St. Nicholas Centennial Concert in Chicago a rousing success (10/29/06)

St. Nicholas Centennial Concert in Chicago a rousing success

by Maria Kulczycky

CHICAGO - An audience of more than 800 enthusiastically applauded the performance of 120 choristers and a 40-member orchestra, assisted by four soloists, as the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's "Messiah" brought the St. Nicholas Cathedral Centennial Concert to a thunderous conclusion.

"The music being performed includes some of the best and most loved liturgical works of revered Ukrainian composers. It is used by both Catholic and Orthodox faiths, which has unified us for generations," observed Bishop Richard Seminack of St. Nicholas Eparchy, as he welcomed the audience and performers to the concert.

On a bright and warm Sunday in early October, with all the doors of the cathedral open to the light and breeze, the capacity crowd listened appreciatively to members of six Ukrainian community choruses accompanied by the Northwest Chicago Symphony Orchestra under its longtime conductor, Michael Holian.

Metropolitan Opera bass Stefan Szkafarowsky headlined the cast of performers, thrilling the audience with a moving rendition of the "Psalms of David," music by Ihor Sonevytsky and lyrics by Taras Shevchenko; "Ella Giammai" from "Don Carlo" by Giuseppi Verdi; and "Boundless Glory" by Oleksander Koshets. Mr. Szkafarowsky also sang a duet with Myroslava Kuka, "O God, Through Endless Trials," by Mykola Fomenko. His deep bass, accompanied by orchestra, resonated to the rafters of the acoustically perfect cathedral.

Before the "Hallelujah" finale, the combined choruses and orchestra performed the familiar hymn "Lord of Heaven and Earth," from the opera "Zaporozhets za Dunayem" (Kozak Beyond the Danube) by Semen Hulak-Artemovsky. Yaroslav Lemishka, currently with the St. Nicholas Cathedral Choir and formerly with the Ukrainian Opera of Lviv, sang Andrij's aria from the opera, praising and thanking God for the return of the Kozaks from exile.

"This concert comes towards the end of a year of celebration marking 100 years since the founding of St. Nicholas Parish. We welcome everyone from our community here, because the founding of St. Nicholas Parish launched the birth of this Ukrainian Village community. This parish is the mother church to many other churches in the Chicago area, and I applaud this demonstration of the spirit of unity," noted Father Bohdan Nalysnyk, rector of St. Nicholas Cathedral.

The six performing Ukrainian choirs included Slavuta, the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral Choir, Volodymyr Duda, conductor; Surma Choir, Zeonid Modrytzkyj, conductor; Ukrainian American Youth Association Choir, Wolodymyr Popowycz, conductor; St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Church Choir, Mr. Popowycz, conductor; Blahovist, Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir, Olena Novyk, conductor; and St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church Choir, Taras Rudenko, conductor. The six combined into the Centennial Choir for the first and last numbers of the concert.

In addition, Father Deacon Mychajlo Horodysky and Myroslave Kuka were soloists with the Slavuta choir for "O, the Star is Risen," the hymn about the Pochayiv miracle written by Mykola Leontovych. In addition, a quintet from St. Volodymyr and Olha consisting of Iryna Dichij, Chrystyna Kosach, Olena Novyk, Vadim Dubovsky and Bohdan Hyrjavenko performed Dmytro Bortniansky's "Blessed is the Man." The ensemble was joined by Halyna Hyrjavenko for a lyrical rendition of Andrew Hnatyshyn's "Hail Mary."

Maestro Holian spearheaded the effort to include a musical component in the Centennial Celebration. He also arranged and orchestrated several of the works performed, managed the musical and organizational efforts, and conducted the combined choruses and orchestra. Mr. Holian is emeritus professor of music at Wilbur Wright College and director of the Northwest Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The success of this event was due largely to the efforts of the many members of the Cultural Committee chaired by Mr. Holian and the support of the choral directors.

The long ovation at the end reflected the appreciation of the audience for the months of planning, preparation and rehearsals such an ambitious endeavor represented, as well as for the artistry and talent so ably demonstrated by the performers.

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