Very little is known about his life. He was born in
Ukraine in c. 1630 and studied in high schools of
Kyiv,
Lviv,
Ostroh or
Lutsk. He had gained a profound musical education. In the 1660s Pekalytsky led the Chapel of
Chernihiv archbishop Lazar Baranovych. We can assume that Lazar Baranovych drew attention to talented youth. In the mid 1660s
Tsar became interested in the possibility of the introduction of polyphonic singing in Russian church. In 1666 Chernihiv choir moved to
Moscow where it worked for almost a year with his choir of eight singers after having his chapel's musical excellence become well-known. Pekalytsky had gained a possibility to demonstrate his music and conducting mastery. In 1667 he became a choirmaster of the Chapel of
Iosyf Shumliansky in
Lviv and during this time, he taught music theory and singing lessons. In 1673 he was again invited to Moscow to lead the Chapel at the court. In the 1680s he returned to Ukraine and settled in
Novhorod-Siverskyi. A
Liturgy in 8 voices of Symeon Pekalytsky is referred to in the registry of scores of the year 1687 of Lviv
Bratska school. == Recordings ==