photo: Volodymyr Klyuzko Koliada and Music from the Carpathians WHERE AND WHEN: Dec 14, 2013 Ukrainian National Federation Hall, 145 Evans Ave. Toronto Presented by Koliada Project & Yara Arts Group Sat at 7:30 PM, Tickets $25; $20 students/seniors, $10 by donation Ttickets are available in advance by calling 416-925-2770 or can be purchased at the door. The Koliada Project and Yara Arts Group in collaboration with the Ukrainian Culture Festival will present the Koliadnyky of Kryvorivnia in a series of Concerts from Dec.14-Dec.31, 2013. Koliada is a winter ritual that now coincides with Christmas, but long pre-dates it and is still celebrated to this day high in the Carpathian Mountains in Hutsul villages where the oldest songs are preserved. On Saturday, December 14 at 7:30 pm enjoy a musical concert “Koliada and Music from the Carpathians” at the Ukrainian National Federation Hall, 145 Evans Ave. Toronto.  The Koliadnyky will be joined by bandurist Julian Kytasty, violinist Mark Marczyk and vocalists from the Kosa Kolektiv. The concert will be accompanied by images by Volodymry Klyuzko. Koliada and Music from the Carpathians”.   Tickets: are $25/ $20 seniors& students; children by donation and are available in advance by calling 416-925-2770 or can be purchased at the door. Meet the Koliadnyky over coffee and sweets provided by the Ukrainian Women’s Organization (OYK) Toronto Branch after the show. The Koliada songs are incantations that assume the magical power of words: "what is said, will be so." The singers and musicians of the Koliadnyky are from Kryvorivnia, a Ukrainian village in the Hutsul region of the Carpathian Mountains. Ivan Zelenchuk is the "bereza," or lead singer. He comes from an old Kryvorivnia family and is the son of the man whose handwritten notebook of winter songs has helped to preserve this tradition despite persecution under Soviet rule. Now in his sixties, Ivan considers his involvement in the Koliada his personal mission. Mykola Zelenchuk, the son of Ivan, proudly carries on the traditions of his forefathers, both as a winter song singer and the best trembita (mountain long horn) player in the village. He also makes the traditional costumes for the winter song singers. Mykola Ilyuk is a master fiddler and plays on most of the traditional instruments of the Carpathians, including the trembita. He is director of the renowned Hutsul instrumental ensemble and has his own museum of musical instruments from the area. Vasyl Tymchuk plays the tsymbaly (hammer dulcimer) and teaches children to play Hutsul instruments. Ostap Kostyuk plays the duda (bagpipes) and various flutes and represents the newest generation of artists who have become experts in this ancient tradition. The evening will also include a brilliant troista (trio of traditional instruments) from the Carpathian Mountains by Mykola Ilyuk on fiddle, Vasyl Tymchuk on tsymbaly and Ostap Kostyuk on flute. Since its founding in 1990, Yara Arts Group has created 28 original theatre pieces based on materials from the East. New York critics have called Yara’s theatre pieces: “good theatre that builds an alternate world that allows us to re-learn and reflect upon the great questions at the core of our being human.” Yara began its collaboration with traditional artists from the Carpathians in 2003, and has developed performances in Kyiv, Philadelphia, Edmonton and New York, as well as theatre pieces “Koliada: Twelve Dishes”, “Still the River Flows”, “Winter Sun” and “Midwinter Night” at the world renowned La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York. Photographs and video of the koliada ritual in the village of Kryvorivnia have been exhibited at the RA Gallery in Kyiv, La Galleria, Ukrainian Institute in New York, Spring Street Gallery in Saratoga Springs and a major art installation at the Ukrainian Museum in New York. The Koliada events in Toronto are made possible by funds from the Shevchenko Foundation, Ukrainian Credit Union and the Olzhych Foundation. Yara Arts Group’s participation is made possible by the Coca-Cola Company and the friends of Yara Arts Group. more information: Midwinter Night. Yara Home