2011 marks the 25th Anniversary of the Chornobyl Disaster that irrevocably transformed the ecological and social dimensions of life in the Ukrainian and Belarusian regions now known as the "Chornobyl Zone." Since 1986, the traditional communities of the Chornobyl zone have been largely dispersed and destroyed, and today, very few people remain in the region. Yet, a trace of the human spirit that used to populate this region remains, in the form of archival field recordings that document the ritual and quotidian aspects of daily life before the disaster. In the 1970s, ethnomusicologist and song collector YevhenYefremov conducted numerous field expeditions into the Chornobyl region. The foremost Ukrainian expert in polyphonic singing styles of Central and Northern Ukraine, Dr. Yefremov will lead New York-based Ensemble Hilka in reinterpreting traditional songs from the Chornobyl region; the ensemble features some of New York City's leading East European folksingers. Dr. Yefremov is also the founder of the legendary Ukrainian Drevo Ensemble Curated by Dr. Yefremov and Ukrainian-American ethnomusicologist and singer Maria Sonevytsky, Ensemble Hilka's performances December will be accompanied by projected archival footage and photographs coordinated by director Virlana Tkacz and Yara Arts Group. Following the 7PM performance at Princeton University’s Taplin Hall on Thursday, December 1st, Ensemble Hilka presents the Chornobyl Songs Project in New York City at The Ukrainian Museum (222 East 6th Street, between 2nd and 3rd) in Manhattan’s East Village, on Friday, December 2nd, at 7PM. The group performs on Saturday evening, December 3rd, at 8PM in Washington, DC at The Washington Ethical Society Meeting Hall, 7750 16th Street NW. Performers then travel to Philadelphia for a performance sponsored by Cross Roads Music at Calvary Church, at 801 South 48th Street, on Sunday, December 4th, at 7:30PM. Admission for the New York and Washington concerts is $15, with senior and student discounts available; entrance to the Philadelphia performance is on a sliding scale ($10-$30). The Princeton performance is free. Tickets for the New York performance may be purchased in advance via The Ukrainian Museum’s website, www.ukrainianmuseum.org. For further details visit www.ctmd.org and www.crossroadsconcerts.org. The project also includes workshops in traditional singing at La MaMa Experimental Theatre, in the East Village and in New Paltz, New York coordinated by Yara Arts Group. Translations and transcriptions of the traditional songs are by Virlana Tkacz and Wanda Phipps. The Chornobyl Songs Project was made possible by public funds from New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency, the New York Folklore Society, Sparkplug Foundation, US-Ukraine Business Council, and Columbia University's Harriman Institute & Center for Ethnomusicology.
pictures and reviews from Dec 2011 in New York, Princeton, Washington & Philadelphia Jan 2012 at Yara's Re-Imagine:Ourselves Festival
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