I had a great time seeing the Kyiv Chamber Choir at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto last Friday night. Wrapping up in Ontario, the group heads next to the Praries and Western Canada.  You can also catch an interview with head of their touring company at Nash Holos.

Below is Ukrainian radio host Irena Bell’s interview with Mykola Hobdych, conductor of the Kyiv Chamber Choir after the Ottawa concert last Thursday. You can listen to her show on CHIN Ottawa 97.9 FM Sundays 6PM  &  Tuesdays 10PM.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The award-winning Kyiv Chamber Choir begins their Canadian tour starting tomorrow. You can visit their MySpace page to check some of their great music, it’s sure to be a great show. Below is the information on their upcoming dates:

Continue reading Kyiv Chamber Choir tours Canada starting tomorrow →

Sorry no video this week. Along with reading 5 great books for Ukrainian Literature Day, March is Taras Shevchenko month in Canada so instead of watching videos this weekend try reading some poems on the foundation of Ukrainian nationalism. Happy weekend!

From the University for Manitoba’s Centre for Ukrainian Canadian studies:

Press Release – Taras Shevchenko Month for Ukrainian Canadians

Ukrainian Canadian Community to Honour the Great Ukrainian Poet and Freedom Fighter – Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861)

195th Anniversary Since His Birth (1814-2009)

The Ukrainian Canadian community scattered across Canada honours annually in March, Taras Shevchenko – the greatest literary figure of Ukrainian literature, a major painter – artist and freedom fighter. The celebrations in March (the month of his birth and death) include concerts, symposia and academic presentations by members of Ukrainian organizations, churches and especially youth groups. Similar celebrations with also take place in Ukraine every March.

Continue reading Weekend Reading: March is Taras Shevchenko month →

If you’re looking to participate in Ukrainian Literature Day on Monday but not sure what books  to read, here’s a list of some popular ones found in Canada’s most Ukrainian cities:

Kobzar’s Children: An anthology of short historical fiction, memoirs, and poems written about the Ukrainian immigrant experience. The stories span a century of history from 1905 to 2004; and they contain the voices of people who lived through internment as "enemy aliens," homesteading, famine, displacement, concentration camps, and this new century_s Orange Revolution. More than a collection, it is a social document that revives memories once deliberately forgotten (Children 14 and up).

Check the Library in: Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver or buy it now from Amazon.ca

Hope’s War: Kat’s hopes for peace are shattered when she finds her grandfather being interrogated by the RCMP. He is accused of being a policeman for the Nazis in WWII (Juvenile Fiction).

Check the Library in: Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver  or buy it now from Amazon.ca

Continue reading Five Great Books to read for Ukrainian Literature Day on Monday (Updated) →