In 2012, the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Whitney Pier is celebrating 100 years of Ukrainian faith and culture in Cape Breton. A week of activities including workshops, lectures and a book launch, wraps up Friday night, February 3, at the CBU Boardmore Playhouse with a concert featuring Ukrainian-American Bandurist Julian Kytasty and Cape Breton fiddler Colin Grant.
Kytasty has taken his music around the world, from the Inuit lands to Patagonia. This Ukrainian-American composer/conductor/singer/flute-player/kobzar/bandurist began his musical career as a solo artist and bandura teacher. His original compositions are among the standard repertoire of bandurists world-wide today. He has created and conducted avant-garde music, lectured at Yale and Harvard, and recorded music both solo and in collaboration with international artists.
Julian Kytasty Plays the Bandura, Part One by Michal Shapiro.
On Thursday, February 2, Kytasty will explore music and authenticity, kitsch, culture-making and ways in which tourism may affect the expression of cultural traditions in a lecture/demonstration entitled The Unembroidered Bandura, taking place at CBU in Room CE327 from 11:30am-12:45pm. He will also discuss and demonstrate differences between North American and Old Country music cultures and experiences.
The Bandura Part 2, Tradition by Michal Shapiro.
At 4pm on Thursday, an exhibition entitled Mnohaya lita: Celebrating 100 Years of Ukrainian faith in Cape Breton will open at the Cape Breton Centre for Heritage & Science on George Street in Sydney with a blessing by Rev. Roman Dusanowskij and parish celebration led by Kytasty. CBC Mainstreet Cape Breton with Wendy Bergfeldt will broadcast live from the opening. Mnohaya lita means “many years” in Ukrainian and is a perfect greeting for the long celebrated history of the Ukrainian community in Cape Breton. The exhibition will run until November 2012 and focus on Cape Breton Canadians of Ukrainian descent, their music, dance and other important cultural traditions. As a joint effort of the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Parish, The Ukrainian community, The Old Sydney Society and Dr. Marcia Ostashewski, Monohaya lita will feature events and workshops on Ukrainian dance, food and music throughout the year.
The week of celebration wraps up Friday night, February 3, with Sea Winds & Immigrant Songs featuring Julian Kytasty and Colin Grant. The concert starts at 7pm at the Boardmore Theatre, Cape Breton University. Tickets are $12 / $10 (students and seniors) and are available at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Parish, 577-7929; Whitney Pier Pharmasave, 564-8250; Pharmasave Healthpark, 564-6500; and Pharmasave New Waterford, 862-7186. The concert is sponsored by Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church; Centre for Cape Breton Studies, CBU; Office of the Dean, School of Arts and Social Sciences, CBU; and the Department of History and Culture, CBU.
