41^st Ukrainian Music Festival a Showcase of Young Talent

By John Pidkowich

The 41^st Annual Ukrainian Music Festival was held December 2 and 3, 2011, in the rehearsal and performance areas of Toronto’s Ukrainian National Federation Community Centre, culminating in the Final Concert held in the UNF Trident Hall on December 4. The 2011 Festival had over 150 children (aged five to eighteen years) performing music of Ukrainian composers (or arrangements) in solo and ensemble instrumental, and vocal/choir competitions. Participants were both of Ukrainian heritage and of non-Ukrainian background. This year’s Festival was dedicated to Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912).

Musicologist and pianist Taras Filenko addressed the audience, speaking primarily to the young musicians, and performed on the piano to convey an appreciation of the life, legacy and great work in the field of music by Mykola Lysenko. Dr. Filenko is a scholar and performer promoting the works of contemporary Ukrainian composers. He is a faculty member of the City Music Center at Duquesne University in Pittsburg, and has over 100 publications to his credit, including his recent book The World of Mykola Lysenko: Ethnic Identity, Music Culture and Politics. Lysenko not only was a concert pianist and composed music for piano, string instruments, wrote 120 art songs and opera, and arranged sacred and secular choral works, but he was also a musicologist and pedagogue in music performance and choir directing. The likes of conductor Oleksandr Koshetz studied under Lysenko in Kyiv over a century ago who continued the fine tradition of Ukrainian choral music. Koshetz in turn became a composer of Ukrainian sacred liturgical works and popular folk songs still heard today in church services and concert halls. However, we all are greatly indebted to the dedication and efforts of Mykola Lysenko as one of the first Ukrainian ethnologists who travelled Ukraine extensively to gather and then arranged some 500 Ukrainian folk songs, music characteristic to the country’s regions, and who laid the groundwork for the field of Ethnomusicology.

Ukrainian Music Festival founder, the late Prof. Marta Krawciw Barabash, who in her own right was an accomplished pianist and teacher, was dedicated to educate young musicians to master the works of Ukrainian composers. Her love of Ukrainian music and work went well beyond the festival itself to include the UMF promotion of many concerts, notably in 1992 celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the birth of Mykola Lysenko.

The Festival’s continued development, promotion and success is due now in large part to the contribution of several hardworking executive members, including Marta Chomyn and Irena Patten – co-chairs, and Olya Bileychuk – secretary, and by festival administrative, artistic and advisory committee members.

The esteemed jury of adjudicators was comprised of: Profs. Luba Zuk (McGill University) and Ireneus Zuk (Queen’s University) - both piano; Kvitka Halyna Kondracki (Vesnivka Choir) – string and wind instruments, voice and choir; and Andriy Dmytrovych (Canadian Bandurist Capella) – bandura.

At the UMF Concert of Finalists, led by Mistress of Ceremonies Zorianna Kilyk, a former festival participant, there were 31 representative performances of festival pieces according to category: instrument for piano, bandura, clarinet and violin; vocal; choir; and instrumental ensemble.

Scholarship awards totalling $8,200 were presented to 46 individual performers, and all festival participants were presented with a certificate award. Young pianists Nicholas Chronis, Andrea Yeh and Vaysl Burak received awards from the Prof. Marta Barabash Scholarship Fund; and Marta Skira was the recipient of the Maria Pidkowich Violin Award. A special award from the Myron Barabash Scholarship Fund was given to Holy Dormition of the Mother of God Church Children’s Choir who sang the liturgical works “Sviatyi Bozhe” (arranged by K. Stetsenko) and “Sviat” (arr. N. Korol), as well as the carol “Dobryi vechir” (arr. L. Gorova), under the direction of Nadia Korol.

This year, an award in memory of Dr. Petro Pidkowich went to the violin ensemble led by teacher Oksana Konopada who played the traditional Ukrainian Christmas shchedrivka “Shchedryk” (popularly known as “Carol of the Bells”) by Mykola Leontovych. A special bandura award from the Olzhych Foundation went to Boris Ostapienko, and the Ron Cahute music award went to Julia Iwanyshyn for voice.

The Olzhych Foundation, Buduchnist Credit Union, Prometheus Foundation and the Ukrainian Credit Union provided very generous financial support of the monetary awards and for the Festival’s tight operating costs. Offerings of scholarships to encourage young performers to further their music education are most welcomed.

Work has already begun on the 42^nd Ukrainian Music Festival. Its success remains not only tied to dedicated educators, parents, and volunteers, but of course, is contingent upon hard practicing students!

The purpose of the UMF remains to promote Ukrainian culture by providing an opportunity for musicians up to 18 years of age to perform music by Ukrainian and Ukrainian-Canadian composers. Over 20 UMF publications for music students and the general public, including Prof. Barabash’s own compositions, music handbooks, and the 11 volume Z. Lys’ko Ukrainian Folk Melodies, are available from the Marta Krawciw-Barabash and Myron Barabash Library, established within the UNF Resource Centre – Library at 145 Evans Ave. in Toronto. Teachers and participants are welcome to choose works from the hardcopy and digital library to perform at the Festival.

For more information about the music festival, and the library and publication program, visit www.ukrainianmusicfestival.com, or email info@ukrainianmusicfestival.com

PHOTOS

1 - Oksana Konopada (left) leads pupils in violin ensemble playing Leontovych’s Shchedryk – recipients of special award in memory of Dr. Petro Pidkowich

2 - (L. to R.) Former festival participants MC Zorianna Kilyk and Pavlo Stech (seated); UMF Executive members Annychka Wasylyk, Mika Shepherd, Olya Bileychuk, Roman Zazula, and Oksana Zholkewych; Maria Pidkowich; and UMF Co-chair Marta Chomyn

3 - The Holy Dormition of the Mother of God Church Children’s Choir conducted by Nadia Korol (right) – recipients of special award from Myron Barabash Scholarship Fund