Festival in Sacramento-Orangeville

On September 20, 2020, the 13th Ukrainian Folk and Classical Music Festival was held in Sacramento-Orangeville, California, in the beautiful hall of the Ukrainian Church “Source of Life”. 

This year, we were greeted by Pastor Eric Latkovsky from the Church “Source of Life” and the Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco, Mr. Dmytro Kushneruk, who said: “It so happened that the Ukrainian Festival gathers Ukrainians in this American land into a family circle, so that the Ukrainian language, music, and native song can fully sound here in California. Ukrainian folk and classical music is a priceless heritage of the Ukrainian nation, which is passed down from generation to generation and leaves no one indifferent. It reflects our history, our traditions, our struggle for independence and helps to educate our younger generation in the spirit of patriotism and love for their Motherland. 

Music is one of the beautiful aesthetic values ​​of Ukrainian culture. It contributes to the harmonization of our general worldview, acts as a tool for self-expression and inspiration, serves as a source of indescribable feelings and emotions, and is also a carrier of the ethnic identity of Ukrainians. 

I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers of the festival, first of all, Honored Artist of Ukraine Olga Gerasimenko-Oliynyk, who passes on her love for Ukrainian music to the younger generation of Ukrainians, which helps them maintain contact with Ukraine despite the distance. The festival already has a certain history - 13 years. So those participants who once first participated in it as preschoolers have already grown up and become almost adults. This year, some of them performed in the older group and won first places, such as, for example, Anastasia Kokhana. Those present noted that this year's participants were very well prepared and showed good results. It turned out to be a real musical holiday for those present. This year, the following composers performed: Myroslav Skoryk, who was mentioned in the welcoming speech of the festival organizer Olga Gerasimenko-Oliynyk; Viktor Kosenko, Oleksandr Bilash, Anatoliy Kos-Anatolsky, local composer and music teacher Yuriy Heletyuk and others, as well as various Ukrainian melodies in arrangements by Ukrainian composers. 

Musical instruments were represented by bandura, violin, piano, flute, and participants also performed in duets, trios and ensembles. 

The first places in the junior group were won by Ilya Dzhumara (flute), and violinists Evelina Zakharchuk and Angelina Shybysta. In the middle group: pianists Oleksandr Marin and Artur Kravchuk and violinist Vanessa Dzhumara. In the senior group: violinist Kasia Kybukevych, pianists Anton Doroshuk, Anastasia Kohana, James Khashchuk, bandurist Sofia Buchko, piano duet of sisters Sofia and Stasya Yermolenko, trio of bandurists Polishchuk brothers and bandurist ensemble consisting of Kateryna Biscardi, Sofia Buchko, Khrystyna Voloshchuk, Anastasia Kohana and Sofia Siroa. 

Second places (silver medals) in the junior group were awarded to pianists Maksym Matyuk, Samuel Matyuk, Rebecca Yurchuk and violinist Janet Kolodrivska, in the middle group – bandurists Emilia Gontar, Oleg Polishchuk, Danylo Polishchuk, pianists Alexis Doroshuk and Emilia Dulin and violinist Ilana Fedoriv; in the senior group – pianist Kateryna Biscardi, flutist Mark Melnyk and bandurist Khrystyna Voloshchuk. 

Third places (bronze medals) in the junior group were awarded to pianists Daryna Nikitchuk and Steven Khaschuk, and violinists Maksym Matyuk and Samuel Matyuk. In the senior group – violinist Yana Fedoriv and bandurists Sofia Sira and David Polishchuk. They represented the music studios of Mira Veligan, Victoria Dzhumara, Oli Oliynyk, Natalia Savytska, Lesya Sokolovych and Olga Shevchik. The jury consisted of professional musicians Alina Ilchuk and Mark Ilnytsky and a long-time member of the Society for the Preservation of Ukrainian Heritage Ms. Halyna Lorchak, who is a long-time member of the Society for the Preservation of Ukrainian Heritage and an organizer of cultural events in Sacramento. Alina Ilchuk, received her higher education from the Lviv National Academy of Music named after M. V. Lysenko and California State University, Sacramento, USA. Since 1998, she has been teaching vocals in specialized and general music education institutions in the USA. She is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Vocal Teachers of the USA, San Francisco Bay Area branch. She is a graduate of vocal competitions, in particular the US National Opera Association Vocal Competition, the International Sacred Music Competition “Musica Sacra” 2010 (Rome, Italy), and the National Competition “The American Prize National Competition”. Her students have repeatedly become winners and scholarship holders of various vocal competitions and prestigious programs for young singers. Marko Ilnytskyi is a musician, graduated from the Lviv Conservatory in the percussion class of Associate Professor B. Oliynyk, taught by profession at the Drohobych Music School. 

We have already received congratulations and warm wishes from Ukraine on Facebook: Oksana Gerasimenko (Lviv Conservatory): “What beautiful, inspired faces!!! This is how seeds of goodness and love for the native land are sown in the heart