Ukrainian Musical Life in Montreal

Ukrainian Music

in Montreal

This page is a retrospective of the history of Ukrainian Musical Life in Montreal. We look forward to hearing your comments. If there is material that you would like to contribute about Ukrainian Music Life, we welcome you to drop us a line. Our e-mail address is: ukemonde@hotmail.com

We will be inviting special guests in the coming months to contribute to this page with their individual thoughts and ideas on the evolution of Ukrainian Musical Life in Montreal. For now, we invite you to visit our pages as follows:

Famous Ukrainian Bands Page
Ukrainian Musical Life in Montreal, by Claudette-Berthiaume-Zawada
Ukrainian Classical Artists
Feature Artist from Ukraine
Misrepresentation of Ukrainian Musical Artists as being Russian or Soviet
Links to other interesting Musical Sites around the world.

Also, shortly we will be adding sample audio clips to this page, where you will be able to listen to the Famous Ukrainian Bands from Montreal through Real Audio.

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Famous Ukrainian Bands From Montreal

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Rushnychok
Syny Stepiv
The Kozaks
Lubomyra
Chornomortsi
Cheremosh
Veselka
Samotsvit
Vechirnyy Dzvin
Kashtany
Cheremshyna
Trio Vesna
1945
Burlaky
Zolota Bulava

Rushnychok - Compromising of four male singers, accompanied by electric guitars, percussion and accordion, was the first "Beatle-type" group to perform at zabavas. The accordion has a special place and preserves a traditional flavour in dance pieces such as waltzes, tangos, rhumbas, fox-trots, hopaks and other Ukrainian dances. The more contemporary pieces in the Anglo-American style are dominated by guitars and percussion. The tonality of the voices is anglicized, yet the harmony remains traditional and the tempos, dynamic and rapid. Finally, the rhythmic effects are emphasized by accentuated off-beat rhythms (characteristic of certain Ukrainian dances).

Rushnychok -

Andriy Harasamovycz - Vocals, Guitar
Eugene Osidacz - Accordion
George Shtyk - Bass
Steve Andrusiak - Drums

Syny Stepiv - (Sons of the Steppes) In a relatively short span of time, "Syny Stepiv" have made tremendous progress and have notice and acclaim not only for their musical talents and abilities, but also for their harmonious vocal style. The members of the group originally developed their talents and abilities in altogether different backgrounds of music, i.e.: folk, rock and traditional. The blending of these talents and backgrounds has resulted in a fresh, vigorous and lively team. The members of the group are all accomplished musicians and all are competent at a number of different musical instruments. Without any pretense, they have a genuine claim to versatility. Being able to entertain to any occasion and for all age groups, ranks among their finest achievements and most cherished accomplishments.

Syny Stepiv I -	Taras Didus - Accordion Jaroslaw Gudzio - Rhythm guitar Jaroslaw Workkewych - Lead guitar Tino Papa - Drums
Syny Stepiv II -	Taras Didus - Accordion Adrian Alboshchy - Rhythm guitar Jaroslaw Workkewych - Lead guitar Tino Papa - Drums
Syny Stepiv III -	Taras Didus - Accordion Adrian Alboshchy - Rhythm guitar Jaroslaw Gudzio - Rhythm guitar Tino Papa - Drums

The Kozaks -

Ihor Beyba - Lead Guitar
Bob Atamaniuk - Drums
Mike Wakulin - Accordion
Morris Lukashevych - Bass

Chornomortsi -

Evstachiw Cap - Violin
Ihor Cap - Accordion, Vocals
Adrian Alboshchy - Rhythm guitar
Tino Papa - Drums
Wasyl Senchak- Rhythm Guitar
Bohdan Cap - Drums

Lubomyra / Luba - The direction taken by female vocal ensembles is somewhat different. Zoria, the first record produced
in 1973, evidences an instrumental accompaniment that is more conscious of the mix in the traditional and modern sounds. Click here to read more about the Ukrainian artist Luba

Click here to read more about the Ukrainian artist Luba

This tangent has been pursued in Lubomyra Kowalchuk's (Luba's) record entitled Lubomyra in which she integrates
elements of jazz, Western and Ukrainian gypsy and sings with an Americanized tonality.
The development of a female vocal trio accompanied by instrumental ensembles has been consolidated through recordings such as "Ballad of Zoriana" (1978) Zoloti Vorota
(The Golden Gates, 1979) and has given rise to a more characteristic style.

Cheremosh -

Roman Svoboda - Accordion
Petro Kardash - Trumpet
Danny Kuka - Trumpet
Peter Kuka - Rhythm Guitar
Ricky Maronni - Drums

Veselka - Veselka makes greater use of modern compositions and has richer vocal harmonization and instrumentation which it achieves through the experienced use of a synthesizer.

Veselka (1979) -	Andrij Czerny - Accordion / Synthezesizer Ihor Zowtonizka - Lead & Rhythm Guitars Roman Budny - Bass Guitar Roman Kolanitch - Drums / Percussion
Veselka (1981) -	Andrij Czerny - Accordion / Synthesizer Ihor Zowtonizka - Lead & Rhythm Guitars Wasyl Kinal - Bass Guitar / Accordion Roman Kolanitch - Drums / Percussion

Samotsvit - (A similar vocal and instrumental group) differentiates itself from the previous groups through its repertoire which is almost entirely made up of compositions by its members. These compositions comprise heterogeneous elements which draw upon diverse musical influences: traditional Ukrainian, modern Soviet - and post Soviet Ukrainian, Anglo-American, West Indian, Caribbean, South American, French, and Quebecois.

Samotsvit -	Wasyl Kinal - Bass Guitar / Accordion Ihor Cap - Lead & Bass Guitars Oles Cap - Lead & Rhythm Guitars Taras Kolanitch - Drums / Percussion
Samotsvit -	Ihor Cap - Lead & Bass Guitars Oles Cap - Lead & Rhythm Guitars Taras Kolanitch - Drums / Percussion Ivan Snisarenko - Accordion / Keyboards

Vechirnyy Dzvin - Emphasizes mandolin and flute and favors a more traditional style. With the exception of Samotsvit, we have noticed that the preservation and adaptation strategies evolve separately and are more often superimposed than interwoven.

Vechirnyy Dzvin -

Adrian Alboschy - Guitar
Roman Karpyszyn - Accordion
Mike Michalik - Vocals
Tino Papa - Drums

1945 -

Paul
Yourko
Geoff
Julie
Wayne
Peter
Francois

Click here to read more about the band 1945

Cheremshyna - Recordings by Cheremshyna have been a driving force behind the integration of traditional Ukrainian sound with modern occidental tastes. This has been achieved through a more sophisticated use of instruments and harmonies coupled with sonorities that are clearly more Ukrainian, a tonality that is closer to that of the voices of Eastern European women and a deeper interpretation.
The Cheremshyna vocal ensemble was formed in 1977 and is well established in the Montreal community. Cheremshyna's success on the Sviato Rizdva (1981) recording, resulted in numerous performances, including a concert at the Centennial Theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba and a Christmas concert for the Governor-General of Canada.

Cheremshyna -

Claudia Melnyk (1st Alto)
Lydia Ruditsch (2nd Alto)
Nadine Zwetkow (Soprano)

Click here to read more about the Ukrainian trio Cheremshyna

Trio Vesna -

Vera Turko-Kulycky
Natalka Turko-Norton
Olga Harhaj-Czuma

Burlaky -

Taras Mazepa - Vocals, Trumpet
Taras Figol - Drums
Andrij Figol - Bass
Andrew Mazepa - Keyboards
Mark Shnuriwsky - Guitars

Zolota Bulava -	Stefan Holowka - Accordion, Keyboards, Taras Mazepa - Vocals, Trumpet Yuri Mytko - Drums & Percussion Taras Pitt - Guitar, Vocals Mike Rebizant - Bass Guitar	Click here to view the Zolota Bulava Web Page

more to come shortly....

Ukrainian Musical Life in Montreal:
Special Characteristics

Claudette-Berthiaume-Zawada
Translated by: Daniel S. Drapeau

Introduction

While traveling in 1988 in South-East Poland through the Lemko region which is inhabited by Ukrainians, in the city of Bielanka, where we were conducting research on Carpathian music, we were pleasantly surprised to here a Ukrainian melody, composed, played and recorded by Ukrainian Montrealers. Our host, Yaroslav Trochanowsky, had been on a recent North American tour and had brought back this recording by the Cheremshyma group.

Surprised by this "pleasant mix of traditional and modern styles," Mr. Trochanowsky appreciated the quality of this trio and the unique style of its arrangements. He also seemed impressed by the Ukrainian musical production which he had heard during his visit to Montreal in 1987.

Members of Cheremshyna, moreover feel that this particular style could probably not have been created in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton or New York and was in part the result of the distinct cultural environment to be found in Montreal and Quebec.

This raises the question: What is it about the Ukrainian musical production in Montreal that distinguishes it from that of other Canadian cities where Ukrainians have settled? What are the factors that have made for uniqueness and originality in this musical product?

This article written by Claudette-Berthiaume-Zawada

Ukrainian Classical Artists

Here is a list of classically trained musicians that made an impact in their field of music. Their road to success originated in the Ukrainian Montreal community and in some cases they took their talents one step further, on to the international scene. We congratulate them on their great achievements and we are extremely proud of their accomplishments and success.