> \>==============================================
>
> \>NEWS ADVISORY\...\...\.....
>
> \>ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS)
>
> \>www.ArtUkraine.com
>
> \>Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C.
>
> \>Monday, August 13, 2001
>
> \>
>
> \>UKRAINIAN BANDURIST CHORUS LEAVES FOR UKRAINE
>
> \>Performances In Kyiv Are Set
>
> \>
>
> \> Detroit, Michigan\...\...\...The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
>
> \>(UBC) based in Detroit, Michigan will leave for Ukraine on
>
> \>Wednesday, August 15^th^ to represent the United States in the
>
> \>Third World Forum of Ukrainians and in the Celebration of
>
> \>Ukrainian Independence.
>
> \>
>
> \> The Chorus was founded in Kyiv in 1918 and has had a
>
> \>long, rich history as one of the top Bandurist Choruses in the
>
> \>world.
>
> \>
>
> \> Performances by the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus in Kyiv
>
> \>will be as follows:
>
> \>
>
> \>(1) Saturday, August 18^th^\...\..."In Celebration Of Independence"
>
> \>Concert and Reception, 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., The House of
>
> \>Teachers, Concert Hall, 2^nd^ Floor, Volodymyrska 57 in Kyiv.
>
> \>
>
> \>The informal Concert and Reception is open to the public, and
>
> \>admission is free. Everyone is welcome to the Concert and
>
> \>the Reception which follows.. Only the Detroit based Ukrainian
>
> \>Bandurist Chorus (UBC) will perform at this concert.
>
> \>
>
> \>The House of Teachers is very close to the Shevchenko Opera
>
> \>House in the heart of Kyiv.
>
> \>
>
> \>The Concert and Reception is sponsored by the United States
>
> \>Embassy in Kyiv, and ArtUkraine.com. The Chorus expresses its
>
> \>sincere appreciation to U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual, Janet
>
> \>Demiray, Counselor for Public Affairs and Marta Pereyma,
>
> \>Assistant Cultural Officer of the U.S. Embassy for their
>
> \>assistance regarding the "In Celebration of Independence Concert."
>
> \>
>
> \>(2) Saturday, August 18^th^\...\...."Ukrainian Songs From Around
>
> \>The World" Gala Concert sponsored by the Third World Forum
>
> \>of Ukrainians, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., The Ukrainian Palace,
>
> \>attendance is by invitation only. Tickets are not for sale.
>
> \>
>
> \>The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus will perform one song at the
>
> \>Gala and will participate in the Finale. Around 50 international
>
> \>Ukrainian performing groups will participate in this large program.
>
> \>
>
> \>(3) Sunday, August 19^th^\...\...\...The Devine Liturgy, the Chorus
>
> \>will sing during the Liturgy, at St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv,
>
> \>10 a.m. to 12 a.m. followed by a reception. Attendance is
>
> \>open.
>
> \>
>
> \>(4) Sunday, August 19^th^\...\...\...."Concert On Khreschatyk"
>
> \>for international Ukrainian performing groups. 6 p.m to
>
> \>8:30 p.m. on Khreschatyk. The exact location of where the
>
> \>stage on Khreschatyk will be is not known at this time.
>
> \>
>
> \>The Chorus will perform four to five numbers at this "Concert
>
> \>On Khreschatyk". Concert is sponsored by the Third World
>
> \>Forum of Ukrainians.
>
> \>
>
> \>(5) Monday, August 20^th^\...\...\..."Reception At the United
>
> \>States Embassy In Ukraine". 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., The Chorus
>
> \>will perform a few numbers at the private reception held in
>
> \>conjunction with the Third World Forum of Ukrainians.
>
> \>Attendance is by invitation only.
>
> \>
>
> \>The President of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus is Anatoli W.
>
> \>Murha of Livonia, Michigan. The Conductor is Oleh Mahlay.
>
> \>
>
> \>The President, Conductor and individual members of the Chorus
>
> \>will be available for interviews. If you need further information
>
> \>please contact ARTUIS.
>
> \>=============================================
>
> \>=============================================
>
> \>ArtUkraine.com News Service (ARTUIS)
>
> \>June 22, 2001
>
> \>
>
> \>
>
> \>DETROIT BASED UKRAINIAN BANDURIST CHORUS
>
> \>to Represent the United States at the Third World Forum
>
> \>of Ukrainians and Ukraine's Huge Tenth Anniversary of
>
> \>Independence Celebration, August 18-24^th^
>
> \>
>
> \>The Amazing Story of the Chorus's Birth in Kyiv, Ukraine, in
>
> \>1918 after World War I; their struggle under the Soviets and the
>
> \>Nazis; their flight after World War II to Detroit, Michigan; and
>
> \>Then Finally Back to Ukraine in 1991 Just Before Independence
>
> \>and Now Back Again"
>
> \>
>
> \>
>
> \> Detroit, Michigan\...\.....June 22, 2001\.....On August 15^th^,
>
> \>2001, the Detroit based Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus (UBC) will
>
> \>leave for Kyiv, Ukraine to participate in the official concert
>
> \>ceremonies commemorating the Third World Forum of
>
> \>Ukrainians and the Tenth Anniversary observances
>
> \>of Ukraine's Declaration of Independence (August 24^th^, 1991).
>
> \>
>
> \>The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), and
>
> \>The Ukrainian American Coordinating Council (UACC) have
>
> \>designated the Chorus as the official representative cultural
>
> \>group from the United States.
>
> \>
>
> \> On the eve of Ukrainian independence ten years ago in
>
> \>June of 1991, the Chorus, under the directorship of Maestro
>
> \>Wolodymyr Kolesnyk, completed a historical triumphant 14-city
>
> \>tour throughout major cities in Ukraine. The performances, which
>
> \>encompassed traditional ballads and instrumentals were received
>
> \>with great enthusiasm and rave reviews, especially in the areas of
>
> \>Ukraine where national consciousness had been most repressed
>
> \>and lay dormant.
>
> \>
>
> \> As a tribute to its role in preserving and perpetuating the
>
> \>legacy of Ukrainian music, the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus was
>
> \>selected by Ukraine's Council of Ministers as the recipient of the
>
> \>Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian State Prize, the highest award that
>
> \>can be bestowed for excellence in the contribution to the arts.
>
> \>The award was presented to the Chorus by Leonid Kravchuk,
>
> \>President of Ukraine, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during his
>
> \>first visit to the United States in May, 1992.
>
> \>
>
> \> The Chorus returned to Ukraine again in 1994, touring
>
> \> southern Ukraine and Crimea. The Chorus' current artistic
>
> \>director, Oleh Mahlay, had his conducting debut as the assistant
>
> \>conductor during this tour.
>
> \>
>
> \> It is with great honor that the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
>
> \> returns to Ukraine for the historic celebration of the 10^th^
>
> \>Anniversary of Independence\...to Kyiv, the city where the
>
> \>Chorus was born right after World War I.
>
> \>
>
> \> The history of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus can be
>
> \>traced directly to the 12^th^ Archeological Congress in Kharkiv,
>
> \>Ukraine held in 1902.
>
> \>
>
> \> The question of forming a professional orchestra of
>
> \>bandurists was first presented there by Hnat Khotkevych,
>
> \>a prominent writer, ethnographer, and composer. He
>
> \>provided stimulus for a renewed interest and remarkable
>
> \>growth in the bandura's popularity at the beginning of the
>
> \>20^th^ century and amateur bandura ensembles rapidly
>
> \>formed throughout the century.
>
> \>
>
> \> The first professional bandurist chorus was formed in
>
> \>Kyiv in 1918 during the height of the country's brief period
>
> \>of independence after World War I. Under the direction of
>
> \>bandura virtuoso Vasyl Yemetz, the first chorus initially had
>
> \>15 members. Another such chorus, in Poltava, Ukraine, was
>
> \>formed in 1925 under the direction of Volodymyr Kabachok.
>
> \>
>
> \> The mid-1920's were marked by a period of resurgence
>
> \>of Ukrainian arts and culture, and the Chorus developed into
>
> \>a professional touring troupe. As the Chorus membership,
>
> \>expertise,and repertoire were continually refined and enhanced,
>
> \>the bandura was transformed from a folk to a classical concert
>
> \>form.
>
> \>
>
> \> The Chorus's history rapidly evolved into a turbulent one.
>
> \>The ideals of the bandurist---God, truth, freedom, and human
>
> \>dignity heralded through song\-\--were a threat to the then newly
>
> \>formed Soviet Union. Under Joseph Stalin's rule, artists and
>
> \>intellectuals were arrested, exiled and executed in an attempt
>
> \>to eradicate every remnant of Ukrainian culture.
>
> \>
>
> \> Hnat Khotkevych, the prominent writer, ethnographer,
>
> \>composer and promoter of the bandura, was executed in 1938
>
> \>in Kharkiv and his compositions were banned throughout the
>
> \>Soviet Union. Many conductors, chorus members and blind
>
> \>bandurists-minstrels were also accused of enticing the populace
>
> \>to nationalism and were executed. In 1935 the remaining
>
> \>members were forced to reorganize into the State Bandurist
>
> \>Chorus of the Ukrainian SSR.
>
> \>
>
> \> In the years that followed the Chorus was exploited and
>
> \>persecuted by both the Soviets and the Nazis. It was not
>
> \>until 1949 that through the assistance of the allied forces that
>
> \>many of the Chorus' members immigrated from refugee camps
>
> \>to the United States where many established a home base in
>
> \>Detroit, Michigan. Since 1949 the Chorus has enjoyed the
>
> \>freedom of artistic expression in the United States of America.
>
> \>
>
> \> Freedom was a great blessing but not without its difficulties.
>
> \>Most of the members, in order to support their families, had to
>
> \>learn new skills that were often unrelated to their musical
>
> \>ability and experience. Approximately 90 percent joined
>
> \>Detroit's automotive industry labor force. This, however,
>
> \>did not prevent the bandurists from launching a series of
>
> \>concerts in their newly adopted homeland. The Ukrainian
>
> \>Bandurist Chorus was thus reborn.
>
> \>
>
> \> Hryhory Kytasty, (1907-1984), long-standing conductor
>
> \>of the Chorus was a driving force in re-instilling Ukrainian
>
> \>choral and bandura art in North America. Considered a
>
> \>legend in his own time, this composer, conductor, performer
>
> \>and teacher was a role model and inspiration to young
>
> \>bandurists.He continued the legacy of the bandurist (also
>
> \>known as a kobzar) and furthered the art of the bandura in
>
> \>the free world.
>
> \>
>
> \> Today the majority of the Chorus members are 2^nd^ and
>
> \>3^rd^ generation Americans and Canadians. Fortified by a whole
>
> \>generation of young musicians, the Chorus has captivated
>
> \>audiences in major concert halls in the United States, Canada,
>
> \>Europe and Australia for more than 50 years.
>
> \>
>
> \> During the 1999-2000 season the Ukrainian Bandurist
>
> \>Chorus celebrated its 50^th^ anniversary in America and its 82th
>
> \>anniversary from when it was organized in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1918.
>
> \>
>
> \> The male chorus is based in Detroit, but has members
>
> \>throughout North America: Alberta, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio,
>
> \>New York, New Jersey, Ontario and Pennsylvania. The Chorus
>
> \>has preserved and promoted the art of the bandura by amassing
>
> \>an extensive discography, and by touring throughout the world.
>
> \>
>
> \> For more information please contact Anatoli W. Murha,
>
> \>President of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus at 734.953.0305 or
>
> \>AMurha@aol.com or check the website:
> [www.bandura.org](http://www.bandura.org/) .
>
> \> ===============================================
>
> \>Check put website [www.bandura.org](http://www.bandura.org/) for
> extensive information
>
> \>about the bandura, bandurists, the Chorus, history, photographs, and
>
> \>much more. A great website.
>
> \>================================================
>
> \>Photographs from the archives of the Ukrainian Bandura Chorus
>
> \>More Photographs Can Be Found On the Bandura Chorus
>
> \>Website\..... [www.bandura.org:](http://www.bandura.org:/)
>
> \>
>
> \>Photographs Are Listed In Historical Order:
>
> \>One\...\...\... Bandurist Chorus\...\....Kyiv, 1934
>
> \>Two\...\... Bandurist Chorus\...\.....Rehearsal in Kyiv 1935
>
> \>Three\...\.....Bandurist Chorus\...\....Posters in Azerbaijan
> October 3, 1937
>
> \>Four\...\....Bandurist Chorus\...\...\...Famous Conductor Hryhory
> Kytasty,
>
> \>1941-1984
>
> \>Five\...\.... Bandurist Chorus\...\...\...50 Years In America, 1999
>
> \>===============================================
>
> \>ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
>
> \>Washington, D.C. and Kyiv, Ukraine
>
> \>E. Morgan Williams, Publisher
>
> \>Chrystia Sonevytsky, Associate
>
> \>202 437 4707
>
> \>ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
>
> \>Website: [www.ArtUkraine.com](http://www.ArtUkraine.com/)
>
> \>=================================================
>
> \>ArtUkraine.com\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--
>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
> \> The Art of the Land, Beauty, History, Travel and Tourism
>
> \>=================================================
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