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 despera- tion, came to Canada with dreams and aspirations of a better life for future gen- erations. 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 polit- ical life of Canada. They have nurtured and educated their young in their tradi- tions while working with other Cana- dians 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, through- out its illustrious history the Ensemble has preserved the rich traditions of Ukrainian songs and music and contin- ues 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 Col- lege 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 transfor- mation of the choir and orchestra from small amateur entities into semi-profes- sional performing arts groups of sig- nificant stature, attests to the desire not only to preserve Ukrainian traditions in Canada, but also to help them flourish in a new Canadian perspective.
Transcript
NUMBER 80 APRIL 2016 626 BATHURST ST. TORONTO, ON ISSN-0703-9999
Shevchenko Ensemble to mark 125 years of Ukrainians in CanadaIn 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 despera-tion, came to Canada with dreams and aspirations of a better life for future gen-erations. 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 polit-ical life of Canada. They have nurtured and educated their young in their tradi-tions while working with other Cana-dians 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, through-out its illustrious history the Ensemble has preserved the rich traditions of Ukrainian songs and music and contin-ues 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 Col-lege 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 transfor-mation of the choir and orchestra from small amateur entities into semi-profes-sional performing arts groups of sig-nificant stature, attests to the desire not only to preserve Ukrainian traditions in Canada, but also to help them flourish in a new Canadian perspective.
2
A Remembrance Day to remember
3
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 indi-vidual groups.
Remembrance Day, held at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, was the first event jointly organized and carried out by this new committee which has be-come known as the “chetvirka”.
People gathered on November 11 to pay tribute to veterans of the above or-ganizations 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 hold-ing a vase of poppies.
Master of Ceremonies Florenz Sey-chuk, 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, particu-larly 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 un-doubtedly 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 Re-membrance Day was also heartwarming to hear the younger generation speak so passionately about the desire and need for peace in our world today.
Hope Is All We Have Got
On ravaged fieldsHope 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.
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
Ayzuhre speaks pssionately of her homeland
Beautiful artwork created by the students was on display at the event
Blending of Polish and Ukrainian Cultures“Slavic Roots”, this year’s Choral Con-cert 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 accom-panied by Xintong Wang.
Soprano Adele Kozak, with backing from the choir, was powerful in two Car-pathians 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 (Nightin-gales), and to end their first set, Hassan amazed the audience with the ever-pop-ular, crowd-pleasing Russian folk song Kalinka.
Each year, special effort is made to in-troduce 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 pia-no, performed Arabesque Nº 1 by Claude Debussy. Then to further amaze the audi-ence, he played Flight of the Bumblebee as an encore.
In the second half of the concert Adam played Monti’s Czardas and Derrick per-formed 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 presti-gious 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 Mat-thew 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 congrat-ulated 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
“Novi Singers” Polish Choir conducted by Matthew Jaskiewicz, Artistic Director
Derrick Li, 11 year old pianist
story continues on page 5
54
In Fond Memory
The National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild
of Canada gratefully acknowledges contributions in memory
of the following:
John Woloshyn 2013
Olga (Minov) Wilson2014
Stephen Dolhan2015
Peter Popadiuk2015
Eleanor Rayko2015
Harry Rayko2016
Stan Shaw2016
Original Male Chorus member honouredThe Guild’s Annual Banquet, held in October at the King’s Garden Ban-quet 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, experi-ences and talents to these organiza-tions. Fred Panasiuk is no exception.
Nurtured at home in the rich heri-tage 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 mem-bers 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
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 trib-ute 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, con-ducted 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 micro-phone 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 Sey-chuk and Pat Ignacz conducted the Grand Final Draw of the 1000 Club Lottery.
(See Final winners on page 10)
Some of Fred’s colleagues in the Shevchenko choir who joined him on his special evening.
Fred humbly acknowledges the tribute
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.
The BULLETIN 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 RR0001626 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5S 2R1 Phone 416-533-2725 E-mail: [email protected] www.shevchenkomusic.comEditorial: Ginger Kautto, Larissa Stavroff Photographs by Wayne Gilbert of GPS Digital Photo Images unless otherwise noted.
Blending of Culturesfrom page 3
Joint choir of 54 voices and one scarecrow conducted by Alexander Veprinskiy, Artistic Director
strong performances of liturgical selec-tions 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, fol-lowed 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) conduct-ed 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 univer-sal love, a fine conclusion to an afternoon of sharing cultures.
– Ginger Kautto
Adele Kozak and Herman Rombouts of Shevchenko Choir inFinale “Cossack Beyond the Danube”
“Novi Singers ” Polish Choir, Matthew Jaskiewicz, Artistic Director
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 so-liciting their help in promoting this very talented husband and wife duo.
Following the orchestra’s performance of Sardar’s Processional from “Cauca-sian Sketches” by Russian composer Ippolitov-Ivanov, Hassan took centre stage once again with Asgarin Mahnisi
7
Amazing diversity and talent
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 Amer-ica, Tricia Mangat performed Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra by Ney Rosauro.
The first half of the concert closed withAlexander 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 con-temporary selections.
Narmina Afandiyeva was absolutely magnificent in her performance of the 1st Movement of Edvard Grieg’s Con-certo for Piano and Orchestra for which she received tumultuous applause.
The orchestra starred once again with Taming the Fire, a 20th-century com-position from a Russian film by Andrey Petrov .
Hassan Anami, returning with the Ukrainian song Dearest Mother of Mine (Ridna maty moya) by Platon Maiboro-da, 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/com-poser Sir Anthony Hopkins, was given its premiere performance by the mando-lin orchestra.
As MC as Larissa Stavroff said, “…all good things must come to an end…” Hassan and the Toronto Mandolin Or-chestra 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 man-
dolins in the string section in order to preserve the proud tradi-
tion of mandolin orchestral music in Canada and took the name
Toronto Mandolin Orchestra.
The mandolin flourished not only in Canada’s Ukrainian com-
munity, 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 com-
munity 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. Accompa-
nying 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.
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 fundrais-
ing, two ambitious projects be undertaken. The first – a documen-
tary 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.
Stay posted for further details as we will be turning to our friends
and supporters inviting them to participate in this historic event.
8 9
by Hieu (Teresa) DoI was born in Saigon, the old capital of South Vietnam. My father was a captain in the national defense de-partment, a high school teacher and a lawyer. My mother was a clerk at the national defense department, and lat-er became a successful entrepreneur.
My parents worked very hard to raise their 9 children in good living conditions and with a higher educa-tion. We had everything but mu-sic lessons. I never knew why my parents didn’t think to give us music lessons.
In 1975, with the end of the Viet-namese war, South Vietnam was changed forever as the South Viet-namese government surrendered to the North Vietnamese.
Having fought on the side of South Vietnam, my father was now in prison, leaving my mother alone and working day and night to make sure our family had enough food every day. My older sister helped my mother sell sugar cane juice and other produce on the street. Almost 10 at that time, I had to raise my-self. I also looked after my five younger siblings and did the housework.
One day while I was cleaning the house, I was surprised to see a very old and dusty mandolin hidden in storage. I was very interested to play it as a toy until I learned that, not only did it belong to my mother, but that she played it as a child. When I asked if she would let me learn mandolin she agreed because she wanted me to join the youth music performances.
Two younger sisters also wanted to learn mandolin, but the problem was that we only had one very old mandolin. My mother had to sell her necklace to buy one more mandolin for us, as we had lost
How the mandolin awakened my musical talent
our money and previous living standard. Under the new government, the currency was changed and each family was only allowed $200,000 VND or about $9 American. And so, like many South Viet-namese families, my family became poor.
My mother hired a private teacher to teach us the mandolin at home because she had no time to bring us to private classes. From then on, the mandolin be-came my best friend and only past time. My day would consist of doing the house work, homework, then spending at least four hours a day practicing the mandolin, learning the new lesson ahead of time by myself.
Unfortunately, my parents’ business was not enough to pay for all the family expenses. They ended my lessons, but allowed my sisters to continue. I was dev-astated, for music and mandolin was what made me happy. I did not give up. When the teacher would come to teach my sis-ters, I would listen from the window and then practice on my own time.
I then joined the youth orchestra in my district and learned more about music from orchestra practices. I joined the band and played for the church. I became a very popular mandolinist in my school and church because I was the only one who could play mandolin behind my back. I received many awards in music competitions. Many people asked me to privately teach their children the mandolin. I used that money to upgrade my music lessons, and to learn more about the mandolin, choir conducting and singing.
In 1988, I became a refugee claimant in a Thailand refugee camp, arriving in Canada in 1990.
In Canada I became a choir conduc-tor in many different parishes across
the GTA from 1991 to 2011. During my early years in Canada, I played mandolin sometimes for Italian weddings, but choir conducting took up most of my time and I rarely played mandolin at home. In be-tween raising my children, conducting the choir, and working day and night to bring food to the table, I had no time to practice the mandolin. I also sang for some Viet-namese night clubs.
In 2014, I noticed a Toronto Mandolin Orchestra concert advertized on Grou-pon. With my children, I went to see the performance and this reignited the need to play mandolin regularly. After the event, I immediately signed up to join the orchestra.
I am so glad I made the decision to join the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra. I am very happy to become part of your family, to share with you the music of the mandolin. I am also happy that, after over 20 years, the mandolin has finally come back into my life. I look forward to the coming years where I can once again play this beautiful instrument.
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.
Hieu (Teresa) Do learned and taught mandolin in Vietnam
Club 626 Seniors turns 30!
Lottery is sponsored by the National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada
in support of the Shevchenko Musical EnsembleLicence No. M779863
Turn the page… fill out the form and order your tickets today +
• 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
…and along with the fun, you’ll be supporting thefine cultural work of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble
You won’t win a million…but you can win often
Are you ready for a new 1000 Club Lottery?It begins now!
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 follow-ing 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, com-menting on life and family and how par-ents 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 trav-els 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 birth-day cake for John.
Members were delighted to gather around
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.
John Boyd, at 103, blows out the candles.
Ontario Quebec Rudy Wasylenky Janet-Stewart-Smith
Manitoba Saskatchewan Myron Shatulsky Norman SawchynHazel SkulskyEugene Szach British Columbia Natalia Denton
A first for the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra will be the exciting collaboration with Free The Children, an international charity that partners with communi-ties to help lift themselves out of poverty. The orga-nization 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 be-cause 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
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
10 11
Please send me 1000 Club tickets @ $30.00Total $
Winners in the last GRAND FINAL 1000 CLUB DRAW
October 18, 2015Licence Nº M765823
New enthusiasm at AGMThe Guild’s Annual Membership Meeting, held on January 24 this year, left participants with a heightened sense of enthusi-asm 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, particu-larly 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.
Exciting concert collaborationunder various coaches including Eleanor Calbes, a former performer with the Canadian Opera Company. In addition to several concert per-formances, 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
$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
Name:
Address:
Code:
Phone: Cheque
VISA:
Expiry:
National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada
Board of Directors • Elected January 24, 2016André Denton, President
Florenz Seychuk, Vice-PresidentVice-President, Western CanadaPat Ignacz, Recording Secretary
Ginger Kautto, TreasurerAlexander Veprinskiy, Artistic Director
Karen FydenchukYelena GarberJune Morris
Hassan Anami, tenor Adele Kozak, soprano Helen Spiers, soprano
Tanya Podolskaya, contralto
Herman Rombouts, bass
Ira Erohkina, domra
April 24 ANNUAL CONCERT
June 11 TORONTO MANDOLIN
ORCHESTRA
featuring Lorna D’Silva, soprano and other outstanding soloists
Adult tickets to both concerts only $60Student tickets to both concerts $30(Discount package price not available on-line)
Come to both … and save!
Sunday, April 24, 2016 • 2:00 PM Annual Concert • Shevchenko EnsembleMarking the 125th Anniversary of Ukrainian Immigration to CanadaSt. Michael’s College School Centre for the Arts1515 Bathurst St (at St. Clair)$35 Adult • $20 studentCall 416-533-2725• [email protected] sales at: shevchenkoensemble.eventbrite.com
Marking the 125 Anniversary of Ukrainian Immigration to Canada
Alexander Veprinskiy, Artistic Director
Sunday, April 24, 2 pmSt. Michael’s College School Centre for the Arts1515 Bathurst Sthalf block north of St. Clair, east side of Bathurststeps from St. Clair West station
