.5-"%2 !02), "!4(5234 34 4/2/.4/ /. )33. Shevchenko Guild reaches another historic milestone This year marks 40 years since a new backgrounds were joining the Ensemble vision for the future of the Shevchen- and new audiences were giving their On the occasion of its ko Musical Ensemble was born, a bold approval of the goals of the Ensemble. 40th Anniversary the National vision which reected the reality of The time had come. The male cho- Shevchenko Musical Ensemble the times. rus, already in existence 20 years and Guild of Canada By 1972 the Shevchenko Male Cho- the orchestra 15, became the nucleus of proudly presents… rus, Toronto Mandolin Orchestra and a unique performing group with years dancers had been welded into a per- of experience in the arts community. forming ensemble unique in Canada. Although proud of their Ukrainian in concert In addition to its local performances, roots, the Ensemble leadership knew SHEVCHENKO both in large prestigious theatres and that the future of the Ensemble lie in its MUSICAL ENSEMBLE in the general community, this unique ability to become relevant to as broad Alexander Veprinsky, Artistic Director and highly qualied ensemble, then a cross-section of Canadian society under the artistic direction of Eugene as possible. They saw the Ensemble Dolny, won accolades from the media as a vehicle for reecting not only the all across this country and from thou- Ukrainian heritage, but a truly Canadian sands of concert goers in the Ukrai- culture. nian community and beyond. It was apparent that this large en- More and more people from all semble required an organization solely walks of life and different ethnic More 40th ANNIVERSARY on page 11
The SHEVCHENKO MUSICAL ENSEMBLE with guest artists DESNA UKRAINIAN DANCERS
Sunday, May 27 at 2 pm Isabel Bader Theatre 93 Charles St. W $35/ $15 Students/Child Pre-Guild Ensemble Committee: (front row) Bill Morris, Helen Weir, Mary Kuzyk, Marie Barko, 416-533-2725 Eugene Dolny. (back row) Ray Dowhopoluk, Nick Pelowich, Walter Chernysh, Steve Soldat, Walter Balay, Ronnie Boychuk. Missing: Bill McCulla. Never too late to create ably the biggest motivator, was that I Ruth Budd, a retired TSO bass player who has traded that instrument in for wanted to prove that seniors can still the smaller, easier-to-handle mandola, has been a member of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra for many years. After moving to a retirement home, Ruth do things and do them well. Our felt the need to keep active musically in her new surroundings and decided to youngest person is a tenor who is in do something about it. Here is her story. her seventies, our oldest is a soprano, who is 97! by Ruth Budd However, we have found ways to ac- At our most recent performance at The Christie Chorale, a seniors’ choir, commodate everyone. New Horizons (a neighbouring seniors was in my thinking some time before I At rst I wasn’t sure whether or not residence) we performed Ave Maria moved to Christie Gardens. But it took we could sing anything but in unison. by Giulio Caccini. He must have been me some time to adjust to my new So I thought that if we could sing a quite an amazingly talented man, as surroundings, so it wasn’t until four round like Frere Jaques and keep he was not only a composer, but an years ago that I actually put up a no- that going with all voices, we could instrumentalist, a singer and a teacher tice asking people to sign if they were probably sing in four part harmony. and is said to be the “father” of the opera genre. This Ave Maria is simple and in its simplicity is surely one of the most beautiful pieces of music. It has a beautiful obligato which can be sung by a soprano, played by a violin, ute, pan ute, oboe or any treble instru- ment. We have done it with most of the above. For this concert, however, we invited the wonderful Mary Kuzyk, concert master of the Toronto Mando- lin Orchestra, to play the obligato on her mandolin. And Mary is 93 years old! (By the way, the author is 88 years old. Ed.)
Photographer Mary Kuzyk performing the obligato to Caccini’s Ave Maria sung by the Christie Chorale accompanied by Dr. Paul Jessen. Photo courtesy of New Horizons Tower Administration (and person) Extraodinaire interested in forming a choir. About 23 Strangely enough, we had a good bal- people responded and thus the choir ance right from the start with about was born. I did not know who could eleven sopranos, four altos, three ten- sing and in a way that didn’t matter. ors (all women), and four basses. We What I needed to know, was that there now have a huge repertoire including were that many people who wanted popular, folk, madrigals, hymns and Readers of the Bulletin may have to sing! classical pieces. Currently, we are noticed that more photos appear on I knew I did not want to conduct, working on the Hallelujah Chorus these pages. This is thanks to one but wanted to be one of choristers. from Handel’s Messiah and it is terric person, Wayne Gilbert, who donates his professional skills and So I searched the internet looking for sounding really quite respectable! talent to enhance the Ensemble’s a conductor, had three responses and You might wonder, why such an visual presentation. hired our beloved choirmaster, Dr. undertaking....well, for at least two Wayne attends all our concerts Paul Jessen, who is also our accompa- reasons. and events, recording them for nist. Today there are still several of the Firstly, I truly believe that to sing is posterity. A huge, and very sincere original members, some of whom have very good for one’s health, both physi- “thank you” to you, Wayne, from problems walking, standing or seeing. cal and mental. Secondly, and prob- all of us.
2 Successful choral collaboration Another successful collaboration Patria Oppressa from the opera Macbeth, brought the Shevchenko Choir and the the French-Canadian folk song La Laine des Darbazi Georgian Singers together on Moutons and Peg-Leg’s Fiddle by Canadian January 29 at Columbus Centre. composer Morris Surdin. The Shevchenko Choir opened The climax of the afternoon was the join- the concert with Ukrayina, a song of ing of both choirs to sing Suliko, a beautiful passionate love for Ukraine, a Ukrai- traditional Georgian song, the Ukrainian folk nian folk song, a contemporary song, song Oy, tam za lisochkom Chornobryvtsi, with soloist Herman (Beyond the Grove) (and, Rombouts, and a lively Russian song, yes, the Shevchenko Choir the Lonely Concertina Player. sang in Georgian and Darbazi With a goal to bringing young per- sang in Ukrainian!). formers to our stages, the concert once A moving tribute was paid again welcomed Andrei Anissimov to Canada with both choirs who played Rachmaninoff’s Italian singing O Lovely Land, Polka on domra accompanied by his words by Joe Wallace and sister Veronika on piano. music by Paul Sweetman. Veronika then took centre stage to perform Schubert’s Ave Maria accom- panied by pianist Elena Zviagina. The very youngest, the Children’s “Buttery” Vocal Ensemble, in beauti- ful ‘sarafans’, sang two Ukrainian folk songs. All the young performers were re- ceived with loud and warm applause. The Darbazi Georgian Singers, conducted by Shalva Makharashvili, sang a set of six traditional and very lively songs from different regions of Georgia. Their beautiful and stunning harmony amazed the audience with the gentle blending of their voices in the traditional Georgian polyphonic style. The beautiful girls of the Desna Ukrainian Dance Co., dressed in the colours of the rainbow, closed the rst half with lively twirls and spins in a Festive Dance. Darbazi performed another set of traditional songs, some accompanied by traditional string instruments of Georgia, which sang of love for coun- try, a plain old love song so prevalent in folk songs, and a song of labour. Desna returned with the ever pop- ular Hopak in which the male dancers reach for the sky in their leaps, never failing to get the audience hooting and hollering for more. In their nal set, the Shevchenko Choir performed two classical selec- tions – Mozart’s Ave Verum and Verdi’s 3 Banquet honours bingo volunteers The Guild’s Annual Banquet, held last October 16, paid tribute to the committee of volunteers who work at the city’s charity bingos on behalf of the Guild. Board members Lorna Clark, Pat Ignacz and Gin- ger Kautto introduced the volunteers and spoke of the generous commitment they have made to this important fundraising project. The Guild got involved in these community bingos in 1992 through the efforts of Joe Cook, then Treasurer of the Board, who went in search of new sources of revenue for the Guild. After Joe’s retirement, Bill Morris took the leadership André Denton Roman Paraschuk of this project and worked on it for many years.Today six volunteers dedicate themselves to this important project. André Denton is responsible for organzing the sched- ule of workers. The volunteers commit themselves to work at any number of bingo sessions over a six month period on which the licence is issued. In each period the Guild may be allotted 12-13 bingo sessions, or 24-26 over the period of a year. At the banquet, after a delicious Ukrainian-style din- ner, individual tributes were made to the volunteers and sincere thanks were extended for their work on behalf of the Guild. A marvelous program of entertainment was provided Stan Nazarec Barry Kanasewich by tenor Hassan Anami accompanied on keyboard by his wife Narmina Afandeyeva. Hassan performed some of the more popular songs for tenors such as O Sole Mio, Granada and others to loud applause from the audience. To draw this special evening to a close, Edna Rigby, Master of Ceremonies, introduced Florenz Seychuk who called upon some of the top 1000 Club ticket sellers to pull the lucky numbers from the drum in the Grand Final Draw of the 1000 Club Lottery. Thanks were extended to the 1000 Club Committee, headed by Stan Nazarec and Florenz Seychuk, for their commitment to this annual fundraising project. Joe Dzatko Bill Kumhyr
Announcing… Winners in the GRAND FINAL 1000 CLUB DRAW Held October 16, 2011 at the King’s Garden Banquet Hall 2012 1000 Club Lottery $100 - No. 757 - Linda Box Licence Nº M698318 No. 216 - Mark Stewart No. 742 - Michele Emond Tickets will soon be on sale! No. 215 - Wilfred Szczesny No. 813 - Esther Schwartz Please join us again in this Lottery in support of the cultural work of the $500 - No. 850 - Anne Petrachenko Shevchenko Musical Ensemble. $1,000 - No. 944 - Marg Panasiuk
4 National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada
Board of Directors 2011-2012 • Elected December 11, 2011
André Denton, President Florenz Seychuk, Past President Edna Rigby, Vice-President Myron Shatulsky, Vice-President, Western Canada Janet Stewart-Smith, Vice-President, Quebec Ginger Kautto, Recording Secretary Rudi Bakker, Treasurer Alexander Veprinsky, Artistic Director Resident members Lorna Clark Pat Ignacz Yelena Garber June Morris Provincial members Ontario Rudy Wasylenky
Manitoba André Denton, seen here presenting owers to soloist Janet Reisecker Remo Marinucci in 1973, has not sung in the choir, Hazel Skulsky played in the orchestra nor danced. He has, how- ever, grown up listening to the songs and music of Saskatchewan the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble and attending its Norman Sawchyn concerts and events. In recent years, now a re ghter, André has taken an active part on the Board and on Bristish Columbia various projects. He brings a fresh, young outlook to Natalia Denton the Board and its activities. Welcome, André, and good Mary Fedosenko luck in your new endeavour.
First Executive Committee of the newly incorporated Guild Elected at the Inaugural Meeting on March 11, 1973 at Park Plaza Hotel, Toronto
Front row: Bill Morris, Joe Holosko, Mary Kuzyk, Marie Barko, Eda Dowhopoluk. Back Row: Dan Berketa, Ray Dowhopoluk, John Babij. Steve Soldat, Ginger Kautto, Michael Mutzak, Eugene Dolny, John Sportun, Joe Peiluck. 5 Another evening of music and romance with the TMO
Young and older alike spun around the Herman Rombouts gave up his op- dance oor at the 3rd Annual “Roman- eratic voice for the evening, adopting za” presented by the Toronto Mando- a crooner’s style in The Windmills of lin Orchestra on March 17. Your Mind and Strangers in the Night. The banquet hall was brightened The evening was brought to a rous- with colourful balloons on which were ing close with all the soloists joining printed the names of the tables - polka, forces to sing the popular Time to Say hopak, waltz, etc. Hors d’oeuvres and wine were served at each table. Good-bye. Helen Spiers, opening with Tonight Congratulations to Artistic Director from West Side Story by L. Bernstein, Alexander Veprinsky, the singers and welcomed the audience to an enchant- musicians, for a wonderful evening of ing evening of music and romance and magic. set the stage for dancing to Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz. Master of Ceremonies Len Sedun invited people to feel free to dance, not only to orchestral selections, but to the vocals as well. A new voice added to the roster of soloists was that of Hassan Anami, a powerful tenor, who sang the ever- popular O Sole Mio and Granada. The orchestra kept the dancers happy with two polkas, two tangos, a rhumba and three more waltzes, one of which was composed by orchestra member Marianne Korol and orches- trated by Alexander Veprinsky. The audience was challenged to dance to the fast paced Hora Martisor (Round Dance) performed by domra soloist Ira Erokhina. To mark St. Patrick’s Day, Helen Spiers sang Oh, Danny Boy accompa- nied by Elena Zviagina on keyboard and Don Gonsalves on guitar. The orchestra opened the second half with the Overture from the operetta Countess Martisa. This was followed by the beautiful duet Barcarolle (Belle Nuit) from the oper- etta Tales of Hoffman sung by Helen Spiers and Tanya Podol- skaya. Fluent in French, Tanya also performed Under Paris Skies. “Time to Say Good-Bye” performed by soloists and orchestra brought the evening to a smashing close. 6 Toronto Mandolin Orchestra in Glenn Gould Studio The Toronto Mandolin Orchestra, the Fire from the lm of the same title on November 27, 2011, again had by contemporary Russian composer the privilege of performing with Andrey Petrov. an acclaimed and world renowned The orchestra then presented the To- musician at Glenn Gould Studio. ronto premiere of Song of a Japanese Moshe Hammer, violinist, ap- Autumn by Yasuo Kuwahara. This peared as guest artist in the rst very beautful piece has gained inter- half of the program with the lively national popularity performed on You Danse Espagnole (by M. deFalla- Tube by mandolin orchestras in Japan, Kreisler) and a suite of Roumanian Germany and other countries. Dances by B. Bartok. Ira Erokhina made her second ap- His performance, well supported pearance, this time on her 3-string by the orchestra, was greeted with domra, playing Introduction and Waltz long and appreciative applause. from the lm Dr. Zhivago, music by The orchestra opened the con- M. Jarré. cert with Ukrainian Fantasy by An all-time favourite waltz – the Eugene Trostyansky followed by famous Blue Danube Waltz by Strauss four parts of E. Grieg’s Peer Gynt – was performed by the orchestra fol- Suite Nº 1 – Morning Mood, The lowed by Moshe Hammer’s second Death of Aase, Anitra’s Dance and appearance. Mr. Hammer performed In the Hall of the Mountain King. Introduction and Rondo ‘Capriccioso’ Another of the orchestra’s great by Saint-Säens, a piece very familair privileges is to have a member and to the orchestra as they rst performed resident soloist the calibre of Ira it with domra soloist Tamara Volskaya. Erokhina. Ira performed, this time A standing ovation was given Mr. on the tamburitsa (Yugoslavian tra- Hammer and the orchestra for this ditional instrument), the fast paced outstanding performance. Hora Martisor (Round Dance) by The nale of the concert reected G. Dinicu. the Slavic roots of the orchestra as it After the frenzied tempo of this performed the well-loved Pedlars (to folk dance, the orchestra performed hoots and hollers from the audience) the slow and beautiful Adagio from based on a Russian folk melody ar- the Bizet-Shchedrin Carmen Suite. ranged by A. Ditel. The second half of the concert opened with the rousing Taming of
7 ‘Mandolins of the world’ indeed
Although the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra has its roots in the Ukrainian community, many members come from other communities that also have a long tradition of mandolin schools and orchestras. Among them are the Jewish, Macedonian, Russian and Hungarian communities. We are proud to have welcomed members of many other ethnic backgrounds, including Peruvian, Czech, Serbian and Asian. More recently the TMO welcomed new members from India and Israel. Following are their stories of mandolin schools in those countries.
Mandolins on a Kibbutz Uncle Joe’s Mandolierettes The arrangements comprised a lot of by Naomi Zahavi by Don Gonsalves music from Italian operas and were written to include a guitar. After the On the Kibbutz in Israel, where I spent Growing up in Bombay (now known war ended, the Italians returned home. my childhood in the 40s and 50s, every as Mumbai) I was fortunate to have Uncle Joe had saved all this music and child who demonstrated musical talent been taught to play the mandolin decided to put a youth group together. was eligible to receive formal music by Joseph Azevedo, more lovingly Initially, there were two boys in the lessons on the piano or violin. Later the known by his students as ‘Uncle Joe’. group, and when the other boy left, I accordion and guitar were added as well. I don’t know much about Joseph Azevedo’s early life, other than he was the only male member. belonged to the East Indian Catholic There were eleven of us in the or- community in Bombay, not to be chestra in 1st mandolin, 2nd mandolin, confused with the term East Indian as and 3rd mandolin sections. He rewrote it is known in North America which the guitar part to be played by two includes all people from the Indian girls, one on mandola who played the Subcontinent. In Bombay, East In- bass notes, and the other who played dian refers to the catholic community the treble notes of the chord. whose ancestors were the Marathi Our instructor held individual in- speaking Hindus from Bombay and struction, one on one, during the week the surrounding area. to help us master our parts. Then on I understand that during the British Sunday morning the whole orchestra reign in India, he played in a mando- rehearsed at his home. Uncle Joe was a lin orchestra with Italian musicians. See UNCLE JOE’S on page 10 Naomi on her violin At the age of 12 years, I chose the violin and became very connected to this wonderful instrument. The many hours I spent playing the recorder (self- taught) was transferred to practicing on the violin. The musical atmosphere in our com- munity, Kibbutz Sarid, was profound amongst the commune’s founders.They worked the land by day but had time to establish a very rich cultural life, includ- ing a standing adult chorus as well as a children’s choir which performed at all the festivals in our Kibbutz. At school as children we loved to sing and dance spontaneously on class breaks, and when organized, on holi- days, festivals or around a campre. We The author, Don, is the only boy in the photo. Uncle Joe is seated in the middle. The danced to the accordion when available man standing in the rear assisted sometimes during shows. The girl standing on his but often as not one of the kids would right played solo on the musical saw at some of their concerts. The girl sitting on the pull a harmonica out of his pocket to oor to Don’s right was a deaf mute. She didn’t play with the orchestra but would play solo sometimes with Uncle Joe counting time with his ngers so she would have a See KIBBUTZ on page 10 visual. Imagine the patience he must have had to train her! 8 Who are these children? In the last issue of the Bulletin we ran a photo of children The Guild needs learning to play the mandolin, students of the Shevchenko School of Music. We are proud of the achievements of the your help… school and would like to introduce these young people to- day, not only as members of the Toronto Mandolin Orches- Funds received in the annual Sustain- tra, but as soon-to-be-professionals in their chosen elds. ing Fund Drive, to which many of you have contributed in the past, are allocated to the continuing development of the Ensemble’s Anna Veprinska last year attained her artistic activities, consistently raising its level Masters in English at Oxford and is now working towards her Ph.D at York Uni- of performance. versity where she is currently a Teach- Unfortunately, these funds are not ad- er’s Assistant. Remember this name for equate to cover our desperate neeed for you might some day be reading serious updated equipment and technology. novels by that very author. Our computer and photocopier are Gleb Sivitsky has been working hard on currently obsolete and unable to meet our a double degree course at the University needs. of Waterloo in Mathematics and Busi- In addition to containing all our data, the ness. He will graduate with a Bachelor computer allows us to set all our music, de- in Business Admin and a Bachelor in sign the flyers, the Bulletin, concert programs Mathematics. Gleb may pursue further and much more. degrees or nd his niche in the nancial world of today. The photocopier allows us to print the musical scores and all the parts for both Misha Veprinsky will graduate this choir and orchestra. Being able to do this ‘in spring from York University with an house’ saves the Guild considerable sums. Honours BSc in computer science, The web site must be visually dynamic and his specialty software development. After a challenging internship with easily accessible to web browsers. Introduc- RIM, Misha is condent he will be one ing the Shevchenko Ensemble to thousands of the foremost creators of specialized on the internet will help immensely in build- software. ing our audiences and membership. Some dear friends of the Ensemble donated Eliza Rennick will soon graduate from the Ontario College of Art and Design as earlier to this Special Appeal and have given a fashion designer. Members of the TMO us a marvelous start in obtaining our goal to are not surprised at her chosen eld. upgrade the computer and the web site. Each week they wait with anticipation to However, we appeal to anyone else who see what unique creation Eliza will wear may be able to help in this special campaign – an original hat or skirt or even decora- to send your donation to: tive shoes. Shevchenko Musical Ensemble 626 Bathurst St, Andrei Anissimov is the newest gradu- Toronto, ON M5S 2R1 ate from the Shevchenko School of Mu- A receipt for income tax purposes will be sic to the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra. issued for all donations. He is in Grade 10 at Lawrence Park Col- A sincere “thank you” from all of us on the legiate where he also plays rugby. He is Board of Directors. an accomplished gymnast, his specialty the high bar. 9 KIBBUTZ from page 8 ence to play in a real orchestra. We UNCLE JOE’S from page 8 start us dancing or singing or both, performed classical and Russian folk perfectionist, as well as an extremely sometimes to total exhaustion. music specially arranged for our gentle and kind person, and we all On the Kibbutz at that time, chil- mandolin orchestra. I remember a loved and adored him. dren lived in children houses, with particular end of season performance: He would painstakingly work with each age group in their own living We played the complete Mozart’s us until the piece was perfect. In those quarters which included a dining Symphony of Toys including all of the days we did not have electronic tuners, room, sleeping rooms, a house mother original toys. We were very proud of so before the orchestra started playing and a teacher for each group (class). our ability and it was received very he would ensure that all our instru- There were designated times for visits enthusiastically by the audience. ments were in perfect tune - by ear !! with our parents but our lives were I eventually left the Kibbutz and Some of the arrangements we essentially centered and focused went on to study at the Rubin Acad- played were Verdi’s La Traviata, Il around our class group and house. emy of Music in Jerusalem. My early Trovatore, Rigoletto, as well as others By the way, at that time we were music education served me well in my like Ketelbey’s In a Persian Mar- not yet blessed (cursed?) with radio, studies. Professionally, I taught music ket, etc. We played on the radio and TV, Face-book, or twitter, but sang, including the mandolin, organized and several concerts at a variety of venues whistled, danced alone or with others. conducted a mandolin orchestra which including the Cowasji Jehangir Hall I had a very joyous and happy performed on radio broadcasts. which was one of Bombay’s top con- childhood. When I started high school Fast forward, living in Toronto, I cert halls at the time. a full Mandolin Orchestra was es- had the good fortune to inherit my Sadly, Uncle Joe passed away tablished by my violin teacher. He father-in-law’s Gibson mandolin. sometime in the late 50s. And although recruited his students to volunteer After years of playing the ute pro- his brother Oswald tried to keep the to learn one of the instruments and fessionally and teaching, and a few orchestra going, he lacked the skills join the orchestra, and recruited new years dabbling with the viola, I have and dedication that Uncle Joe had and students who did not yet play an come full circle, back to the instru- the group disbanded. instrument. In the orchestra I received, ments of my youth: the violin and the mandolin lessons, “solfeggio” (site- mandolin. I play the violin in the lo- reading) and theory and of course cal community orchestra TCO. My learned the technique of tremolo. It involvement with the Shevchenko In Fond Memory was all pretty easy for me since every- Mandolin Orchestra allows me to re- thing else was just like the violin. live the joy and happiness of my youth on the Kibbutz. This was a remarkable experi- The National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild Club 626 Seniors news of Canada At its Annual Meeting in January, Club 626 Seniors elected a new gratefully acknowledges Executive Committee: contributions in memory of the following: Florenz Seychuk - President June Morris - Vice-President Adele Paraschuk - Recording Secretary Stan Nazarec - Treasurer Lydia Kit - Membership Secretary William Tyminski June Morris & Lili Pelowich - Social Conveners 2011 Members at Large Jim Lukianchuk John Joy Evelyn Nazarec 2011 Nina Rasiuk O’Risa Worden Sophie Mihay 2012 They are looking forward to some very exciting events and projects for this season and welcome new members any time.
10 40th ANNIVERSARY cont’d Since 1972 thousands of people dedicated to its maintenance and across Canada (and even in the United National Shevchenko Musical further development, an organization States) have belonged to the Guild, Ensemble Guild of Canada giving moral and nancial support which would continue to reach out to to the Ensemble. Hundreds of vol- Canadians of all ethnic origins and unteers have served on the Board of win their admiration and support. Directors, Executive Committee and Aims and Objectives The leadership body at the time, other committees. They have worked adopted in 1972 known as the “Ensemble Commit- hard to establish the credibility of the tee”, began to study other Canadian oganization, to protect its integrity • To perpetuate the nest of arts organizations (such as the Na- and maintain its standards. musical and artistic traditions tional Ballet founded the same year The outstanding accomplishments of the Ukrainian people and as the Shevchenko Male Chorus). of the Guild, which continue to this weave these traditions with They learned that through a charitable day, could only have been achieved those of Canadians of other organization the Ensemble would be by creative and forward thinking able to interest more people from the leadership, a leadership not afraid of ethnic origins broader community to participate in change, one which recognized the the artistic growth and development of needs of its members and public and • To promote international met those needs without losing its this exciting cultural group. friendship and mutual respect true identity or purpose. After more than a year of discus- among all peoples of Canada sion and debate – a year in which Its success is also thanks to the many said we would never be success- generous and continuing support of • To enlist Canadian, Ukrainian ful – the wheels were put in motion to the community and the inspiration incorporate the National Shevchenko this support has given the Guild’s and other composers, authors, Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada. many volunteers. choreographers and artists to This was the rst musical guild estab- The story of this organization is create for and work with the the story of its people – people who lished for an amateur arts group and Shevchenko Ensemble the rst guild for a Ukrainian Cana- passionately believed that great things dian group. could be accomplished with foresight • To support and work with all By June 1972 the Guild received its of vision and a will to be creative other Canadian cultural incorporation and by September 1972 and innovative; people who were, its charitable status. A new infant orga- and are still, willing to give of their institutions dedicated to the nization was born. The task was now talents, time and energy; people who further development of to rally as many Canadians as possible are proud to be part of an organization Canadian culture. to share in this vision for a truly Cana- which has made such an outstand- dian musical ensemble. ing contribution to the cultural life of Canada.
First Board of Directors of the newly incorporated Guild
Elected at the Inaugural Meeting March 11, 1973 at Park Plaza Hotel, Toronto
11 SHEVCHENKO what’s happening? MUSICAL ENSEMBLE Alexander Veprinsky Sunday, April 22 Sunday, July 22 Artistic Director Welland Ukrainian Shevchenko Choir Mandolin Orchestra Music Niagara Festival 2:00 p.m. - $20.00 Simcoe Park AUUC Cultural Centre Niagara-on-the-Lake 1604 Bloor St. W Sunday, August 12 Monday, April 23 Club 626 Seniors Toronto Mandolin Orchestra Annual Bar-B-Q Concert at Christie Gardens At the home of Stan Nazarec 602 Melita Cres, Toronto 53 Melbert Road, Toronto A fast-paced and varied program 7:30 p.m. of Ukrainian and other songs, Sunday, May 6 Sunday, October 14 music and dance and a lively Toronto Mandolin Orchestra Shevchenko Ensemble selection of popular classics. Community Spring Concert Annual Banquet Outstanding instrumental and 7:00 p.m. King’s Garden Banquet Hall St. Andrew’s Anglican Church 15 Canmotor Ave vocal soloists. A show that leaps Scarborough Honouring Past-President off the stage…and right into your Florenz Seychuk Sunday, May 27 • 2:00 heart! Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Sunday, Nov. 11 Annual Concert Toronto Mandolin Orchestra Guest artists Desna 2:00 p.m. Sunday, May 27 • 2:00 p.m. Ukrainain Dance Co. Glenn Gould Studio Isabel Bader Theatre 250 Front St. W Isabel Bader Theatre 93 Charles St. West Toronto 93 Charles Street West $35/$15 Students/Child $35 • $15 student/child 416-533-2725 Sunday, Dec. 2 [email protected] Club 626 Seniors VISA orders add $2 per ticket Annual Christmas Party Wednesday, June 5 1604 Bloor St. W 416-533-2725 Toronto E-mail: [email protected] Club 626 Seniors www.shevchenkomusic.com Spring Luncheon 1:00 p.m. Sunday, May 26/13 King’s Garden Banquet Hall Shevchenko Musical Ensemble 15 Canmotor Ave Annual Concert • 2:00 St. Michael’s College School How to get there? $25 • Call Florenz Seychuk 905-625-3708 Centre for the Arts The theatre is at 93 Charles St W, 1515 Bathurst St (at St. Clair) south of Bloor, east off Queen’s Park Details to follow Crescent opposite the ROM. By TTC (the best way) When you exit the Museum subway station on the east side of Queen’s Park Crescent you will be at Charles Street. Isabel Bader The BULLETIN Theatre is the second building in from Published semi-annually with the support of the City of Toronto through the Queen’s Park. Toronto Arts Council • Issued by the National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble By Car: Charles is a 1-way street going Guild of Canada, a federally incorporated charitable cultural institution, west so you must enter from Bay. There Reg. Nº 11905 1910 RR0001 is underground parking at Bay and 626 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5S 2R1 Phone 416-533-2725 • Fax 416-533-6348 E-mail: [email protected] • www.shevchenkomusic.com Charles, as well as street parking in the area. Editorial: Ginger Kautto • Photography by Wayne Gilbert of GPS Digital Photo Images unless otherwise noted
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