to the full bulletin.

NUMBER 80 APRIL 2016
626 BATHURST ST. TORONTO, ON ISSN-0703-9999
Shevchenko Ensemble to mark
125 years of Ukrainians in Canada
In 2016 Ukrainians throughout Canada
will celebrate the 125th Anniversary of
Ukrainian immigration to this country.
The early immigrants, like those today
seeking refuge from war and desperation, came to Canada with dreams and
aspirations of a better life for future generations. We are proud that our people,
along with immigrants from many other
countries, helped to shape a new destiny,
not only for their own, but for all future
generations.
With little to offer but a strong work
ethic and a desire to share in the bounty
of a new land, for more than a century
Ukrainians have played a significant
role in the cultural, economic and political life of Canada. They have nurtured
and educated their young in their traditions while working with other Canadians to build a diverse and inclusive
society of which we can all be proud.
While the performers of the Shevchenko
Ensemble today represent a wide range
of ethnicities, the Ensemble’s Ukrainian
roots are not forgotten. Indeed, throughout its illustrious history the Ensemble
has preserved the rich traditions of
Ukrainian songs and music and continues to maintain the essence of who we
are and whence we came.
It is in this spirit that the Shevchenko
Musical Ensemble will mark this proud
celebration at its Annual Concert on
Sunday, April 24 at St. Michael’s College School Centre for the Arts.
The year 2016 is also very significant
for the Ensemble in other ways. The
Shevchenko Choir, founded in 1951 as
the Shevchenko Male Chorus, will have
achieved 65 years of bringing the finest
of Ukrainian choral traditions to the
Canadian public.
The Toronto Mandolin Orchestra will
celebrate its 60th year in grand fashion
with an anniversary concert and banquet
next November. There are other exciting
projects currently in the works as well.
Maintaining the longevity of cultural
groups is no small achievement for any
community-based cultural association
in this country. The successful transformation of the choir and orchestra from
small amateur entities into semi-professional performing arts groups of significant stature, attests to the desire not
only to preserve Ukrainian traditions in
Canada, but also to help them flourish
in a new Canadian perspective.
A Remembrance Day to remember
For some time now representatives
of the Shevchenko Ensemble, Club
626 Seniors, the Federation of Russian
Canadians and the Toronto Branch of
the AUUC have been meeting to better
coordinate activities between the individual groups.
Remembrance Day, held at the
Ukrainian Cultural Centre, was the first
event jointly organized and carried out
by this new committee which has become known as the “chetvirka”.
People gathered on November 11 to
pay tribute to veterans of the above organizations who served in World War II.
Mounted on the walls were plaques
containing 180 names of those being
honoured, while at the front of the hall
stood a stool draped in black and holding a vase of poppies.
Master of Ceremonies Florenz Seychuk, President of Club 626 Seniors,
opened the event and called on Wayne
Gilbert to deliver the main address.The
text of this speech was researched and
written by Ginger Kautto and Larissa
Stavroff for the Souvenir Program of the
Shevchenko Ensemble’s concert “Songs
of War and Peace” held on the occasion
of the 75th Anniversary of the end of
WW II. The story told of the sacrifices
of those who served, the unprecedented
carnage and loss of life. It spoke of the
participation of those at home, particularly women, who actively supported the
war effort in many ways.
The traditional Moment of Silence was
held at 11:00 am. in honour of those who
perished in service to our country.
The highlight of the event was undoubtedly the presence of students from
a neighbouring high school who brought
with them artwork and written messages
dedicated to the lives lost, and calling
for a peaceful future for generations to
come.
Most moving was a speech by a young
girl, Ayzuhre, from country unknown,
who spoke of the current ravages of war
“at home” and of her people’s suffering
and the loss of lives. To listen to this
first-hand acccount from one so young,
yet so old, brought tears to the eyes of
many of those listening.
Although a solemn event, this Remembrance Day was also heartwarming
to hear the younger generation speak so
passionately about the desire and need
for peace in our world today.
Blending of Polish and Ukrainian Cultures
Hope Is All We Have Got
On ravaged fields
Hope is shred,
Fading with every dying breath.
As it disappears,
Tears are shed,
Men know devastation will surely spread.
Yet, hope will never truly die,
As long as brave warriors continue to defy.
Hope is all we have got,
Even when it seems like naught.
Like the sun,
Hope will rise and reign again.
Once it does, men will be friends, and the
world will return to being a gem.
– Richard Nguyen
What’s Worth Remembering?
Excerpts from a short essay by student
Leslie Cuoto
We learn about history so that we don’t
repeat the same mistakes made by those
who came before us. We will never forget
the wars and soldiers…who died for our
country.
But no more.
I will no longer glorify wars … you don’t
save lives by taking lives.
They say we are intelligent beings…
but we use our knowledge to destroy
ourselves and our planet. So I ask you
this: why do borders separate us? Who
decided this? Because I don’t remember
having a vote.
Ayzuhre speaks pssionately of her homeland
“Slavic Roots”, this year’s Choral Concert presented by the Shevchenko Choir
was a blending of two different, yet
closely-related cultures, those of Poland
and Ukraine.
The concert, held on February 28
at Columbus Centre, opened with the
Shevchenko Choir under the Artistic
Direction of Alexander Veprinskiy accompanied by Xintong Wang.
Soprano Adele Kozak, with backing
from the choir, was powerful in two Carpathians songs by Anatoly Kos-Anatolsky
– Oi, pidu ya mezhy hory (I will Go to the
Foothills) and Tsymboryky (Carpathian
Nightingales).
The choir, now grown in numbers, gave
a beautiful performance of the Ukrainian
folk Song Tykho nad richkoyu (Quietly
Over the River).
The strong tenor voice of Hassan
Anami floated above the choir in the
moving Russian song Solovyi (Nightingales), and to end their first set, Hassan
amazed the audience with the ever-popular, crowd-pleasing Russian folk song
Kalinka.
Each year, special effort is made to introduce young talent at the choral concert
and this year we were pleased to present
two very fine young musicians.
Twelve year old violinist, Adam Kulju,
astounded the audience with his own
composition Our Home, Fantasia in E
Major, a fairly complex composition,
complete with piano accompaniment.
Also an accomplished pianist, Adam has
won many competitions and has posted
over 50 original pieces on YouTube.
Derrick Li, eleven years old and hardly
tall enough to reach the pedals on the piano, performed Arabesque Nº 1 by Claude
Debussy. Then to further amaze the audience, he played Flight of the Bumblebee
as an encore.
In the second half of the concert Adam
played Monti’s Czardas and Derrick performed Nocturne Nº 1 by Chopin.
I suggest you remember these names,
for I’m sure we will see both these boys,
as young men, appear as stars on prestigious stages in Canada and beyond.
Novi Singers of Toronto’s Polish
community was created in 2014 by
Artistic Director and Conductor Matthew
Jaskiewicz, a graduate of the Warsaw
Academy of Music. Conducted by Matthew Jaskiewicz and accompanied by
Konrad Gajewski, Novi Singers opened
their set with a beautiful lullaby, Just
Sleep, My Darling, followed by a cabaret
number, I Fear Growing Fat, in which
soloist Izabela Naruszewicz, sang of the
desperate measures women take in order
to keep in shape.
In I Shall Put on My Overcoat and
Farewell, My Sweet Girl, soldiers, as
they go off to battle reluctantly take leave
of their sweethearts, promising never to
forget them. To end this set, the 40-voice
Novi Singers gave a lively performance
of Let’s Dance One More Mazurka.
MC Larissa Stavroff is to be congratulated for her adept pronunciation, in
Polish, of the titles of the above songs.
In the second half, Novi Singers gave
Adam Kulju, 12 year old violinist and composer
Derrick Li, 11 year old pianist
story continues on page 5
Today I urge you to melt the bullets, and
expel the thoughts of greed and power…
peace cannot be accomplished by one
nation winning a war, but only by the
unification of the world….
So, today maybe this is really truly worth
remembering.
– Leslie Cuoto
Beautiful artwork created by the students was on display at the event
2
“Novi Singers” Polish Choir conducted by Matthew Jaskiewicz, Artistic Director
3
Original Male Chorus member honoured
The Guild’s Annual Banquet, held in
October at the King’s Garden Banquet Hall, successfully honoured an
original member of the Shevchenko
Male Chorus.
Choir colleagues, friends and
family came out in good number to
congratulate Fred Panasiuk on his
long and fruitful participation in the
Shevchenko Musical Ensemble.
Community-based groups such as
the Shevchenko Male Chorus are
made up of people who work, have
families, have various talents and
capabilities, and in most cases have
interesting and exciting lives beyond
Ensemble rehearsals and concerts.
And each brings his values, experiences and talents to these organizations. Fred Panasiuk is no exception.
Nurtured at home in the rich heritage of his parents who immigrated to
Canada from Ukraine, Fred attended
Ukrainian school and took violin
lessons from Mary Kuzyk.
At the same time, Fred, like many
kids those days, among other jobs
worked at selling papers and setting
bowling pins. Selling soda pop at
Maple Leaf games (Toronto’s first
major ball team) was to have a lasting
effect on his life.
Through this expereince he met and
rubbed shoulders with professional
ball players. He also got a chance
to play ball and develop his athletic
skills.
When he joined the newly-formed
Shevchenko Male Chorus in 1951, he
often got tickets for chorus members to attend ball games. No matter
where Fred went, or what he did in
life, he always in some way involved
his friends and colleagues of the
Shevchenko Musical Ensemble.
After high school, Fred had a
number of jobs, eventually settling in
the art department of Data Business
Forms where he stayed for 34 years.
It was here that Fred took advantage
4
of the considerable number of
employees and each year, from
the inception of the 1000 Club
lottery in 1975, he sold 100 to
150 tickets, raising from $3,000
to $4,500 for the Guild each year.
Fred’s membership in the
Male Chorus meant a lifetime of
wonderful friendships, exciting
concerts and events, and distant
travels.
Ginger Kautto, in the main tribute to Fred, said: “To put Fred’s
Chorus life in perspective over 65
years: he sang 510 songs, often
with a small solo or in a duet
with men like Merse Mochoruk.
He sang at Massey Hall 37 times
and in the Ontario Forum 9 times.
He found himself on stage in
more than 21 Ontario cities, 10
cities in Ukraine and in all major
theatres in Western Canada. He
shared these experiences, in the
Chorus alone, with over 300
men.”
The evening’s program, conducted by MC Larissa Stavroff,
included a delicious dinner and
a slideshow of photos from
Fred’s life, as well as that of the
Shevchenko Male Chorus.
Fred, who is generally known to
be very talkative, especially when
he’s promoting the Shevchenko
Ensemble, was a little lost for
words when he took the microphone to express his sincere
thanks for the honour bestowed
upon him, and to emphasize how
his involvement in the Ensemble
has made his life and the lives of
his family, that much richer.
To bring this very successful
evening to a close, Florenz Seychuk and Pat Ignacz conducted
the Grand Final Draw of the 1000
Club Lottery.
(See Final winners on page 10)
Blending of Cultures
from page 3
Some of Fred’s colleagues in the Shevchenko choir who joined
him on his special evening.
Adele Kozak and Herman Rombouts
of Shevchenko Choir in
Finale “Cossack Beyond the Danube”
strong performances of liturgical selections I Will Sing With the Spirit by John
Rutter, and three movements from the
Latin Jazz Mass by Martin Völlinger.
The Shevchenko Choir, in its final set,
performed Schubert’s Ave Maria, followed by Shadow River composed to the
words of Mohawk poet Pauline Johnson.
Both were performed with fine control
and moving dynamics.
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and the
American folk standard Goodnight, Irene,
with an original choral arrangement by
Veprinskiy, were enthusiastically received
by the audience.
Both choirs took the stage to perform
the Polish song Maki (Poppies) conducted by Matthew Jaskiewicz; and under
Veprinskiy’s baton, the Ukrainian song
A Cossack Rode Beyond the Danube
with soloists Adele Kozak and Herman
Rombouts, and a very moving rendition
of Hymn to Freedom, Oscar Peterson’s
uplifting song of brotherhood and universal love, a fine conclusion to an afternoon
of sharing cultures.
– Ginger Kautto
Fred humbly acknowledges the tribute
In Fond Memory
The National Shevchenko
Musical Ensemble Guild
of Canada
gratefully acknowledges
contributions in memory
of the following:

John Woloshyn
2013
Olga (Minov) Wilson
2014
Stephen Dolhan
2015
Peter Popadiuk
2015
Eleanor Rayko
2015
Harry Rayko
2016
Stan Shaw
2016
The BULLETIN
“Novi Singers ” Polish Choir, Matthew Jaskiewicz, Artistic Director
Grandson Ben helps draw the winning tickets in the Final Draw
of the 1000 Club Lottery
Fred’s love for sports
is rekindled through his
mentoring of little
Ben in baseball
and other sports.
Published semi-annually with the support
of the City of Toronto through the Toronto
Arts Council • Issued by the National
Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of
Canada, a federally incorporated
charitable cultural institution,
Reg. Nº 11905 1910 RR0001
626 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5S 2R1
Phone 416-533-2725
E-mail: info-sme@bellnet.ca
www.shevchenkomusic.com
Editorial: Ginger Kautto, Larissa Stavroff
Photographs by Wayne Gilbert of GPS
Digital Photo Images unless
otherwise noted.
Joint choir of 54 voices and one scarecrow conducted by Alexander Veprinskiy, Artistic Director
5
Amazing diversity and talent
The Toronto Mandolin Orchestra,
on November 15 at Trinity St. Paul’s
Centre, presented an unusual concert for
a performing arts group whose roots lie
in the Ukrainian community.
With guest artists Hassan Anami,
tenor, and pianist Narmina Afandiyeva
who hail from Iran and Azerbaijan,
this unique orchestra, under the
talented artistic direction of Alexander
Veprinskiy, outdid itself in a program
containing folk and classical music of
the Far East, the Caucasus and other
climes.
A moving opening to the concert
was the performance of the hauntingly
beautiful “Aria”, followed by a moment
of silence in memory of those killed in
the Paris terrorist attack just two days
prior.
Master of Ceremonies Larissa Stavroff
warmly welcomed the audience and
announced the first number – In a
Persian Market - performed by the
orchestra.
Featured guest artist, tenor Hassan
Anami, thrilled the audience with two
Iranian love songs Jane Maryam and
Gole Goldoon. It was evident from the
audience’s enthusiastic response to his
performance that we were successful
in bringing to the concert a large
representation from Toronto’s Iranian
community.
To achieve this outreach, with the help
of Hassan we printed flyers in Farsi
for distribution in the Iranian and other
eastern communities. We also contacted
Iranian organizations and restaurants soliciting their help in promoting this very
talented husband and wife duo.
Following the orchestra’s performance
of Sardar’s Processional from “Caucasian Sketches” by Russian composer
Ippolitov-Ivanov, Hassan took centre
stage once again with Asgarin Mahnisi
6
(The Cloth Peddler) from an Iranian
operetta, and Azerbaijan, a patriotic song
of love for one’s beautiful native land.
Moving from the East to South America, Tricia Mangat performed Concerto
for Marimba and Orchestra by Ney
Rosauro.
The first half of the concert closed with
Alexander Borodin’s lively Polovtsian
Dances from the opera “Prince Igor”
performed on domra with amazing skill
by Concert Master and resident soloist
Ira Erokhina.
The second half of the concert was a
showcase of popular classical and contemporary selections.
Narmina Afandiyeva was absolutely
magnificent in her performance of the
1st Movement of Edvard Grieg’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra for which
she received tumultuous applause.
The orchestra starred once again with
Taming the Fire, a 20th-century composition from a Russian film by Andrey
Petrov .
Hassan Anami, returning with the
Ukrainian song Dearest Mother of Mine
(Ridna maty moya) by Platon Maiboroda, and Torna a Surriento by Ernesto
DeCurtis, once again brought down the
house, and as someone said: “melted
the hearts of some of the women in the
audience”.
One of Alexander Veprinskiy’s more
recent and beautiful orchestrations, And
the Waltz Goes On by British actor/composer Sir Anthony Hopkins, was given
its premiere performance by the mandolin orchestra.
As MC as Larissa Stavroff said, “…
all good things must come to an end…”
Hassan and the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra bade the audience farewell with
Francesco Sartori’s popular Time to Say
Goodbye.
– Ginger Kautto
60th Anniversary of the
Toronto Mandolin Orchestra
In 2016 the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra is celebrating a very
special occasion – 60 years of making beautiful music!
In the Ukrainian community, in which the Toronto Mandolin
Orchestra finds its roots, string orchestras existed as early as 1921.
In 1956, the orchestra then under the auspices of the Association
of United Ukrainian Canadians, revived the exclusive use of mandolins in the string section in order to preserve the proud tradition of mandolin orchestral music in Canada and took the name
Toronto Mandolin Orchestra.
The mandolin flourished not only in Canada’s Ukrainian community, but also in the Macedonian, Jewish, Russian, Finnish and
other ethnic communities. This little instrument also travelled the
world, establishing itself in schools, universities and various community organizations.
The best authorities agree that the Neapolitan mandolin which
was developed in Italy, originated from the family of plectrum
instruments of Asia. As it spread throughout Europe, the mandolin
was adopted by many cultures as a folk instrument. Accompanying immigrants from European countries, including Ukraine, it
spread to all corners of the world.
Members of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra are extremely
proud to be part of a 60-year history of mandolin orchestral music
in Canada, a history which has made a major impact on the
cultural-social life, of the musicians and audiences alike.
d
Upcoming events to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Toronto
Mandolin Orchestra will include a grand concert on November
19, 2016 to be held at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre in Toronto. The
program will highlight the finest selections from its repertoire and
will feature outstanding soloists. The concert will be followed by a
Gala Banquet.
For a community orchestra to exist and flourish for 60 years is a
major achievement and it is indeed time to record that history for
posterity.
To that end, the Board of Directors of the Shevchenko Guild
sanctioned a proposal that, contingent upon successful fundraising, two ambitious projects be undertaken. The first – a documentary film of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra; and the second – a
self-published coffee table-style book of mandolin orchestras in
ethnic and other community groups in Canada.
d
Stay posted for further details as we will be turning to our friends
and supporters inviting them to participate in this historic event.
7
How the mandolin awakened my musical talent
The last issue of the Bulletin introduced Sonja Uken, a new member of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra who
studied mandolin in the German school system. Below is the story of Hieu Do, another new member of the Toronto
Mandolin Orchestra, who learned and taught mandolin in Vietnam.
I then joined the youth orchestra in
by Hieu (Teresa) Do
my district and learned more about
I was born in Saigon, the old capital
music from orchestra practices. I
of South Vietnam. My father was a
joined the band and played for the
captain in the national defense dechurch. I became a very popular
partment, a high school teacher and a
mandolinist in my school and church
lawyer. My mother was a clerk at the
because I was the only one who
national defense department, and latcould play mandolin behind my back.
er became a successful entrepreneur.
I received many awards in music
My parents worked very hard to
competitions. Many people asked
raise their 9 children in good living
me to privately teach their children
conditions and with a higher educathe mandolin. I used that money to
tion. We had everything but muupgrade my music lessons, and to
sic lessons. I never knew why my
learn more about the mandolin, choir
parents didn’t think to give us music
conducting and singing.
lessons.
In 1988, I became a refugee
In 1975, with the end of the Vietclaimant in a Thailand refugee camp,
namese war, South Vietnam was
arriving in Canada in 1990.
changed forever as the South VietIn Canada I became a choir conducnamese government surrendered to
Hieu (Teresa) Do learned and taught mandolin in Vietnam
tor in many different parishes across
the North Vietnamese.
our money and previous living standard.
the GTA from 1991 to 2011. During my
Having fought on the side of South
Under the new government, the currency early years in Canada, I played mandolin
Vietnam, my father was now in prison,
was changed and each family was only
sometimes for Italian weddings, but choir
leaving my mother alone and working
allowed
$200,000
VND
or
about
$9
conducting took up most of my time and
day and night to make sure our family
American. And so, like many South Viet- I rarely played mandolin at home. In behad enough food every day. My older
namese families, my family became poor. tween raising my children, conducting the
sister helped my mother sell sugar cane
My mother hired a private teacher to
choir, and working day and night to bring
juice and other produce on the street.
teach
us
the
mandolin
at
home
because
food to the table, I had no time to practice
Almost 10 at that time, I had to raise myshe had no time to bring us to private
the mandolin. I also sang for some Vietself. I also looked after my five younger
classes.
From
then
on,
the
mandolin
benamese night clubs.
siblings and did the housework.
came my best friend and only past time.
In 2014, I noticed a Toronto Mandolin
One day while I was cleaning the
My
day
would
consist
of
doing
the
house
Orchestra
concert advertized on Grouhouse, I was surprised to see a very old
work,
homework,
then
spending
at
least
pon.
With
my children, I went to see the
and dusty mandolin hidden in storage.
four
hours
a
day
practicing
the
mandolin,
performance and this reignited the need
I was very interested to play it as a toy
to play mandolin regularly. After the
learning
the
new
lesson
ahead
of
time
by
until I learned that, not only did it belong
event, I immediately signed up to join the
myself.
to my mother, but that she played it as
orchestra.
Unfortunately, my parents’ business
a child. When I asked if she would let
I am so glad I made the decision to
was not enough to pay for all the family
me learn mandolin she agreed because
join
the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra. I
expenses. They ended my lessons, but
she wanted me to join the youth music
am
very
happy to become part of your
allowed my sisters to continue. I was devperformances.
family, to share with you the music of the
astated, for music and mandolin was what
Two younger sisters also wanted to
mandolin. I am also happy that, after over
learn mandolin, but the problem was that made me happy. I did not give up. When 20 years, the mandolin has finally come
the teacher would come to teach my sisback into my life. I look forward to the
we only had one very old mandolin. My
ters,
I
would
listen
from
the
window
and
coming years where I can once again play
mother had to sell her necklace to buy
then
practice
on
my
own
time.
this beautiful instrument.
one more mandolin for us, as we had lost
8
Club 626 Seniors turns 30!
Thirty years ago, in early January 1986,
23 newly-retired seniors gathered to form
Club 626 Seniors of the Shevchenko
Ensemble. The purpose of this meeting
was primarily to establish the club and to
create a project for which funding from
the federal New Horizons Program would
be requested.
They agreed to adopt the name “Club
626”, that the annual membership fee
would be $3.00 to the Club and $1.00
to the Ontario United Senior Citizens
organization.
An executive comprised of the following was elected: Michael Sportun, President
Ron Boychuk, Vice-President
Mary Markow, Secretary
Pinnie Saiger, Treasurer
Members at large:
John Sportun, John Boyd, Frank Mihay.
Of the 23 founding members, only John
Boyd, who turned 103 this January, is still
with us today. That was reason enough to
pay him a warm and heartfelt tribute at
the last Club meeting.
The full attendance was an indication
of the respect and admiration people have
for John who devoted his life helping
make Canada a better place. Indeed, as
a progressive journalist and activist –
whether in politics, on the school board,
in co-op housing, or in the cultural field –
John spent his 103 years to the benefit of
his fellow beings.
After the usual order of business, the
members sang Happy Birthday to John
and invited him to say a few words.
He spoke for a full 20 minutes, commenting on life and family and how parents guide their young, hoping to achieve
the very best for them.
He traced the major events in his life,
his work and political activities, his travels to many parts of the world.
John spoke of the interesting people he
met and the many fond memories of them
he now treasures.
After resounding applause, a delicious
lunch was served including a huge birthday cake for John.
Members were delighted to gather around
John Boyd, at 103, blows out the candles.
John and reminisce of days gone by.
And much more reminiscing will be
done by Club members as they celebrate
their 30th Anniversary. A special luncheon
to celebrate the anniversary will be held
at the end of June, date and venue to be
announced.
Are you ready for a new 1000 Club Lottery?
It begins now!
You won’t win a million…but you can win often
…and along with the fun, you’ll be supporting the
fine cultural work of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble
• 14 weekly draws each totaling $300 – starting May 10, seven names are pulled in each draw,
to win $100 or $50 or $25
• All winning tickets are then returned to the drum
• Grand Final Draw with 7 prizes totaling $2,000
will be held on June 29, 2016
Lottery is sponsored by the
National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada
in support of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble
Licence No. M779863
Turn the page… fill out the form and order your tickets today
+
9
Winners in the last
GRAND FINAL 1000 CLUB DRAW
October 18, 2015
Licence Nº M765823
$100 - No.550 - Jenie Ferenczy
No. 642 - Kristine Koruna
No. 817 - Wes Spiers
No. 708 - Nik Honcharuk
No. 811 - Barry Kanasewich
$500 - No. 608 - Chris Paliare
$1,000 - No. 519 - Tammy Chinn
Get your tickets NOW for the next
1000 Club Lottery!
Call the Ensemble Office at
416-533-2725
or mail the bottom portion of this
notice with payment to the
Shevchenko Musical Ensemble
626 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2R1
Please send me
Total $
1000 Club tickets @ $30.00
Name:
VISA:
10
National Shevchenko Musical
Ensemble Guild of Canada
Board of Directors • Elected January 24, 2016
André Denton, President
Florenz Seychuk, Vice-President
Vice-President, Western Canada
Pat Ignacz, Recording Secretary
Ginger Kautto, Treasurer
Alexander Veprinskiy, Artistic Director
Karen Fydenchuk
Yelena Garber
June Morris
Code:
Phone: Cheque
Expiry:
The Guild’s Annual Membership Meeting, held on January 24
this year, left participants with a heightened sense of enthusiasm for the future of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble.
Outgoing President André Denton reviewed the year’s
successes and challenges and noted some of the new events
such as the Remembrance Day Memorial held together with
the Toronto Branch of the AUUC, the Federation of Russian
Canadians and Club 626 Seniors.
In his report and artistic projections, Alexander Veprinskiy
expressed his pride in the choir and orchestra, as well as the
soloists who accomplished a very diverse program, particularly the orchestra concert with Hassan Anami and Narmina
Afandiyeva which featured songs and music of Iran and
Azerbaijan in addition to the regular repertoire of folk and
classical music. He expressed confidence that the Ensemble
can look foward to more of this kind of activity which brings
new audiences to our concerts.
He noted that a most positive development is the increase
in participants in both the choir and orchestra, as well as the
mandolin school.
The highlight of next season will be the 60th Anniversary
concert by the orchestra and the special events planned around
that significant date.
Ontario
Quebec
Rudy Wasylenky
Janet-Stewart-Smith
Address:
New enthusiasm at AGM
Manitoba Myron Shatulsky
Hazel Skulsky
Eugene Szach
Saskatchewan
Norman Sawchyn
British Columbia
Natalia Denton
Exciting concert collaboration
A first for the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra will be
the exciting collaboration with Free The Children,
an international charity that partners with communities to help lift themselves out of poverty. The organization is unique in that it operates programs both
domestically and internationally. For example, the
Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, established
in 2008, initiates a variety of educational projects to
give Aboriginal Canadians new opportunities.
Free The Children was born of the desire of
one young Canadian boy to help children less
fortunate, to free them and their families from
poverty and exploitation.
The FTC web-site tells how it all began:
“One morning over breakfast, 12-year-old Craig
Kielburger was flipping through the newspaper
looking for the comics when he was stopped short
by a story: Iqbal Masih, a 12-year-old former
child slave in Pakistan, had been murdered because he spoke up for human rights.
Craig was 12. Iqbal was 12. In that moment, he
was struck by a single and profound connection
– except for the happenstance of birth, he could
have been Iqbal – and he needed to do something.
What was needed was a collective voice. So
Craig convinced a handful of Grade 7 classmates
that together they could make an impact, and
Free The Children was born.”
The organization has since blossomed into a
number of focus groups, the most widely known
is perhaps the WE movement which partners with
schools, inspiring young people and empowering
them to help change the world. This culminates in
the massive WE Days held in large arenas around
the world and attended by thousands of youth and
children.
In the words of co-founder Craig Kielburger: “If
you give kids the inspiration and tools to change the
world, it will change their own lives in the process.”
The Toronto Mandolin Orchestra, with a view to
sharing this vision, will present a concert on June
11 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre in collaboration with
this worthy charity.
The concert, with a program of popular songs and
arias from opera, operetta and musicals, will feature
Lorna D’Silva, M.D, a prominent Toronto medical
doctor, as well as an accomplished soprano who
has had a lifelong passion for performing classical
music, particularly the Puccini arias.
Ms. D’Silva studied opera and classical music
under various coaches including Eleanor Calbes, a former performer
with the Canadian Opera Company. In addition to several concert performances, Ms. D’Silva has sung the lead roles in The King and I and
The Sound of Music at the Markham Theatre.
Also featured on the June 11 program will be a roster of wonderful
vocal soloists of the Shevchenko Ensemble including Hassan Anami,
tenor; Adele Kozak and Helen Spiers, sopranos; Tanya Podolskaya,
contralto and Herman Rombouts, bass.
Ira Erokhina, the amazing virtuoso on the Russian-style 3-string
domra, will also appear with
this unique orchestra.
This one-of-a-kind concert
should not be missed! See
details on the back page to
order your tickets now
for both this concert and
the Annual Concert of the
Shevchenko Ensemble on
April 24.
Guest artist Lorna D’Silva, M.D.
soprano
Hassan Anami, tenor
Adele Kozak, soprano
Helen Spiers, soprano
Tanya Podolskaya,
contralto
Herman Rombouts,
bass
Ira Erohkina,
domra
11
SHEVCHENKO
what’s happening?
MUSICAL ENSEMBLE
Sunday, April 24, 2016 • 2:00 PM
Annual Concert • Shevchenko Ensemble
Marking the 125th Anniversary
of Ukrainian Immigration to Canada
St. Michael’s College School
Centre for the Arts
1515 Bathurst St (at St. Clair)
$35 Adult • $20 student
Call 416-533-2725• info-sme@bellnet.ca
On-line sales at:
shevchenkoensemble.eventbrite.com
Alexander Veprinskiy, Artistic Director
Marking the 125 Anniversary of
Ukrainian Immigration to Canada
Shevchenko Choir
Toronto Mandolin Orchestra
Vocal and Instrumental Soloists
and Desna Ukrainian Dance Co.
Sunday, April 24, 2 pm
St. Michael’s College School Centre for the Arts
1515 Bathurst St
Saturday, June 11 • 7:00 PM
Toronto Mandolin Orchestra
Featuring Guest Artist
Lorna D’Silver, M.D., soprano
Plus Hassan Anami, tenor
Adele Kozak & Helen Spiers, soprano
Tanya Podolskaya, contralto
Herman Rombouts, bass
Ira Erokhina, domra
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre • 427 Bloor St. W
$35 Adult • $20 student
Call 416-533-2725
info-sme@bellnet.ca
half block north of St. Clair, east side of Bathurst
steps from St. Clair West station
$35 adult • $20 student
VISA orders add $2 per ticket
416-533-2725
info-sme@bellnet.ca
On-line ticket sales at:
sme.yapsody.com
shevchenkoensemble.eventbrite.com
See sidebar for ticket discount package
Toronto
Mandolin
Orchestra
In support of
Free the Children
“Adopt-A-Village”
program
www.shevchenkomusic.com
torontomandolinorchestra.eventbrite.com
Enjoy both concerts
and save!
Alexander Veprinskiy, Artistic Director
In a program of your favourite songs and arias
from opera, operetta and popular musicals
(see page 11 for more details)
April 24
ANNUAL CONCERT
June 11
TORONTO MANDOLIN
ORCHESTRA
Featuring
Lorna D’Silva, M.D.
soprano
Plus
Hassan Anami, Adele Kozak,
tenor
soprano
Helen Spiers,
soprano
Saturday, June 11, 7 pm
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
427 Bloor St. W
west of Spadina
12
Tanya Podolskaya, Herman Rombouts, Ira Erohkina,
contralto
bass
domra
$35 adult • $20 student
VISA orders add $2 per ticket
4167-533-2725
info-sme@bellnet.ca
shevchenkomusic.com
featuring
Lorna D’Silva, soprano and
other outstanding soloists
Adult tickets to both concerts only $60
Student tickets to both concerts $30
(Discount package price not available on-line)
See sidebar for
ticket discount
package
Come to both … and save!