Stetsenko met the great Ukrainian composer in 1899 and became part of Lysenko's choir as a singer and a side-conductor. The young composer was greatly honored when, during the opening ceremony of monument to Ivan Kotlyarevskyi in Poltava, Lysenko's choir performed Stetsenko's Burlaka. After this, Mykola Lysenko introduced Kyrylo Stetsenko to his intellectual circle saying ``This is who will replace me after my death.
Mykola Lysenko
Kyrylo Stetsenko