Sixty years ago, Vesnivka Choir stepped onto the Toronto music scene – young girls whose voices were uncertain but full of promise. Their conductor, Halyna Kvitka Kondracki, wasn’t much older but had clarity of vision and purpose – to share her passion for Ukrainian choral music and culture.
A content creator and influencer long before the Internet and TikTok, Kondracki’s acuity, stewardship and commitment to musical excellence were aspirational. Little did she know then that Vesnivka would blossom into an internationally acclaimed women’s choir and cultural tour de force, connecting the Ukrainian diaspora to its roots. Nor could she have imagined that she would empower generations of women, giving them a voice and creating a family bound by song. I was fortunate to be part of that sisterhood for almost 40 years, and despite the passage of time, the sense of belonging has endured far beyond being on the Vesnivka stage.
Then, in 2016, I took a walk down memory lane, attending a rehearsal in the basement of St. Nicholas Ukrainian School, where Vesnivka’s and my musical journey had begun, and sharing my homecoming in The WholeNote. Fast forward ten years, and I’m excited to hear about Vesnivka’s 60th season, which was launched at the annual Christmas concert. The choir has never sounded better.
Afterwards, I spoke with Kondracki, curious as to what has sustained the choir’s success and longevity when other arts and culture groups have been shuttered or are struggling to survive. “Vesnivka members are extremely loyal,” says Kondracki. “Many have been in the choir for more than 30 years. I’ve been very lucky: supportive women sharing the music we love with the world; a great team of volunteers from the choir; and a board of directors taking care of everything behind the scenes.”
Discipline is key. “You can’t be a successful choir without it.” Kondacki runs weekly rehearsals with precision. It’s no coffee klatch. Programs and schedules are set a year in advance, “and we roll up our sleeves.” Rehearsals are purposeful, focused and members are expected to be prepared. Vocal workshops are ongoing, and Kondracki’s door is always open to help members who don’t have formal musical training or can’t read the music. Ukrainian lyrics are transliterated as needed.
Commissioning
But it’s not all work and no play. Throughout every season, the choir finds ways to celebrate its successes, of which there have been many during the last decade alone. For the 50th anniversary, for example, Vesnivka commissioned a new liturgy by Canadian composer Roman Hurko. It was sung at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, where Vesnivka had performed its first mass five decades previously. “It had a great impact on all of us,” says Kondracki. “His liturgy was very moving and spiritual.”
In 2017, Vesnivka joined the Orpheus Choir of Toronto and artistic director Robert Cooper commissioned a new work, Golden Harvest, by another Canadian composer, Larysa Kuzmenko, to mark the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. The program included John Estacio’s The Houses Stand Not Far Apart. “It was a magnificent concert and a wonderful experience for Vesnivka. Collaborations with other choirs, conductors and composers inspire us to do better.”
A second tour of Ukraine in 2019, before the pandemic and Russia’s invasion, was as emotional as the choir’s first. “Concert halls were filled with people who were so happy that we, as Canadians, were preserving the Ukrainian language, customs and traditions.”
COVID and Beyond
Never one to rest on laurels, Kondracki continues to propel the choir forward, through thick and thin. Even a worldwide pandemic couldn’t silence Vesnivka. “COVID was our biggest hurdle, and we didn’t know how long it would last,” she says. The solution was simple. Vesnivka members brought their own chairs to rehearsals, which were held in Kondracki’s backyard and in the parking lot of a community centre. When inclement weather forced members indoors, they joined online via ZOOM, keeping the choir connected and singing. After restrictions eased, members wore masks and followed distancing rules.
Then, when war did break out in Feb. 2022, Vesnivka was front and centre at events across the GTA to raise awareness about the Russian invasion and suffering. Members were deeply moved after performing A Prayer for Ukraine, the country’s spiritual anthem, in Dundas Square. Prayer for Ukraine Concert - Dundas Square.
Vesnivka continues to support the war effort, raising funds to help Ukrainian children affected by the war and to purchase medical supplies for soldiers injured on the frontlines. Kondracki couldn’t believe the line outside St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica as concert goers waited for the doors to open for a sold-out Christmas concert in 2023, dedicated to Ukrainians who arrived in Canada after Russia invaded their homeland. Featured guests included the St. Michael’s Choir School and the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus, as well as the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir. “The audience wound all the way around the church. It was amazing to see such support.”
Vesnivka survived and continues to flourish, staying true to its cause as it renews itself, fostering new talent, expanding repertoire and attracting new audiences. It’s a strategy that is tried and true. Each year, Kondracki scours archives for new music and often commissions Canadian and Ukrainian composers to create works that engage and challenge the choir.
Old favourites and new songs will be featured during Vesnivka’s Diamond Jubilee concert on March 29. The world premiere of an epic work by Ukrainian composer Maksym Kuchmet will be presented by Vesnivka and the Canadian Bandurist Capella with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company on April 26 at a memorial concert marking the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster (link to vesnivka.com for details).
“New music excites me. It moves and uplifts,” she says. “You can’t keep repeating the same repertoire. The choir would get bored.”
Old and New
Vesnivka’s reputation continues to attract new voices, most recently from Ukraine. Among them is Liliia Yaremchuk. She and her husband immigrated a few years ago and settled in Niagara Falls. A friend who sings in the choir suggested she attend a concert. “The music was so beautiful,” she recalls, adding that some of the songs in Vesnivka’s repertoire are those her grandmother sang to her. It brought her to tears. “Ukrainian music touches the soul.”
After a busy day, Yaremchuk often plays the piano to relax. “It helps me disconnect and be in the moment.” Singing has the same effect, but getting to rehearsals isn’t easy. Every second Tuesday, she hops on the GO train from Niagara and heads into the city. After practice, a choir friend drives her to Burlington, where Yaremchuk’s husband picks her up for the last leg of the journey home. On alternate Tuesdays, she joins rehearsals online. The effort is well worth it.
Another new face is Nazar Lozynskyy. He only knew two people when the family arrived in Canada. One of them was Kondracki, who welcomed them with open arms and helped them settle. He was no stranger, having performed with Vesnivka while on tour with the Ukrainian National Boys’ and Men’s choir Dudaryk in 2018. Lozynskyy was immediately impressed with the high level of professionalism. His own portfolio is impressive, as a gifted soloist and Dudaryk’s long-time head choirmaster.
Since arriving in Canada, he was named assistant conductor and is a soloist with the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir, established by Kondracki in 2001. On Sundays, he is a cantor at Toronto’s Holy Protection Mother of God Ukrainian Church and assistant conductor of the church choir at St. Nicholas. For the last three seasons, he has been a member of the Canadian Opera Company Chorus. His wealth of experience made him the ideal candidate to serve as Vesnivka’s first assistant director. He understands the music and the spirit of Vesnivka, and is a natural in the line of succession, says Kondracki.
“I thought I would retire last year, but my kids asked ‘why?’” she says with a laugh. “I suppose if I couldn’t think or hear or raise my hands and arms to conduct, then I would. I’m not there yet.” And for her, there is no greater satisfaction than seeing choir members enjoying themselves and singing well during a rehearsal and performance.
“We’re doing it better and better, but there’s still more to learn and to be done.” There’s unfinished business too, namely the reconstruction of Vesnivka’s e-library. Once it’s back up and running, the collection will make Vesnivka’s vast repertoire accessible to music lovers worldwide, free of charge.
The first phase focuses on the early music, most of it unpublished and only available on the choir’s e-library, says Lesia Komorowsky, who manages the project. The music was originally written for boys’ and men’s voices. Kondracki rearranged it for Vesnivka. “If not for the e-library, it would be lost forever.”
Like many members, Komorowsky took a break from the choir to raise her children. “My heart tugged every Tuesday,” she says, so she returned a few years later. Travelling with the choir was always a highlight, but it was the music and “poetry of the language” that captured her heart. “Vesnivka is also the only connection I still have with Ukrainian language and culture – to my roots.”
Olenka Wasley is the longest-standing member of Vesnivka and hasn’t missed a single season. “For 60 extraordinary years, I can truthfully say that this has been one of the most delightful joys and proudest achievements of my life,” she tells me. “It has always been a genuine pleasure, season after season, to unite with other choir members in harmony and spirit.” For her, each season has been a celebration of community and enduring delight in singing together. The success of this great choir has been built in no small measure upon the willingness, the cooperation of all members, but especially the drive, resilience and creativity of the founder and conductor Kvitka Kondracki. Congratulations to the sparkle that leads us ahead in the Diamond Jubilee year.”
The 60th season is just beginning, and Kondracki is already planning for what’s next. “I got this drive from my parents,” she says, adding she, too, has found her voice, thanks to Vesnivka. “I’m not afraid of speaking out to right a wrong, and I will fight for my choir. I do.
And I defend my culture because I believe multiculturalism is very important – it built this country. Our parents and all those who came before built this country. Like them, I can be a good Canadian and a good Ukrainian too.”
She’s doing it one song at a time.
Leslie Ferenc is a former member of Vesnivka Choir and continues to champion its musical and cultural mission.
