VOCAL WORKSHOPS
2022
Nadia Tarnawsky
Songs from Polissia
Sunday, January 30, 2022, 2–3:30 PM
Virtual Session
what we learned:
What a workshop with an exceptional musician, researcher and person, Nadia Tarnawsky! We hosted participants from around the globe, including all across the U.S. and Canada, as well as in the UK, Luxembourg, Greece, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Lithuania, Germany, Belgium, Argentina and Ukraine. Amazing!!
Songs to call the spring, repel the rusalky, songs that are meant to be sung in the forest – this is the kind of repertoire one can find in the region of Polissia. A lake-filled, wooded region in northern Ukraine, this somewhat isolated place is home to deeply respected keepers of song like Domenika Chekun of the village of Stari Koni and the Chudinovychi family from the village of Svarytsevychi.
Nadia taught us lyrical and seasonal folk songs from the Polissia region that she learned during her year as a Fulbright Fellow in Ukraine.
About nadia tarnawsky:
Nadia Tarnawsky received a Fulbright award in 2017 and has taught Ukrainian village style singing in workshops for the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine, the Center for Traditional Music and Dance in New York, the Kitka Women's Ensemble, Village Harmony, and Dunava, among others. In 2011, she was granted a Traditional Arts Fellowship from Artist Trust and an Artist Support Residency from Jack Straw Productions.
Nadia sang with Ensemble Hilka of New York in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster in Ukraine.
Workshop & Show
Ukrainian Village Voices
Thursday, June 9, 2022, 5–7 PM
East 4th St. between 2nd Ave. & Bowery, New york, ny
UVV held a free outdoor workshop and performance presented by FABnyc.
We performed a selection of Ukrainian village songs in two sets to showcase examples of vocal traditions. We also taught our audience two songs sourced from Ukraine's vibrant villages. These songs were taught aurally, through repetition, as is tradition.
Inna Kovtun
Conscript & Soldier Songs
Thursday, June 23, 2022, 7:30–9 PM
Virtual Session
what we learned:
Conscript and soldier Ukrainian folk songs appeared in Europe when men were drafted to serve in the army, most of the time forcefully. This social phenomenon became the theme of a new song genre that reflected the tragedy of a conscript’s fate, with topics such as a farewell with a loved one who is heading off to war, his mother’s despair, his wife’s or girlfriend’s sorrow, and the sadness of the soldier-to-be.
Soldier songs were widely sung in the 18th through 20th centuries and even later, when families were parting ways with young men who had to serve in the Russian or Polish armies. Military folk songs were also common during both World Wars. Unfortunately, this theme has become acutely relevant for the Ukrainian people again, as they defend their country from Russia's invasion.
Thank you for taking the opportunity to learn these songs with us and support a Ukrainian refugee artist!
About Inna kovtun:
Inna Kovtun is a folklorist and ethnographer, a researcher and collector of folklore traditions, a performer, and an educator. She is the highly regarded musical and artistic director of the “Rozhanytsya” folk ensemble based in Kyiv, the lead vocalist of the international project “EDK”, and the lead singer of the ethno-rock band “Astarta”. Inna is also the Deputy General Director of the Kyiv Municipal Brass Orchestra. She has performed and given workshops all around the world.
Show & Workshop
Ukrainian Village Voices
Saturday, July 30, 2022, 4-5 PM
Avenue B, Lower East Side, NYC
UVV held another free outdoor workshop and performance presented by FABnyc.
We performed a selection of Ukrainian village songs, highlighting ritual wedding songs. We also taught our audience two songs sourced from Ukraine's vibrant villages.
Show & Workshop
Ukrainian Village Voices
Saturday, october 15, 2022, 4:15-5 PM
NIMBUS ARTS CENTER, JERSEY CITY, NJ
UVV held a vocal workshop during the Hudson West Folk Festival, an all day Americana/Folk/Roots music festival. We taught Ukrainian ritual songs to an enthusiastic audience.
Halyna Pshenichkina
Traditional Songs of the Cherkasy Region
Saturday, october 21, 2022, 12:30-2 PM
virtual session
what we learned:
During our time together, we got acquainted with the regional features of traditional ritual and non-ritual folk songs of the Cherkasy region located in Central Ukraine. Our focus was on the songs' prevailing genres, melodies and rhythms, and stylistic features.
We learned several songs by listening and viewing Halyna’s audio and video recordings of the bearers of the tradition made during her folklore expeditions to villages. These were calendar-ritual, wedding, and lyrical songs, characterized by both simpler monophonic versions and more developed polyphonic compositions with a multi-voice structure.
Thank you for exploring this musical tradition with us!
About Halyna Pshenichkina:
Halyna Pshenichkina is a Ukrainian ethnomusicologist, folksinger, and Doctor of Humanities (Ethnology). For many years she has researched the folk song traditions of Central Ukraine and other regions. She is the author of many scholarly works on musical folklore and defended her dissertation on the melodic features of ritual folk songs of the Cherkasy region. Halyna performs as a member of Ukrainian folklore ensembles Volodar, Dyven, and Zirnytsia. She also participates as a soloist in creative projects and leads master classes in Lithuania.
Marichka Marczyk
Songs from the Front: Ukrainian Soldier Songs
friday, december 2, 2022, 6:30-8:30 PM
playwrights downtown, noho, nyc
what we learned:
UVV was thrilled to host our first in-person public vocal workshop in quite some time. We welcomed back incredible vocalist and ethnomusicologist Marichka Marczyk to lead it!
We learned Ukrainian soldier songs in the traditional polyphonic style of Ukraine. Marichka has spent years traveling on expeditions to record songs from the oldest villagers for posterity. These ancient soldier songs find new meaning and relevance in the wake of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and as Marichka’s brother fights on the front line.
Marichka focused on teaching us rich and challenging multi-part harmonies. We were grateful to learn these powerful songs together and preserve this ancient vocal tradition.
About Marichka marczyk:
Marichka Marczyk is a folklorist, singer, and musician with the Ukrainian-Canadian band Balaklava Blues and Lemon Bucket Orkestra. Marichka graduated from Kyiv's National Music Academy of Ukraine with a major in Ethnomusicology and Folklore Music. She is known for the award-winning folk opera, Counting Sheep, which she co-directed with partner Mark Marczyk.
Marichka specializes in a special vocal technique of Ukrainian polyphony called open voice, a loud, resonant singing style developed over the centuries in the plains of central and eastern Ukraine. Her song repertoire is over 500 years old and was collected over the past 20 years on various ethnographic field expeditions to Ukrainian villages with Kyiv's renowned folk ensemble Bozhychi, of which Marichka is a founding member.
Her numerous international awards include the First Edinburgh Fringe Festival award, the Amnesty award, two Dora awards, and the Stingray Rising Stars award. Marichka’s work has received praise from international media outlets, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Toronto Star.
