Choral Conductor's Seminar - Edmonton August 10-18,2013

Spiritus Chamber Choir performed
at the Egllise du Sacre Coeur
in Dijon - acfea.com

I am so excited about another summer full of music! Touring France singing as a member of a chamber choir was great,

but now it's about conducting too! It's going to be another summer gloriously filled with music making! Thanks to the great forethought of the Ukrainian Music Society of Alberta, Edmonton will again play host to another invaluable training program for choral conductors. Forty years of care for the Ukrainian music tradition in Canada has been a great service to the Canadian and Ukrainian choral experience, not to mention the numerous other music genres the society has promoted over the years.


Have to put August 10-18, 2013 on the calendar - those are the dates for this Ukrainian Choral Conductors' Seminar. Seminar work on vocal technique, conducting techniques, cantoring, score analysis, text delivery and diction, secrets of running a rehearsal efficiently, history of Ukrainian choral music, conducting church choirs will be great fun! Canadian and Ukrainian specialists will instruct, among them Prof. Mstyslav Yurchenko, of Kyiv, a specialist in liturgical tradition, (especially of Maksym Berezovsky), and Canadian Maestro Laurence Ewashko of Ottawa. Because Canada has a wealth of talented practitioners the program is certain to draw attention of the experienced and novice to the event. Church and community choir repertoire will be studied, and a seminar choir of local volunteer talent will be engaged.

The venue for this workshop is the ideally located St. John's Institute, Edmonton, just blocks from the University of Alberta and its Fine Arts Building and Music Faculty.

You may not know, but Ukraine's musical tradition is unique in its span of history, cultural, religious, and political perspectives. Many of the artistic treasures are relatively new to Western audiences, with a refreshing sound reflecting musical, linguistic and cultural trends of a truly Ukrainian nature. The new stuff is amazing too!

Thanks to Luba Boyko-Bell for sharing this - call her at 780-469-4890 or at luba.bell@shaw.ca for more information.

Calgary Bandura

The bandura is the instrument of Ukraine, but it has played an important function in Calgary's Ukrainian community too.  The bandura movement in Calgary had its initial stages somewhere in the late 1970's and early 1980's.   Alberta Culture must have played a part, but I am sure community representatives including Calgary's Mrs. Lydia Hladyshevsky contributed greatly too.  I do remember that there was a great convergence of energetic support for bandura which brought about summer classes, year long lessons, performances, and animated bandura players!

J Kytasty 2012

The bandura is a stringed instrument considered the national musical instrument of Ukraine.  Prominent through history as harmonic support for singing and dancing, the bandura was adopted for recounting the stories of the day adding tone painting and colorful support to exciting exploits of the Ukrainian cossack warriors.  Kobzari - players of the bandura were persecuted for expressing uncomfortable truths during Stalinist times, many executed.  Despite censure, bandura interest has risen over the last century, especially because its striking sound has the capacity to express historical truths through music, and influence emotions regardless of words.  

I remember excitely unpacking my new bandura from Ukraine, and when we travelled to visit baba and dido in Manitoba, there was no question about bringing it along in the camper.   The bandura and a new cassette player with a radio rode with me on the bunkbed of the camper.  Somehow, late in the night, I managed to find a radio station from Windsor, and the beautiful sound of ensemble bandura playing enchanted me.  I remember the first song too!!  Zore moya vechirnyaya!  Зоре моя вечірняня! The entire trip home was dedicated to intent listening and extracting the parts for the voice and bandura.  By the time we got home, I could play it (in a kid way).  

While I began lessons with Professor Andrij Hornjatkevyc in Edmonton, with typical class and foresight, the Ukrainian community soon arranged for more unique opportunities for western Canadian participants.   They lured some of the most talented contemporary Ukrainian musicians of the time, sharing no expense in arranging for teachers of the prestigious Ukrainian Bandura Chorus for the program.  Victor Kytasty, Julian Kytasty (progeny of the amazing Hryhory Kytasty line) and Marko Bandera taught - the breadth of experience, talent and technical training was astonishing.  Edmonton and Calgary had hugely successful summer programs, lessons with ensemble work, individual classes and classic repertoire that resonated in the minds and spirits of families across the prairies.  Performances of stories, ballads, and dumas just like the ancient kobzari fed the community's sense of identity - it was resoundingly successful!

Julian Kytasty, the Ukrainian American composer, singer, kobzar, bandurist, flute player and conductor has had a passionate relationship with bandura - as you can read in this article from  Den'.

http://www.day.kiev.ua/235354

Will there be another phase in Calgary's bandura journey soon?  Let's hope!!