2021 Artists

2021 Artist Profiles

2021 Master of Ceremonies:

Alexandra Holyk

Anastasia Baczynskyj

Justine Teplycky

Marta Czurylowicz

Nataliya Halych

Zenon Chwaluk

Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus has entertained audiences for over 50 years with its repertoire of liturgical music and traditional folk songs, as well as the patriotic songs of Ukraine and the Kozaky. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and under the direction of Tadeusz Biernacki, the majesty and passion of Hoosli’s four-part male harmonies infuse emotion and power into every performance. Hoosli is named after an ancient Ukrainian musical instrument similar to a zither, which represents versatility and vitality, for it produces not only music, but a feeling as well. It is both a connection to the past and a song to the future. Learn more about Hoosli by visiting www.hoosli.com. With permission from the Winnipeg Jets, the Canadian National Anthem at the festival Opening Ceremonies will be performed by the Hoosli Chorus on the video screen. The festival hopes to invite the Hoosli Chorus to a live performance in 2022.

Alisa Osavelyuk is 20 years old and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Honours Life Sciences at McMaster University. Alisa was born in Ukraine, in the city of Ternopil. Alisa started playing bandura 11 years ago and joined the bandura assemble by the name "Sribni Struny" which means "Silver Strings". She moved to Canada with her family when she was 13 years old. Alisa decided to continue with her bandura education and joined the Bandura Capella "Zoloti Struny" which means "Golden Strings" and now is part of the "Women's Bandura Ensemble of North America" or WBENA. Alisa started taking vocal classes in 2016 to improve and expand her singing skills. Alisa has won competitions in the Kiwanis Toronto Music Festival as well as in the Ukrainian Music Festival. Alisa enjoys playing bandura and loves bringing joy to the audience.

Auresia a singer-songwriter who effortlessly fuses intricate reggae music with world-pop undertones and love of her Ukrainian heritage, is not the kind of artist you encounter every day. It’s this very element of surprise that makes Auresia one of the most exciting young talents in the country.

Bandura Beyond Borders is an instrumental bandura quartet made up of close friends Borys Ostapienko, Orest Chornomaz, Oleksander Petlura and Ivan Dusanowskyj. Together, they approach the bandura from a new, fresh perspective. In traditional ensembles, the bandura is used for accompanying singing, but Bandura Beyond Borders demonstrates that the bandura can have a voice of its own. The group’s skillful playing showcases the bandura as a versatile and expressive instrument that can be used to play different styles of music, including classical, adaptations of popular music, and inventive arrangements of traditional Ukrainian songs. Bandura Beyond Borders has entertained audiences from New York City to Sault Ste Marie. The quartet also share their passion for the bandura and inspire people of all ages to learn through the Toronto Bandura School, which they founded together in 2015."

For over 52 years Barvinok has been providing traditional Ukrainian dance instruction to the young generations of Ukrainians living in the Mississauga area. Today, Barvinok provides instruction to over 400 students between the ages of 5 and 30. Under the direction of the Artistic Director, Fedir Danylak, Barvinok has danced at different Ukrainian and Non-Ukrainian Festivals throughout Canada, USA, Europe and Ukraine. During this unprecedented COVID time, Barvinok has continued teaching dancing online with more than 250 dancers engaged in online classes.

The Barvy band was founded in 2012 under the name Lvivsky Batyary. Later the musicians worked with the band Zorepad, and then during the last two years the band was renewed with young musicians and changed its name to "Barvy". They have participated in many Ukrainian festivals throughout Canada and the USA. The leader of the group is Mykola Romanko.

Blisk is a synthesis of polyphonic Eastern European and Balkan song, dance and movement backed by hypnotic percussion. It is described as a musical journey travelling through Ukraine, Poland, Macedonia, Serbia and beyond. Based in Toronto, the members of the group hail from Canada, Ukraine, Poland and Kazakhstan. They were brought together by a deep love and respect for these ancient songs and dances, bringing the tunes to life in the modern world through unique arrangements.

The Desna Ukrainian Dance Company of Toronto is excited to be celebrating their 45th anniversary this year by continuing to dazzle their audiences throughout Canada, the US and abroad. With a wide repertoire of Ukrainian dances, their goal continues to be preserving Ukrainian tradition. DESNA draws its constant inspiration from the incredible creative vision of Artistic Directors Yuri and Luba Grekov, graduates of the Academy of Dance of Pavlo Virsky in Kyiv, Ukraine and former members of the famed Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company. Together, Yuri and Luba teach the Virsky style of Ukrainian dance. This past summer has been another busy one with many local shows in addition to travels to Edmonton for UFest and to Yonkers, NY. They continue to promote the importance of community and sharing the Ukrainian culture through dance.

Hloptsi z Mista (aka: X3M) is a Ukrainian band from Toronto, Canada, made up of handsome, young men, each bringing with them a background full of music and Ukrainian culture. From traditional dance ensembles, Ukrainian school, youth organizations, marching bands, garage bands, etc. this wealth of life experience is brought by each "hlop" into the X3M mix to help create a sound that is innovative, unique and memorable. Hloptsi z Mista's repertoire of fast polkas, groovy ballads, and blazing rock allows them to craft dynamic and enjoyable sets guaranteed to get listeners up off their seats and dancing all night. The band members enjoy taking traditional Ukrainian melodies that they grew up listening to, and adding modern twists to make the songs appealing to younger generations, but still remain recognizable for older audiences to sing and dance along to. With the pending release of their first CD, titled Kompakt Dysk, X3M hopes to continue being a part of their fans' everyday playlist for any occasion.

Honeypaw plays Finno-Baltic music, influenced by their Slavic and Scandinavian neighbours. Their music has been played on the CBC and National Radio in Kyiv. They have just returned from recording an album entirely on trees in Georgian Bay. Matti Palonen is from Toronto and has performed folk music with many groups across Canada since 2008, playing the Finnish kantele and jouhikko. Jurgita Žvinklytė is from Utena, Lithuania, and has performed across Europe since 2016. Her art installation "Riddle: Where is the Centre of the World? Answer: Where You Stand" was part of the National Art Gallery of Lithuania’s “Sweet Sweat of the Future” Exhibition in May 2020.

Ihor and Andriana Artemyak are a married singing duo originally from Ternopil, Ukraine. For many years they have performed at international festivals and concerts, supporting Ukrainian song and culture of their native country. They also perform with the Artemyak band.

Based in Toronto, Kalendar is an (almost) all-female vocal ensemble that looks towards the singing traditions and repertoire of rural Ukraine. While they view themselves as modern women (and man), they all get immeasurable satisfaction in taking the time to participate in communal singing of Ukrainian folk songs around a table of friends. Polyphony is the obviously result, with tingling harmonic overtones and goosebumps soon following. The group naturally evolved from the folk singing nights hosted by Kosa Kolektiv. The specific vocal timbre which they strive for is known in Ukrainian singing culture as ridnyj holos” – meaning “the people’s voice”. They embrace every chance they get to study with master singers from Ukraine, like Maria Ihnatowych or members of Dakha Brakha. Kalendar’s hope is to share some of the beauty of the Ukrainian cultural inheritance with you.

Based out of the Ukrainian National Federation, Toronto’s Kalyna Performing Arts Company is comprised of talented semi-professional Ukrainian dancers with a passion for performing! Honouring the group’s rich history and deeply seeded roots in the Ukrainian-Canadian community, the recently revitalized KALYNA is currently under the direction of Stefan Kuziw and is experiencing an unprecedented level of artistic excellence. Stefan’s life long passion and enthusiasm for Ukrainian dance is displayed through his constant and extensive research resulting in unique, dynamic, and high caliber Virsky-inspired choreography. Stefan and his group of dedicated performers are enthusiastic to share their journey with you as they continue to grow to impressive new heights!

Natalia Kaskova was born in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. She studied at the College of Music and graduated with honours. After graduating from university, Natalia was invited to the Music Arts Center to join the famous ensemble “Cossacks of Podillya” under the guidance of the People’s Artist of Ukraine Mykola Balema. Her repertoire included both dramatic and comic works. Natalia is able to perform folk music as well as operatic vocals. In Natalie’s repertoire there are more than 50 works of the composer Podilsky and the arranger Ivan Pustovy. Among them are such famous songs as “Oh,Ivana on Kupala”and ”Faith, Love and Hope”. Natalia is supporting her creative activity by giving concerts in Europe.

Lux is a Canadian-Ukrainian band based out of Toronto established in late 2019 by 6 talented, young, lifelong friends. After performing at multiple zabavas, large family gatherings, Ivana Kupala and New Years events, Lux has proven to be a crowd-pleasing and energetic Ukrainian polka band. Lux stays true to their cultural roots with a repertoire of traditional material with modern twists - their sound will surely get you on your feet. Whether you’d like to polka, hear some jazz, or anything in between, Lux puts a twist on every Ukrainian song in order to create their own style of music that we’re confident you won’t forget! The members of the band include: Aleksa Gobosz with lead vocals; Roman Kus on saxophone and keys; Nazar Kostiv on accordion, guitar and vocals; Orest Benko on guitar and vocals; Victor Fik on bass guitar; Michael Wankewycz on percussion.

Nastasia Y (formerly known as Stacey Y) is a Ukrainian-born Canadian world-pop fusion artist. This multilingual singer & keyboardist integrates Eastern European folk music with contemporary jazz arrangements, electronic textures, and musical influences from all around the world. Nastasia is that rare artist who seamlessly blends folk tradition with futuristic ideals - inspiring listeners to hold on to their roots while embracing the modern world. Nastasia wrote & released her first English r&b album “Set the Water Straight” in 2013, while completing Toronto’s Humber College jazz piano degree program. From there, she began to explore her culture, starting the fusion project DoVira, and releasing records including the ‘Obrys’ EP and the ‘DoVira’ album, which was coined “world fusion at its best” by WholeNote magazine. Nastasia performs in many languages, from Serbian to Arabic, is a founding member of BLISK (the all-female Eastern European folk group), is Founder & CEO of StereoFlavour (a reputable Toronto event entertainment company), and was a featured vocalist in the award-winning TV show Orphan Black. Nastasia’s most recent release is the ambient trippy electronic EP ‘III’, which combines Slavic folk influences with electronic production and experimental audio processing. Nastasia currently resides in Toronto, Canada, where she is working on her next solo album, which will be called "Slavic Soul". Stay tuned on NastasiaY.com.

The Otava singers, originally from Ternopil, Ukraina and currently residing in the Greater Toronto area, is a group who sings and performs a creative fusion of traditional Ukrainian and Lemko folk songs with a modern twist, as well as carols and hayivky, Cossack songs and songs of a spiritual nature. They have graced audiences in Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and more recently, in Canada.

Ukrainian Youth Ensemble "Prolisok" was established in the fall of 1996. Prolisok is a unique ensember that allows Ukrainian youth to express and share their talent and identify themselves in a meaningful way within the Ukrainian community. Most of the choir members are students who find the time to participate in rehearsals and performances. Similarly to the first Ukrainian settlers who arrived in Canada 125 years ago, this youth is truly dedicated to the preservation of the Ukrainian song and music outside the borders of their homeland. Prolisok is led by Olesia Konyk and Pavlo Fondera, the concert master is Oksana Skirka.

Stardust Jazz Duo: Zhanna Zinchenko and Viktor Kovalenko are musicians who have worked together for many years and have done many projects together. They are known in the Ukrainian community as conductors of the choirs of St. Demetrius and St. Nicholas Churches. Unable to work with the choir during the Covid pandemic, the two musicians could not sit still, decided to fulfill the old dreams of their youth and began to play and sing Jazz. Over the past 9 months, they have recorded and posted on their YouTube channel 10 jazz works, including jazz standards and Ukrainian songs in various jazz styles, as well as their original compositions. Today they will share their work with us. So meet, on stage for you for the first time at the Toronto Ukrainian Festival, the “StarDust Jazz Duo”!

Victor Mishalow was born in Sydney, Australia and began to study bandura in 1970 under Peter Deriashnyj. In 1974 he studied with Hryhory Bazhul, a former student of Hnat Khotkevych. In 1978 Mishalow received a grant from the "Australia Arts Council" enabling him to continue his studies in North America with prominent emigre bandurists, including Peter Honchanenko, Peter Kytasty, Hryhory Kytasty, Leonid Haydamaka and Vasyl Yemetz. In 1979. Victor received a scholarship to attend the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Kyiv, where he studied with noted bandurist and professor Serhiy Bashtan. In Ukraine, he also studied with Heorhy Tkachenko, the last remaining bandurist to perform in the authentic kobzar tradition. He defended his PhD in 2009. In 1999 he was awarded the title of Merited artist of Ukraine. He has over 120 articles and publications to his credit. Victor Mishalow currently resides in Toronto, Canada. Victor is also the leader of the group Kobzari – a Toronto-based group of musicians interested in performing authentic folk music on traditional kobzar instruments (kobza, bandura, torban, lira) in a historically informed manner.

Vira Prut is a 28-year-old singer originally from Chervonograd city, Lviv region, and currently living in Toronto. She sang in various festivals in Ukraine and won a large number of singing competitions. Vira graduated from a music school in Ukraine where she sang in the choir and played saxophone in the school orchestra. She was also a member of a well-known Ukrainian singing school named Apelsin and attended a dancing school named Peremoga where she had the chance to travel all over the world. Her favorite song composer is Volodymyr Ivasyuk. In Canada, Vira participated in Vyshyvanka Day and was also a finalist of the Miss Ukrainian Canada competition.

The Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance is dedicated to fostering the art and joy of Ukrainian dance in children and youth in a community environment. The goals of Yavir are to provide its dancers and audience with an experience that is exciting, inspirational, and educational while encouraging interest in Ukrainian dance and culture. The School gratefully acknowledges the support of the community of St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church. So jump high, spin fast, and join us to catch the excitement of the Yavir School of Ukrainian Dance!