Illarion's compositional work primarily centers on large-scale programmatic forms and is charactarized by it's melodicism and a deep engagement with literature, history, and fine art. Driven by the conviction that beauty remains an essential and communicative force in contemporary composition, he prefers working in the ballet, orchestral, and film genres.

While studying with Kenneth Hesketh at the Royal College of Music, Illarion premiered his first ballet, The Undertaker (2026), at the Great Exhibitionists concert series. Based on Alexander Pushkin’s eponymous short story, this work draws upon Illarion's early experience studying ballet and engages with the traditions of narrative ballet, while reinterpreting the form for a contemporary audience. His Sonata for Cello and Guitar (2026) also recieved it's premiere at the Royal College of Music as part of the Contemporary Music in Action module.

At the age of twelve, Illarion premiered his first orchestral piece, Rain (2017), with the Golden Gate Symphony. In 2019, his Double Cello Concerto was premiered in Washington D.C., in collaboration with Dr. Tanya Anisimova, with whom he later began formal composition studies. Since high school, his works for string orchestra, including Fantaisie in G-sharp minor (2022) and Désolé (2023), have been performed by the Virtuoso Program Orchestra da Camera.

The scherzo movement from his Piano Quartet No. 1 (2024) was premiered by the faculty ensemble at the Chee-Yun and Friends Music Festival, where Illarion’s string arrangements of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No.2 were also performed by the festival orchestra.

Portfolio

Featured

The Undertaker

Composition

Sonata for Cello and Guitar, I

"Berry Picking"

"Heartbreak"

"Old Age"

"Festivities Begin"

"Feast of the Dead"

"Morning Funeral"

Symphony No.1, I - Exposition

Piano Quartet No.1, III

Cello & Chamber Music

Souvenir de Florence

Pezzo Capriccioso

Shostakovich Quartet No.8

Orchestration & Arranging

Shostakovich 5th Symphony, IV

Wieniawski, II (Chee-Yun Kim)

Wieniawski, I (Chee-Yun Kim)