios, quartets, and quintets—at numerous national and international festivals of classical and contemporary music, showcasing a repertoire that spans European and Ukrainian composers.
Nowadays his repertoire is rich with classical masterpieces, popular jazz standards, and well-known world and Japanese songs. He performs both solo and in various ensemble formations and orchestras.
In addition to his classical pursuits, Glib has collaborated with popular Ukrainian bands like Okean Elzy, TNMK, Boombox, and others, demonstrating his versatility across musical genres. Notably, he performed as a solo cellist at a concert featuring works by Italian composer Gabriel Dinaro, a distinguished student of Ennio Morricone.
Currently, Glib plays on an instrument crafted by Italian master Stefano Conia in 1987, from Cremona, Italy.