Ukrainian
Male Chorus of Edmonton Tours Ukraine
August 2011 marked
an important milestone for the Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton (UMCE). They undertook a 19-day tour of their
ancestral homeland to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Ukraine's
Independence, the 150th Anniversary of Taras Shevchenko’s Birth and
mark the 120th Anniversary of Ukrainian Settlement in Canada. To
honour these celebratory events, the choir had an extensive musical repertoire
to choose from - given its illustrious 27-year history.
The tour began in Lviv, and continued across
Western Ukraine to Kolomyia, Chernivtsi and Uzhhorod, and concluded in the Poltava region and
Kyiv. In addition to performing in well-attended concert halls, the choir was
also invited to various places of worship. “To sing the liturgy at the
Cathedral of St. George in Lviv was personally a great achievement for our
choir. We received a compliment from the
priest halfway through the service - thinking that we were a choir from Kyiv,”
said Conductor Orest Soltykevych. While
travelling across Ukraine, they garnered many newsworthy items from local
media, Kyiv Post and YouTube, as UMCE chose to perform in some
places where to date no Canadian group had appeared.
Long-time
chorister and executive board member Andrij Hladyshevsky reflected on the
complex diaspora mystique felt by some of their Ukrainian audiences. “They
struggle with their identity. So many families have been dislocated by the
economic circumstances whereby six million of their own people live abroad.
Then they hear a Zwozdesky piece, such as ‘The Old Sheepskin Coat’, or the
Kytasty song ‘Jak Davno’ which are attributed to the first experiences of
Ukrainians coming to Canada and their dislocation. It speaks to them. ...”
Choir
member John Palahniuk and his wife Monica thought a touring choir would be an
enriching educational experience for their two children, Mara, 11, and
Mitchell, 14. The siblings were able to
make a visit to their great-grandparent’s home in the Tulova region. After reading poems by Shevchenko and his
references to the Dnipro, “it was neat to put my feet into that same river and
also visit his gravesite,” Mara recalled. “And I met a fourteen-year old girl,
who told me the history of a castle. We
had a conversation in both English and Ukrainian... I got to dance at a wedding with the bride.”
In fact, the choir through beauteous serendipity had three wedding encounters
and good-humoured consideration was given to changing UMCE to ‘The Wedding
Crashers’. “How can a Ukrainian choir
walk past a wedding if they don’t hear anybody singing ‘Mnohaya lita’? Everywhere, we were welcomed with such
hospitality”, said choir member Nestor Petriw.
One
highlight of the trip was the visit to Camp Vorohkta in the Carpathian
Mountains which billeted 125 orphans from across Ukraine. Iris Ciona, one of the twelve accompanying
spouses on tour said: “This was one of the most moving and emotionally
rewarding parts of the trip - especially after the choir sang and the children
sang in return.” The impact was so
heartfelt that two choristers have committed to sponsoring these children if
they wish to attend university or college. Other choristers have also expressed
interest in sponsoring. UMCE President
Darcy Gulka, along with being the principal organizer of this tour and a
sponsor for a student, had volunteered for five years as a youth leader at the
Camp from 2003 to 2007. “It was heart
warming to see one teenager who was in my group in 2004 had completed
university and is now teaching physical education in the same orphanage where
she grew up,” said Gulka.
Another singing engagement inadvertently
provided the choir with the opportunity to experience Ukraine’s complex
history. In Zakarpattyia, the choir was
asked to sing at Uzhhorod’s Philharmonic Hall, which prior to World War II was
a Jewish synagogue. Petriw spoke with
heart-felt emotion: “To honour this
sacred house of worship and the profound sense about it, we included a ballad
passed on to me from my father, which I recited. Written by a Ukrainian expatriate, whose
pen-name was Anatol Halan, it’s about how some evil deeds cannot be forgiven.”
UMCE
had the privileged opportunity to participate in two choral workshops: one with
director Leonid Tryfunenko of the renowned Cherkassy national choir; and with
Volodymyr Volntyr, composer and choir director in Mukachevo, Zakarpattyia. “To use the golf analogy - it was like having
Jack Nicklaus spend an hour with you and suddenly you get the ball twenty yards
further - and you wonder how that is possible?
... and then through the teachings, you understand what you can do,”
Hladyshevsky exclaimed. Soltykevych
added: “It is important for music to flourish.
We have so much 19th century Ukrainian choral music, and here
we’re able to find contemporary music.”
The
choir, not resting on its laurels, has an eventful 2011-12 performance season.
The December 3 Christmas Concert featured the string quartet Quarteto Con
Brio, All City Youth Choir, Mission Hill Brass and Tenor Power - an evening
that appealed to a wide range of musical sensibilities. Once again, Bill Eddins, Music Director of
the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, called upon UMCE’s fine choral talent to
participate in the ESO’s Landmark Classic Masters Series concert Glorious
Voices and perform Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem in C Minor: Offertorium.
This rare performance took place at Enmax Hall, Winspear Centre in Edmonton on
February 24 and repeated on February 25.
The Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton continues
to welcome new members. Their sense of
pride and achievement can best be summed up by President Darcy Gulka: “We have
been blessed with our Christian faith, health, family, each other, and parents
and grandparents who instilled in us the love of our Ukrainian heritage. We
have music second to none in richness and beauty! Passionate, disciplined and inspired
performances of these works give thanks for those blessings, and the gift we
give to our listeners.”
PHOTOS
1
- Ukrainian Male Chorus at Mukachevo Castle in Zakarpattia
2
- Summer Camp Vorokhta orphans singing