Rising Stars on Ukrainian Classical Music Stage

By Oksana Zolkewych

The Ukrainian Music Festival has a mandate to promote rising Ukrainian stars of classical music and bring the work of Ukrainian composers to a wider audience. Key to achieving this goal is the annual music festival, which attracts over 200 young musicians to the stage every December. All the festival’s participants - from instrumentalists and vocalists to ensembles and choirs - perform music written by Ukrainian composers. Although they represent diverse nationalities, their performances keep the spirit of Ukrainian music alive and well.

On April 10, the Ukrainian Music Festival (UMF) will present a concert featuring two of the brightest Ukrainian stars of classical music: soprano Antonina Ermolenko and pianist Marianna Humetska. They will perform a concert of both classical and Ukrainian music. The program will include a suite of Spanish songs, Schubert Lieder, as well as selected operatic arias from Dvorak and Verdi. As a tribute to their Ukrainian heritage, Ms. Ermolenko and Ms. Humetska will perform a selection of Ukrainian folk songs by Anatoly Kos-Anatolsky.

Antonina Ermolenko received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the prestigious Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She also has a master’s degree in vocal performance from Hunter College, CUNY, in New York. One of her recent performances included the role of Beatrice in the world premire of The Cenci, the latest opera by prominent American orchestrator and composer Anthony Sbordoni with the Hunter Opera Theater in New York. In fact, Sbordoni created the role of Beatrice specifically for Ms. Ermolenko, with whom he had previously worked.

Ms. Ermolenko also performed the role of Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme, as well as the title role in Bizet’s Carmen with the New York Lyric Opera. Her dedication to explore all facets of her profession has taken her on some exciting journeys. She studied classical ballet and character dance, being a part of the Desna Dance Company of Toronto for eight years. She also spent substantial time studying and performing in Italy, working with such luminaries as Enza Ferrari and Maestro Giuseppe Raffa, both of whom are among the few remaining artists championing the traditions of the bel canto vocal school. Following her debut concert at The Glenn Gould Studio in April, Ms. Ermolenko will go on to perform the role of Tatyana in Tchaіkovsky’s Eugene Onegin in New York, and the title role of Giuseppe Raffa’s opera Gitana in Rome, Italy.

Marianna Humetska is a graduate of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. She also holds an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto and a master’s degree from the Lviv Music Academy. She was a winner of the “Virtuosi of the Year 2000” Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia - just one of her numerous distinctions and awards. She is also a winner of the “Galaxie” Rising Stars Award of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the “Debut” Young Artists Auditions and the Marusia Yaworska Award from the University of Ottawa. Ms. Humetska’s playing is distinguished by exquisite technique, sound colours, vivacious feeling and “а powerful charge of active energy from her performance,” according to Ukraine’s Panorama.

The UMF is happy to present these two distinguished musicians appearing together for the first time, performing Verdi, De Falla, Jashchenko and Kos-Anatolsky. The concert will take place on Sunday, April 10 at 3 p.m. at Glenn Gould Studio in the CBC Building at 250 Front Street West in Toronto.  For the fourth year running, the UMF takes great pride in presenting annual concerts showcasing Ukrainian musicians pursuing careers in music, and organizers are committed to providing opportunities for budding artists to display their musical talents. The UMF is grateful to its sponsors, both organizations and individuals who give generously to support these young talented music artists.

In addition to sponsoring performances and holding its annual music festival, the UMF also maintains a Ukrainian Music Library located within the UNF Community Centre at 145 Evans Avenue in Toronto. The Library has an online catalogue of Ukrainian music available for purchase. The UMF is also building a downloadable online complete database of its expansive library. Once completed, this database will enable musicians and music lovers to access rare and hard-to-find Ukrainian music. For more information, please visit: www.ukrainianmusicfestival.com.

We invite you to show your support for these talented Ukrainian musicians by attending their upcoming concert at Glenn Gould Studio. It promises to be an afternoon of superb performances that you will not soon forget!