Edmonton hosts Mykhailo Koval, outstanding Ukrainian folk artist

by Natalie Kononenko

EDMONTON - Mykhailo Koval is a man of many talents. He sings and plays the bandura, a unique Ukrainian folk instrument. He weaves, making traditional belts and picture rugs of his own design. He works with straw, producing hats for adults and dolls for children. From October 23 to November 6, 2005, he shared his interests and his talents with the Edmonton community to the delight of all.

Mr. Koval lives in Velykyi Khutir, a village in central Ukraine located approximately 250 kilometers southeast of the capital, Kyiv. He was trained as a school teacher and worked with the children of his village until his retirement two years ago. Like all village school teachers, he is also a farmer, raising the crops and keeping the livestock necessary to feed his family. What makes Mr. Koval unique is his love of the arts, combined with his impressive talents.

Mr. Koval has been singing ever since he was a child. As he remembers, singing was something that he and everyone in his family always did. They sang on festive occasions and while working. The same was true of many people in the village and from his family and his neighbors Mr. Koval learned the songs of his region, ranging from ballads and lyric songs to wedding songs and historical material.

He was especially influenced by a neighbor, Oksana Kryvorit, known locally as "Baba Sanka." Her songs were especially beautiful and emotionally powerful and a song that Mr. Koval learned from Baba Sanka was chosen to represent Ukraine on the Eurodisc CD.

Mr. Koval learned to play the bandura later in life. He fell in love with this instrument as a child, but his family could not afford to get him one. When the museum in Cherkasy, the provincial seat in his area, loaned him a hand-made bandura, he realized his desire to learn this unique, asymmetrical instrument. The bandura is associated with the "kobzari" professional minstrels who sang historical songs, psalms, and Ukrainian epic poems called "dumy." As a modern representative of the kobzar tradition, Mr. Koval has made sure to learn all of these song types.

While in Edmonton, Mr. Koval performed the many songs that he knows at the University of Alberta and for the community. He participated in university classes on Ukrainian folksong, and performed at the graduate student folklore lunch. He visited language classes and was interviewed on CJSR radio.

A highlight was his public performance hosted by folkwaysAlive!, the Ukrainian Folklore Center and the Kule Endowment, where the full range of his songs was professionally recorded. Graduate students in the Ukrainian Folklore Program also videotaped a biographical interview with Mr. Koval. All recordings will be housed in the Bohdan Medewidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives and available to the public.

Outside the university, Mr. Koval performed at the Shumka Dancers' fund-raising gala. He sang for Ukrainian youth organizations and visited church and other groups. Especially meaningful to both Mr. Koval and to the community were his visits to schools. Mr. Koval spoke with and sang for the children at Delwood and Balwin, and also visited the H. A. Kostash School in Smokey Lake. Everywhere he went, he not only performed, but showed his weaving and his work with straw, leaving dolls as presents for the children.

Mr. Koval's visit to Edmonton was made possible by the Peter and Doris Kule Endowment. The endowment's mission is to foster education and to increase awareness of Ukrainian topics. Mr. Koval offered a special opportunity because he is the type of artist who is seldom seen in North America. He performs music learned orally, from other folk performers, rather than through formal instruction at a conservatory.

Through him, Alberta students, both at the university and in the public schools, were able to experience traditional music firsthand. Students in Ukraine will benefit also. This was Mr. Koval's first trip outside Ukraine and he plans to tell students in his own and in surrounding villages about his many experiences.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 8, 2006, No. 2, Vol. LXXIV

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