OAKVILLE, Ontario – A capacity crowd thanked the Sheptytsky Institute Choir of Ottawa with a standing ovation at its debut concert on November 7. Nearly 400 people filled St. Joseph’s Church in Oakville, Ontario, to delight in sacred music and support the Institute’s scholarship fund. The fund will help students from Ukraine study at the Sheptytsky Institute.
Patriarch Sviatoslav, a former student of the Sheptytsky Institute, spoke via video link. He delivered an endorsement of both the institute and the scholarship fund. “In Ukraine, we have the Ukrainian Catholic University; in Canada, we have the Sheptytsky Institute. But students from Ukraine will not be able to come to Canada without your support.” He added, “I want our theology students from Ukraine to study at the Sheptytsky Institute in Canada.”
Father Peter Galadza, acting director of the institute and founder of the institute’s choir, opened the concert by noting that both the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and the government of Ukraine declared this year “The Year of Sheptytsky.” It marks the 150th anniversary of the archbishop’s birth. He noted that the concert was first proposed by Bishop Stephen Chmilar of Toronto as an eparchial event. Father Galadza thanked him and Father Bohdan Bilinsky, episcopal vicar, for their consistent support. Faith Goldy, a noted Toronto TV personality, served as MC.
The newly formed Sheptytsky Institute Choir, under the direction of Uwe Lieflander, sang 10 pieces in two sets. Many of the songs were in Ukrainian or Church Slavonic – a marvel, considering that more than half of the choir’s members are not of Ukrainian descent and the choir’s first rehearsal was only in January of this year.
Maestro Lieflander first gained renown as the conductor of a 500-voice ensemble at World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002. Father Galadza noted: “We are so blessed to have a conductor of this caliber. And he is very professional, while also fun.”
The next group to perform was the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir of Toronto under the direction of the energetic Zhanna Zinchenko. The well-known ensemble, first established as a youth choir in 1985, performed five pieces including the debut of an “Otche Nash” (Our Father) by Tatiana Yashvili of Kyiv.
The choral sections were interspersed with speeches by Father Andriy Chirovsky, founder of the Sheptytsky Institute, and Yuri Broda, treasurer of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute Foundation. Father Chirovsky noted how important it was to honor Metropolitan Andrey by continuing his commitment to theological education. Mr. Broda, a chartered public accountant from Edmonton, stressed that the institute is the only educational institution in the Western world working under Ukrainian Catholic auspices that offers accredited university-level programs in religious studies. Mr. Broda was accompanied by long-time foundation members Donna Korban of Winnipeg and Motria Koropecky of Victoria, British Columbia.
The third ensemble to sing was the award-winning Vesnivka Choir of Toronto. The women’s choir is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. As always, Kvitka Kondracki, Vesnivka’s founding artistic director, conducted with flare and virtuosity. A high point was when she conducted all three choirs together in the concluding prayer for Ukraine, “Bozhe Velykyi, Yedynyi.”
In his concluding remarks, Father Galadza acknowledged the genius of Roman Hurko. “Seven of the pieces sung this evening by the choirs were by one composer – our own Toronto-born Roman Hurko.”
He also noted the generosity of several patrons. Platinum sponsors were the Ihnatowycz Family Foundation and the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko. Ian (Ihor) and Marta Ihnatowycz of Toronto have supported the arts for decades. Among the silver sponsors were Fred and Irene Shlapak of Oakville.
The concert can be viewed at www.sheptytskyinstitute.ca.