More precisely, to one. To the one that is written in quotation marks and with a capital letter – "Oberih". But it is filled with such deep meaning, such beauty, such senses that when you touch, see, or hear it, you immediately become richer. With those values that cannot be measured or weighed because they are spiritual: language, music, song, embroidery, prayer...

It was with this purpose that the children's vocal studio "Oberih" was created – to teach children not just singing, but to instill in them a love for the traditions and customs of their ancestral – Ukrainian – land. These are especially important for the founder and director of the studio, Olha Dopilko, who, finding herself far from her native home, felt that the threads of lineage should never be broken, as they nourish with a special energy. Her musical-pedagogical profession, which she practiced in Ukraine, prompted her to continue this extremely important work – working with children – even across the ocean.

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She, Ms. Olha, is convinced: everyone can sing, they just need to be taught how. She asserts: one should sing not just with the voice, but with the soul, and she shows how it should be done. She tells parents: bring your children to the studio, and they will find something more here than just a song. They will touch the pure sources of our spirituality, they will be filled with the main Christian virtues – faith, hope, and love, as they will have the opportunity to sing the Divine Liturgy in church, when the voices of the children's choir sound like heavenly bells under the dome of the temple. And they will touch the sources of mercy: the studio's students often participate in charity concerts, meetings, events, and have repeatedly donated part of the funds collected at their creative events to the Protez Foundation, which provides prosthetics for severely wounded Ukrainian defenders. Well, the vocal studio "Oberih" is indeed not just about the song...

The studio has been operating at the parish of St. Joseph the Betrothed in Chicago for more than ten years. And our newspaper "Surma", which is only four years old, does not miss any of their report concerts. Therefore, even during these four years, we see how the performance skills of those students who have been attending the studio for a long time grow, and how new creative talents organically join its ranks.

In fact, the creative gift of each one is what the studio director Olha Dopilko helps to develop: she listens to the timbre of the voice, studies the character and moods of each child, takes into account the age and preferences of her students – and thus selects the repertoire. The professional intuition of the teacher allows her to determine who can work solo, who can be united in a duet or trio, and who will show themselves in choral or ensemble singing. And the result of the teacher's creative searches and her students' efforts is the success they demonstrated last Saturday at the next report concert. They traditionally named it – "Our Hearts and Talents to You, Ukraine".

I don't know why so few spectators come to these concerts with their fairly wide advertising: the audience is mostly filled with the parents of the young creatives. And they deserve to be heard and seen. The professional approach of the mentor, the efforts of the children, the repertoire, the performance skills, the wonderful costumes (and for this – sincere thanks to the parents) – almost three hours of the concert program pass in one breath. And with a great awareness that the children sing about important things. This time, as always, the program was opened by the children's church choir "Nadiya", telling with a song-prayer about love – the one that is crucified on the cross, the one that is higher and purer than everything. And with a prayer-request: Lord, have mercy on us, for only with Your mercy can we overcome all those trials that we encounter in earthly life.

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Oh, how difficult the trial of war has become for all of us, for Ukraine! A significant part of the concert program of the young students of the vocal studio "Oberih" was dedicated to this topic. And a sincere song message was felt: we believe that truth will prevail, justice will prevail, love will prevail. Therefore, the girls and boys sang about their dreams, about a blooming Ukraine, presented the audience with captivating motifs of Ukrainian folk songs. And they also sang about mother. About the one who gave life. And about the Heavenly Mother, who takes care of all of us. And about Mother Ukraine, whose children we will always be, no matter where fate throws us.

This was the concert, for the successful conduct of which Father Andriy Delisandru blessed everyone. The quality sound of each number of the program was provided by the company ZVUK (Sashko Khryplyvyi and Vlad Serba). The video recording for history was traditionally conducted by Oksana Svidruk, and all the important moments of the concert were noted by the author of these lines for the story to a wide circle of readers of the newspaper "Surma" (after the preliminary advertisement of the creative report of the vocal studio "Oberih" on Radio UA Chicago).

At the final song of the concert program, all its participants came out. They sang about the happiness of every child – about the mother's world (and they were so moved by the content of the song that some of the children had tears in their eyes); they sang about the fact that we are all children of the Earth, so we ask the Lord that cruel wars disappear forever, that happy children's voices sound everywhere as heralds of peace. In their hands, the students of the "Oberih" studio held red roses, which, against the backdrop of their orange costumes, seemed like drops of blood that are being shed today on our parental land. But then, when the children raised those roses up, above their heads, they already looked like little hearts – hot and full of love. They were given by the boys and girls to their mothers, who were sitting in the hall.

And the largest bouquet went to Olha Dopilko – from the children, from their parents. For professional work. For creating another family for each of them, besides their own, called "Oberih". A family with its own rules of coexistence. With frank conversations between classes. With its own traditions. For example, for years everyone knows that as soon as the last chord of the final song of the report concert fades away, as soon as all the congratulations echo (this time there were even dance ones – from the young students of Anna Dubynska's dance studio), as soon as all the thanks to sponsors, partners, and guests echo, a question will inevitably be heard from the rows of young singers: "When will there be pizza?!" There will be. Now. The parents took care of it because they know: besides spiritual, every talent needs material nourishment. Although in our case this question is just a humorous tradition of the team (though with real pizza tasting). Like in a good family, which "Oberih" is.