Ukrainian-American maestro Vitalij Kuprij, a classically trained virtuoso who has played with progressive metal bands ARTENSION and RING OF FIRE and toured with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, has died at the age of 49.
No cause of death has yet been revealed.
Kuprij‘s passing was confirmed by his longtime friend, Finnish guitarist, songwriter, and producer Lars Eric Mattsson, who wrote on his Facebook page:
“Woke up to really sad news this morning as my dear friend and keyboard maestro Vitalij Kuprij has passed away last night. The Ukranian born virtuoso was living in Philadelphia and recently came off another hugely successful tour with the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA.
“I have known and worked with Vitalij for over 20 years and he always talked about seeing me here in Finland to go fishing, which was his second love after music. We have recorded together several times, first time was for the debut album of BOOK OF REFLECTIONS 20 years ago and then later for my MATTSSON concept album War. My record label Lion Music Record Label has released a lot of his music including three solo albums, his band ARTENSION and more.
“You will be deeply missed my friend!”