UKELODEON: For The Next Generation (07/09/06)

UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

Five teenagers get together in Molodtsi band

WINNIPEG - It's not every day that traditional Ukrainian music is performed by a teenage music group, but the fresh Canadian band Molodtsi seems intent on making it more commonplace.

Molodtsi was first known as the Chabluk Family when it was organized in 1999. The band comprises five teenagers, none older than 19. The three original members were Katrusia, Mikhas and Ivasyk Chabluk.

Katrusia, 19, plays the sopilka in the band. Her first solo performance was at the age of 2 at St. Ann Ukrainian Catholic Church. At age 9 Katrusia studied sopilka with Sasha Boychuk. Katrusia enjoys singing and Ukrainian dancing, and is a very talented pianist, as she passed her Grade 8 Royal Conservatory Exam with Honors.

Mikhas, 17, first showed his vocal skills while performing with his sister, Katrusia. On his fifth birthday Mikhas received a violin from his grandfather and has not put it down since then. Mikhas is a three-time silver medal winner at the Toronto Royal Conservatory because of his high marks on his violin exams in Manitoba. Mikhas, too, enjoys Ukrainian dancing, soccer and acting.

Ivasyk, 14, completes the family ensemble by playing the accordion. At age 6 he gave his first accordion performance at the Gardenton Ukrainian Festival. Ivasyk often composes his own music on his uncle's accordion. He enjoys the guitar and piano, and he often plays the piano and accordion simultaneously. In addition to music, Ivasyk skateboards, rides his BMX, dances and plays sports.

The Chabluk trio's mature and unique sound led them to become popular entertainers and they traveled to festivals and performed at various concerts and competitions. The three Chabluks were soon joined by drummer Brett Koroluk and bass guitarist Brittany Lasko.

Brett, 15, first got his start on drums at age 2 by pulling pots from kitchen cupboards to use as percussion instruments. At age 3, Brett received his first real drum set; he started lessons at age five. He loves to drum along with Ukrainian music because this is the music that he has grown up with; it is the music that his parents play. In addition to drums, Brett enjoys various sports.

Brittany, 16, became interested in the bass guitar after hearing the Chabluk family and Brett play together at a Christmas gathering. At age 10 she began to take bass guitar lessons so that she could have the chance to join the band and perform with them. Brittany enjoys dancing and is a student as the Romzai School of dance, as well as the Shelley Shearer Contemporary School of Dance.

The band's name changed to Molodtsi after Brittany and Brett joined. The quintet receieved very high marks (98 and 99 percent) and gold medals at Dauphin's National Ukrainian Festival competition. At the competition the band received the "Most Promising Group Award," while Mikhas was recognized as "Most Promising Musician."

The talented youths have had over 25 performances in Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. Their music brims with the joyous energy that one would certainly hear at Ukrainian social gatherings like concerts, weddings and parties.

Perhaps one of the reasons that the Molodtsi possess such strong talent is because they all come from musical families who have collectively created more than 20 recordings. Their current CD is a compilation of the group's favorite Ukrainian dance melodies and folk songs. Those who have attended Ukrainian social gatherings and loved the music that was played there will enjoy this talented band's new CD.

It is available at Ukrainian gift shops, Chapters book stores, McNally Robinson Booksellers, by visitng www.see-ddiscoveries.com, or by calling 204-788-4321.

Hartford SUM members remember Chornobyl

HARTFORD, Conn - Members of the Ukrainian American Youth Association paticipated as the "Ukrainian Youth Remember Chornobyl" team at the annual March of Dimes Walk-a-thon on May 7 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

Ukraine part of high school's "Display of Cultures"

by Larissa Zelisko

WHEELING, Ill. - On Friday, May 12, students of Ukrainian descent participated in Wheeling High School's annual "Display of Cultures." Students at District 214 showcased various aspects of their culture through art, history and current events to thousands of attending visitors. In the photo above Yana Batozynska (left) and Khystyna Stelmakh stand by the Ukrainian table of artifacts. To the right, Ukrainian students with school counselor Larissa Zelisko. Ms. Zelisko, being of Ukrainian descent, said she was proud to see the enthusiasm demonstrated by the school's Ukrainian student body.

Seattle youths happy to belong to Plast branch

by Julia Ellings

SEATTLE - Nearly two years ago, a new branch of Plast was formed in Seattle, Washington. Some people were already Plast members from New Jersey, some recently arrived from Ukraine. Others, like my brother, Ruric and I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and have grandparents born in Ukraine.

Lots of times we play games, go hiking and camping, and learn about Ukrainian history. We learned about the Orange Revolution and made orange scarves to send to Ukrainians protesting the 2004 elections.

At Eastertime, our Plast group wrote pysanky and learned about their symbols. On Easter Sunday, we performed ancient spring dances, hahilky outside church after holy liturgy. These dances are thousands of years old; their patterns depict the movement of the sun. Many of them are also found on pysanky. During one of the hahilky, we sing about the beetle (an ancient symbol of the sun) and mimic his movements.

The best part about belonging to Plast in the springtime is Sviato Vesny (Celebration of Spring). This spring, we will camp at Deception Pass, along the rocky shore of the Pacific Ocean.

Julia Ellings, 11, is a fifth grader at Medina Elementary school. She just became a "yunachka" in Plast.

Mishanyna

In June-July Ukraine made its debut appearance at soccer's World Cup tournament in Germany. Below are the names of Ukraine's World Cup team. (We're sure you, too, cheered the team on as it moved up in the competition.) To solve this month's Mishanyna, find the names that are capitalized.

Goalkeepers: Andriy PYATOV, Oleksander SHOVKOVSKYI, Bohdan SHUST;

Defenders: Andriy NESMACHNYI, Oleksander Iatsenko, Vladimir Yezerskyi, Andriy RUSOL, Dmytro Chigrynskyi, Vladyslav VASCHUK, Vyacheslav SVIDERSKYI;

Midfielders: Anatoliy TYMOSCHUK, Oleg Shelayev, Oleg GUSEV, Serhiy REBROV, Andriy GUSIN, Serhiy Nazarenko, Maksym KALINICHENKO, Ruslan ROTAN;

Forwards: Andriy SHEVCHENKO, Andriy VORONIN, Artem MILEVSKIY, Andriy VOROBEY, Oleksiy Belik;

Coach: Oleg Blokhin.

OUR NAME: UKELODEON: it rhymes with nickelodeon. Yes, that's a kids' network (spelled with a capital "N"), but the original word referred to an early movie theater that charged a nickel for admission. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the root of the word, "odeon," is from the Greek "oideion," a small building used for public performances of music and poetry. Our UKELODEON is envisioned as a public space where our youth, from kindergartners to teens, can come to learn, to share information, to relate their experiences, and to keep in touch with each other. Its contents will be shaped by the young readers of the next generation.

OUR NEXT ISSUE: UKELODEON is published on the second Sunday of every month. To make it into our next issue, dated August 13, please send in your materials by August 4.

We especially encourage kids and teens to submit articles and see their names in print. And don't forget to send a photo or two.

Please drop us a line:

UKELODEON, The Ukrainian Weekly, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054; fax, (973) 644-9510. Call us at (973) 292-9800; or send e-mail to [email protected]. (We ask all contributors to please include a daytime phone number.)

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