2019 BWV Toronto ukrainian Festival
FEATURE Performers
Balaklava Blues
Balaklava Blues is a Ukrainian sub-pop duo who met and fell in love at the height of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Their time protesting and on the front lines of the Donbas War defines their activist-driven genre-bending collage of traditional folk, soviet kitsch, and transnational EDM. Expect "a set of stark contradictions to spark your mind and move your feet" (Latitude Festival Review) complete with a full video and light show they recently toured across Europe. "Charismatic, Handsome, Ambitious" - The New York Times. "Gorgeously sung and passionately played...an evocation of human solidarity" - The Guardian
Vasyl Popadiuk
Vasyl Popadiuk is a classically trained violinist born in Lviv, Ukraine, now living in Ottawa and performing internationally. In addition to appearing as a violin soloist, Popadiuk has been the dynamic lead player in the ensemble Papa Duke, a group that plays a fusion of eastern European melodies in an energetic style mixing classic pop, rock palm, jazz and traditional Slavic and gypsy music. Aside from stage performances at numerous events, he complements his violin playing with piano accompaniment for the national ballet of Canada. Popadiuk is quickly winning over audiences with his intense virtuoso performances. Over the years he and his fellow musicians have performed in concerts and music festivals in many countries, including USA, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Jordan, Russia, Poland, Mexico and Ukraine.
Ukrainian Male Chorus
For 35 years the Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton (UMCE) has pursued the objective of developing, promoting, and fostering a greater appreciation of the traditions of Ukrainian choral singing. The UMCE’s first major performance was at Expo ’86 in Vancouver. The choir was proud to represent Canada at the 1996 International Choral Festival in Missoula, Montana. The UMCE toured Poland and Western Ukraine in 2002 and returned to Ukraine in 2011 for a concert tour. The choir also travelled to Australia in 2008 and has performed in all of the major cities in Canada. In 2014, the UMCE participated in the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia, and also performed in Poland and Austria. And in 2017, the choir toured Spain and Portugal. Throughout its existence, the UMCE has hosted and performed at numerous events in the Edmonton area, and every December hosts a Christmas concert called "A Festive Mosaic". The choir has also performed on several occasions with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in the past few years.The choir has released 4 recordings: That Old Sheepskin Coat, The Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton LIVE!, Malanka Suite and Kateryna. The current artistic director of the UMCE is Slava Morozov.
Those Idiots
Those Idiots, from Buffalo, NY, started as a rock and roll band playing original music and covers in 1998. In early 2001, shortly after the passing of the band leader Myron Deputat’s brother Adrian, they were booked to play Buffalo's Dyngus Day celebration at the Adam Mickiewicz Library. While setting up they realized that the crowd may not be open to their high energy rock music so Deputat quickly ran out, made photo copies of some Ukrainian polka music charts he had...and distributed them to the rest of the band. They performed these polkas to everyone's delight and also had fun doing it. After running out of polka music, Deputat turned to the band and yelled, “Sedated, polka style!” which became a polka version of the Ramones song “I wanna be Sedated”, thereby laying the foundation of what was to become their wildly popular, signature Rolka (rock-polka) sound. Those Idiots are considered by some to be a pivotal factor in the revival of Buffalo's Dyngus Day and perform annually to thousands at the Buffalo Central Terminal. These young men play high energy, fun music that relates to a younger crowd.