NUMBER 58 APRIL 2005 626 BATHURST ST. TORONTO, ON ISSN-0703-9999

Alexander Veprinsky Artistic Director • Andrei Pendik Dance Director

Culmination of a successful season Another successful season for the Shev-

chenko Musical Ensemble winds up with the presentation of its Annual Concert at Leah Posluns Theatre on May 1.

Over 100 singers, musicians and dancers in the Shevchenko Choir, Toronto Mandolin Orchestra and Kaniv Dancers will present an exciting program refl ecting the Ensemble’s traditional Ukrainian/Slavic roots, as a well as world, classical and Canadian music.

Outstanding instrumental soloist, Iraida Erokhina will astound with her virtuosity on the Russian style 3-string domra. The beautiful and resounding solo voices of Helen Spiers, Inga Fillipova, Herman Rombouts, John Nieboer and Mark Fox will fi ll the hall.

The Shevchenko Choir and Mandolin Orchestra, directed by Alexander Veprinsky, join forces to perform new arrangements by Veprinsky, among them the Finale from A Feast of Thunder, words by George Ryga, music by Morris Surdin.

The orchestra will perform The Great Gates of Kiev from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and will dedicate this to the memory of Nikolai Kalinin, late Artistic Director of the world renowned Osipov Folk Orchestra of Russia from whom the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra received the original score.

The highly energetic Kaniv Dancers in brilliant attire will leap, swirl, twirl and fl y in fast-paced traditional ‘hopaks’ and other choreographic treats.

This concert is an event not to be missed. Whether you are young or older, of Slavic heritage or another, you will fi nd a refl ection of your spirit, your soul, in the song, music and dance of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble.

Tickets are now on sale. Gather your family and friends and enjoy this unique program of cultural diversity. See page 12 for details of venue and tickets.

SHEVCHENKO MUSICAL ENSEMBLE

‘Mandolins of the World’ travel to Peterborough

The Shevchenko Ensemble took its Mandolins of the World concert series on the road last month with a performance in Peterborough at the Showplace Theatre. Produced in conjunction with the Peterborough Concert Association (for whom the TMO previously performed in 2003), the show was also supported by grant funds from the Imperial Tobacco Arts Council.

Like the fi rst editions of MOTW (May and November 2003), the concert was organized around a theme of southern and eastern European music. In addition to the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra, the concert featured Croatian tambura stalwarts Skitnice, and eurofolk fusioneers Beyond the Pale.

Led by Mark Spisic, Skitnice warmed things up with a 20 minute set of Croatian folk music. As one audience member remarked after: “I felt like I was sitting by the Adriatic sea under a lazy summer sun.” Indeed, Skitnice expertly conveyed the simple beauty of Croatia’s folk music with its happy dance rhythms and bright major key melodies. Spisic provided fascinating background information about his group’s unique instruments, fulfi lling part of MOTW’s important educational mandate.

Beyond the Pale followed with their unique blend of Klezmer, Romanian, Balkan, and original music. The group

See MOTW page 5

Tax DeductibleCharitable Registration Nº 11905 1910 RR0001

2

Bequeath your musical instrumentPerhaps you played the mandolin as child and your instrument now sits high

up on a shelf, or hidden in a closet, yet the notalgia of your youth prevents you from selling it or giving it away at this time.

If parting is diffi cult now, consider bequeathing the mandolin (or any other musical instrument) to the National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada in your will.

Giving your instrument as a gift will put it in the hands of a youngster who today aspires to play the mandolin. It will give the mandolin a new lease on life, it may even once again perform on stage to the delight and pleasure of others.

Of course any bequest in your will, or making the Guild a benefi ciary of a life insurance policy, is an effective way of helping to assure the continuance of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble and will be greatly appreciated.

TMO soloist appears at Accordion Spectacular Last September an interesting, and un-

usual, event took place in Hamilton. Rich-ard Szymczyk of ‘Accordions Exclusive-ly’ , where you will fi nd Canada’s largest stock of Excelsior accordions, produced a concert featuring the accordion.

Szymczyk, himself a winner of the Solo Canadian Championship, is pas-sionate and very knowledgable about the accordion – it’s history, including it’s popularity and subsequent decline in Canada. However, the accordion is now enjoying increasing popularity and good teachers for it are in great demand.

Szymczyk’s passion for the accordion was evident in the elaborate display in the lobby of old accordions, accordion sheet music, programs and photos of accordion virtuosi both in Canada and elsewhere.

The concert was co-sponsored by FestItalia, an annual festival of Italian music and culture held in Hamilton.

One of the main guest artists was imported from Italy for the show. Roberto Lucanero was a wiz on the Diatonic, a folk type accordion where each note plays two different notes depending on whether the performer pulls or pushes the bellows (something like a harmonica).

This is a challenge since the player must manipulate the bellows carefully to ensure the right note is being played, as well as the correct key is pushed.

Lucanero was astounding as he sang at the same time as he played fast-paced folk songs and dances from different regions of Italy on his tiny Italian accordion.

In Italy Lucanero is a popular perform-er, a conductor, an ethno-musicologist and a much sought-after consultant on folk music and dance.

Imported from the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra was Iraida Erokhina, master of the 3-string domra.

Ira completed her education at the Rus-sian State Academy of Music in Moscow, and was senior lecturer at that institute. For many years, she was soloist with the Osipov Folk Orchestra of Russia, and was recorded for radio and telelvision.

She was a prize winner in the All-Russian Competition in St. Petersburg in 1979.

While resident in South Africa Ira was awarded fi rst place in the classical and folk sections of the International Eistedd-fod, a music festival in South Africa.

Ira’s performance was received by loud and persistent applause by the audi-ence seated in cabaret style in the Studio Theatre of Hamilton Place. Amazed by her impeccable technique, they shouted for more of the fi ne musical duo of Ira and Alexander Sevastian, a virtuoso on the bayan, who accompanied Ira’s program and was the next guest artist to appear.

Alexander Sevastian then took the stage and again brought the house to resounding applause in appreciation of his challenging program.

Born in Minsk, Belarus, Alexander graduated from the Glinka School of Music in Minsk to the Gnessin School of Music in Moscow where he received his Master’s Degree in performance.

A three-time fi rst prize winner in international competitions, he performed with the Moscow Radio Orchestra, and as soloist with orchestras in Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Moving to Canada in 2001, Alexan-der completed the Advanced Certifi cate in Performance from the University of Toronto studying with Joseph Macerollo. He is currently the acordionist (bayanist) with Quartetto Gelato in Toronto.

Congratulations to Richard Szymczyk for his persistent efforts in re-awakening interest in the variety of beautiful music producd by the accordion, a sometimes maligned and misunderstood instrument. Alexander Sevastian, bayan

Iraida Erokhina, domra

songs of labour, love and friendship.The first set, performed by the

Shevchenko Choir under the direction of Alexander Veprinsky contained Ukrainian traditional and popular Russian songs. This included I Love You, Ukraine with soloist Herman Rombouts, presented at a time when Ukraine was unhappily divided in its struggle for a prosperous and democratic future.

Common Thread, under the direction of Isabel Bernaus, began with Freedom is Coming, a traditional South African polyphonic chant. This was followed by an Irish Blessing and Bread and Roses honouring women tradeworkers throughout America.

The Kaniv Dancers, directed by Andrei Pendik, brought the house down with the lively Hopak, finishing the first half.

One of the outstanding selections presented by the Shevchenko Choir was Counting the Days (Lichu v nevoli), music by Sichinsky to the words of Taras Shevchenko in which he counts the days

The joining of voices in the ‘spirit of friendship’ between Common Thread: Community Chorus of Toronto, the Shevchenko Choir and Kaniv Dancers of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble was a very successful collaboration.

One might wonder what it is that binds these two diverse organizations, what it is they have in common.

Common Thread, a multicultural community chorus formed in 1999, is dedicated in today’s world to “changing the world one song at a time”.

The Shevchenko Choir, over an entire generation, performed songs of friendship, brotherhood and peace. Both choirs boast a repertoire rooted in folk songs which reflect the cultural diversity of Toronto and Canada. Both choirs welcome members of any cultural background.

The concert, held on Saturday, December 4 in the Al Green Theatre of the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre in Toronto, presented folk songs and dances,

3

Choral & dance collaboration Shevchenko Choir, Kaniv Dancers and Common Thread in concert

to freedom while in exile in the Far East. The piece is truly a Ukrainian classical treasure and was performed exceptionally well by the choir with soloist Mark Fox.

The Kaniv Dancers filled the stage once again with flashing colour and passionate movements in Gypsy Dance of Moldova.

Common Thread returned with We Do the Work, and a sing-a-long inviting the audience to participate.

Both choirs joined together for a grand finale singing a Ukrainian folk song, The Deep Well (Hlyboka Kyrnytsya), a Cuban lullaby, Duerme Negrito, and O Lovely Land with music by Sweetman, words by Canadian poet Joe Wallace.

Thanks go to the coordinating com-mittee of Risa Levinson and Angelina Mihaljcic of Common Thread, Eric Stein and Ginger Kautto of Shevchenko Musical Ensemble, and all who worked to make this concert a fine success.

Encouraged by this event and the mul-ticultural choral concerts of the past in which the Shevchenko Choir participated, the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble will continue to pursue such concert collabora-tions with other cultural groups in Toronto.

Discussions are now underway on a proposal for the Shevchenko Choir and the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir to join forces next season in a concert to mark the 60th Anniversary of the the end of the Second World War. Shevchenko Choir conducted by Alexander Veprinsky

Common Thread: Community Chorus of Toronto conducted by Isabel Bernaus

You won’t win a million dollars…but you could win often in the

1000 Club Lottery

4

Joe Perkell, who passed away on January 6, 2004, was a devoted member of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra (Shevchenko Musical Ensemble) who played in the first mandolin section of the orchestra for 38 years.

Joe loved and supported Canadian culture in general, attending symphony concerts, the opera and ballet. But he particularly loved his mandolin, which he learned to play as a child in the early Jewish community of Toronto, and on which he enjoyed playing and performing music of many genres.

Seldom missing a rehearsal or concert, Joe travelled throughout Ontario with the

Never forgotten… Shevchenko Musical Ensemble appearing on many prestigious stages, including the National Arts Centre, Ontario Place Forum and others. Joe was also part of the SME performing group which toured Ukraine in 1970.

Joe was a very kind and compassionate man, a modest man who preferred to make his presence seen and felt rather than heard (except for his mandolin).

He was also an extremely generous man who freely shared what he could. His family had established and developed a successful company of building construction and maintenance.

When the Guild was in need of a refrigerator for the building, Joe was asked if he could scrounge up a used one which would do the Guild just fine.

Three days later a brand new fridge arrived with his compliments.

Joe attended orchestra rehearsals while he was ill but not yet diagnosed as having advanced myloma.

In his generous spirit, Joe left a bequest of $25,000 to the National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada upon his death. A portion of his bequest will go towards the poduction of the new CD of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra as part of its 50th Anniversary. The CD will be dedicated to the memory of Joe.

Joe Perkell will be sorely missed and never forgotten by his fellow musicians, his friends, in the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra and Shevchenko Musical Ensemble. ❐

Early 1970s: Joe seated beside Walter Sharabu-ra, also a devoted, passionate and much loved member of the orchestra who died in 1973.

Late 1970s: During a rehearsal for an evening performance in Ontario Place Forum, Toronto.

Early 2000s: Joe performing in the Annual Concert of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble.

Licence Nº M212265

a$30.00ticketbuysyou189chancestobeawinner•14weeklydrawstotaling$500inprizemoney

•aGrandFinalDrawwith7prizestotaling$2,000•allwinningticketsarereturnedtothedrumeachweek

Agoodwaytohavefunandachanceatwinningcash.AnexcellentwaytosupporttheNationalShevchenkoMusicalEnsembleGuildofCanadainitsmaintenanceoftheShevchenkoMusicalEnsemble

andSchoolofDanceandMusicforchildren.

Call 416-533-2725 to order your lucky ticket

just released a new live CD entitled “Consensus” a few months ago, and they delivered a thrilling set featuring songs from this latest recording. Highlights included the Romanian folk dance Calusari, the Jamaican-Jewish Khasen Jah, the Serbian gypsy tour-de-force Mesecina, and genre-defying original compositions by Eric Stein and Bret Higgins (both of whom later performed double duty as the bass section for the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra).

Following intermission, the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra delivered a high-powered set of folk and classical music from Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, and Spain. Featured soloists included the TMO’s resident domra whiz Ira Erokhina performing Sarasate’s Gypsy Aires

MOTW from page 1

Beyond the Pale has just released ‘Concensus’, a new CD containing Klezmer, Romanian, Balkan music and original compositions by members of the band.

Toronto Mandolin Orchestra is preparing for an exciting 50th Anniversary celebration (2006) which will feature a new double CD, the first a retrospective of numbers from performances in the past 50 years; the second CD to include some of the finest of the orchestra’s current reper-toire and a live recording which will take place in the Glenn Gould Studio of the CBC, on November 26, 2005.

ThanksThe National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada would like to acknowledge the kind assis-tance of Imperial Tobacco Canada Arts Council in the presentation of the Mandolins of the World series in Peterborough.

This grant made it possible for concert goers of Peterborough to experience a very unqiue combination of artists and traditional instruments in an exciting program of folk and world music.

5

and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee. Guest balalaika expert Nikolai Tichtchenko, delighted the audience with his rendition of Budashkin’s Variations on a Russian Folk Song. The TMO was in particularly fine form, and other highlights of the set included Mussorgsky’s Great Gates of Kiev, the Hungarian Gypsy-tinged Overture from Kalman’s operetta Countess Maritsa, and of course the rambunctious and reliable crowd-pleaser Pedlars.

At a reception after the concert, members of all three performing ensembles mingled with the public and the organizers from the Peterborough Concert Association. Audience members universally professed great enjoyment of the concert, remarking particularly on the variety in the great music being presented.

Mandolins of the World continues to be an engaging concept for audiences and it is hoped that shows like this one might be taken on the road to communities throughout the province in the future

Banquet honours seniors “Active in their 80s”

6

Last November 7 a large crowd gathered at the beautiful King’s Garden Banquet Hall in Toronto for a very special event, a banquet to honour eleven seniors who are still active in their 80s.

Every community organization has a solid core of supporters who are the backbone of the organization, people who devote time and energy to keeping the organization alive and healthy.

In recent years the Guild honoured many leading activists who held executive positions on the Board or other commit-tees and who gave many years of service.

As a multi-generational organization the Guild is particularly proud of the number of octogenarians who continue to be active in the Guild, the Seniors Club and the Ensemble, each making a unique and valu-able contribution.

Following beautiful salon music by viloinist Nancy Borusiewich-Christie and cellist Tony Christie, and a delicious dinner, the program began with a number of speakers – Florenz Seychuk, Ginger Kautto, Bill Morris and Edna Rigby – who related the valuable contribution and ac-tive participation of each of the honourees.

Two of those being honoured for their years of participation in the Ensemble, and on various committees of the Guild, were unable to attend.

Walter Tomosky, a longtime and devoted member of the orchestra, recently fell ill and was recuperating in Ottawa. Members of his family attended the ban-quet on his behalf.

Sid Dolgay, an active member of the orchestra for many years, who also served as Chair of the Artistic Committee for a period of time, and was involved in the volunteer renovation of Guild headquar-ters, was away in Florida.

We introduce these active members in this photo display, with our sincere thanks to photographer Wayne Gilbert for his professionalism and kind generosity.

Mary Kuzykwas awarded the Canada 125 Medal in 1994 in honour of her more than 50 years of service in music in the Ukrainian and general com-munities. Now in her 86th year, as talented concertmistress Mary is still the ‘glue’ that holds the orchestra musicians together.

Bill Rosshas been a dedicated supporter and volunteer with the Guild since inception, serving on com-mittees, working at fundraising events, in theatre lobbies, preparing the large annual wall calendar at the office.

Ruth Buddis a professional musician who is ‘giving back’ to the Ukrainian community by playing in the TMO, serving on the Artistic Committee, and volunteer-ing for an array of jobs and events.

Olga Stewartis a sincere, hardworking woman who takes an active part in Club 626 Seniors and volunteers for the Guild on fundraising events. She was a regular runner for the Guild’s charity bingos.

Pinnie Saigerafter many years of playing in the orchestra, serving on the Guild’s Board and Executive, is still an active volunteer selling CDs in theatre lobbies, working ‘front of house’.

Ferguson MacKenziehas been an active chorister and soloist for many years with the Shevchenko Male Chorus, as well as the current mixed voice choir, giving leader-ship by his very presence.

Bill Kumhyris always eager to help on fundraising projects, at the charity bingos, and as usher/ticket taker in theatre lobbies. He also serves on the Audit Com-mittee of the Guild.

Marge Hunchikwas a member of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra, and an active volunteer at events, for many years until recent health problems made it difficult to participate.

The Box family (Tomosky’s daughter Linda)

raised a toast to Walter in his honour. Tony and Nancy Christie provided great dinner entertainment.

Mary Woroszis a dedicated supporter and ready volunteer who tackles the hard work such as preparing meals in the kitchen at the Guild’s Annual Picnic. Mary is also active in Club 626 Seniors craft group.

Photos: Wayne G

ilbert

Toronto Mandolin Orchestra in concertThe Toronto Mandolin Orchestra’s

annual mid-winter concert took place at Leah Posluns Theatre on February 6. The concert included a varied repertoire of folk, world, and light classical music, with featured soloists Ira Erokhina (domra), Helen Spiers (soprano), and Herman Rombouts (bass). Serving as master of ceremonies was Rudy Wasylenky, conductor of the Welland AUUC Mandolin Orchestra and a long-time supporter and Board member of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild.

After the orchestra warmed things up with the Ukrainian folk classic Kolomeyka, Erokhina wowed the audience with her domra virtuosity on Vivaldi’s Winter from The Four Seasons, followed by a lightning-fast version of Flight of the Bumblebee. The afternoon was off to a roaring start.

The audience was kept further engrossed with wonderful solo vocal performances by Helen Spiers who sang Love Unspoken from The Merry Widow, and Herman Rombouts who performed the Russian Folk Song Vdol Po Piterskoy, and Go Down Moses.

A recent addition to the orchestra’s repertoire was the delightful Waltz by A. Petrov from the Russian film Beware the Auto! The first half of the concert closed with the orchestra once more in the spotlight, this time with a debut orchestration by Alexander Veprinsky of Mussorgsky’s The Great Gates of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition. The TMO dedicated this grand and elegant piece to the late Nikolai Kalinin, long-time Artistic Director and Conductor of Moscow’s Osipov Folk Orchestra from whom the TMO acquired the original score.

Following intermission, the program took a turn toward Italian music with two selections from Rossini’s famous Barber of Seville – the Overture performed by the orchestra and La Calunnia sung by Rombouts.

Spiers sang I’te Vurria Vasa followed by Rombouts performing Torna a Soriento. Then followed an interlude of “world” music as the orchestra played selections from South America, Greece and Spain.

Erokhina returned with an impressive version of Sarasate’s Gypsy Aires, and the afternoon came to a close with a rousing

rendition of the perennial crowd-pleaser Pedlars, based on Russian folk themes.

All in all it was a fine afternoon of music, enjoyed by an enthusiastic audience, many of whom were first-time SME concert-goers.

Bravo to maestro Veprinsky, the three fine soloists, and the orchestra itself on a job well done. ❐

Iraida ErokhinaDomra

Helen SpiersSoprano

Herman RomboutsBass

WantedHistorical Photos of the

Mandolin in CanadaAs part of celebrations of the

50th anniversary of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra, the SME is planning to publish a coffee table book about the history of the mandolin in Canada. This pictorial history will depict the popularity and use of the mandolin by a number of different personalities and in a wide variety of community settings: “ethnic” mandolin orchestras of the Ukrainian, Russian, Jewish, Balkan, Scandanavian, and other communities; mandolin groups, clubs, and societies formed at universities and other non-sectarian locales; vaudevillians, radio/television personalities and other early professional “stars” of the mandolin; modern mandolin innovators in folk, bluegrass, jazz and other music.

The book will be interspersed with historical commentary, colourful anecdotes, and profiles of key figures in Canada’s mandolin history. However, the photographs are the key and we need your help!

Do you have an old photograph of your grandmother’s mandolin orchestra? Or maybe the mandolin ensemble you yourself played in as a child or university student? Whatever you have, if it has a mandolin in it we would love to see it.

We’re also interested in hearing stories and anecdotes related to the mandolin, or any leads you may provide in hunting down materials appropriate for the book.

We will treat your photos with the utmost care and capture digital images of them before returning them to you. Contributors will be gratefully acknowledged in the book’s photo credits. Please contact us by phone (416-533-2725) or email (info-sme@bellnet.ca) if you can contribute to this unique venture.

7

It was such a treat to fly to Yekaterinburg, the city where we lived, to meet our friends, relatives and former students.

It was a great challenge for me to perform, with chamber orchestra, a new modern concerto by a very talented Russian composer Yefrem Podgats.

In the summer of 2004 we participated in the Shostakovich Festival in Bard College, N.Y., taking part in a production of two of Shostakovich’s operas: The Nose and Moscow: Cherry Tree Towers.

What’s Tamara Volskaya up to…Most Bulletin readers will remember with fondness the amazing performances of domra virtuoso Tamara Volskaya with the

Toronto Mandolin Orchestra. Her first visit to Canada, travelling from her home in Yekaterinburg, Russia, was in 1992. In 1996 Tamara and her family moved to Brooklyn, New York and she and her bayanist husband, Anatoliy Trofimov, have

been establishing a credible reputation as world class artists-performers, not only in the Russian American community but far beyond. As well as being known as the “Russian Duo” Tamara formed the “Russian Carnival Ensemble” consisting of five musi-cians, and a mandolin ensemble both for which Anatoliy does most of the arrangements.

In an article for the Balalaika and Domra Association of America Tamara wrote about their new life in America and their concert appearances. Because we are sure our readers would also be interested in Tamara’s career, following is the article in abridged form.

I remember our first meeting and performance with the New York Balalaika Orchestra in the fall of 1996. Later performances with the Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra. The next fall an unforgettable event occurred: the Russian Carnival Ensemble participated in a concert “America Salutes Moscow” in Carnegie Hall. A part of my dream came true! Here we were, on this great world renowned stage.

Seven years from this memorable event another great stage – the celebrated Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Centre presented Russian folk instruments with the Russian Carnival Ensemble.

In 2004 more of my dreams were fulfilled. Early in 2004 I got a call from the manager of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra with an invitation to be guest soloist with chamber orchestra to perform two concertos for mandolin by Vivaldi and by Pergolesi. I knew Vivaldi’s Concerto in C Major well, but the Concerto by Pergolesi in three movements passed through my repertoire many years ago. Nevertheless, I agreed and next morning I was sitting in JFK Airport waiting for my flight and practicing this concerto. Nobody paid any attention to me at 6:30 a.m., therfore I could learn this concerto even with dynamics. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to rehearse on the plane, otherwise I would have done that. So I played on an imaginery fingerboard during the flight.

I took my domra with me because I knew that the Pergolesi concerto sounded much richer on domra than on mandolin. I showed both instruments to the conductor and music committee of the Seattle Chamber Orchestra and they choose the domra for Pergolesi and we settled on playing Vivaldi on my new Pandini mandolin.

I enjoyed every minute in Seattle: the ideal acoustics in the beautiful 2,500 seat Benaroya Hall, the musicianship at the rehearsal and respect for the soloist, the fast tour of the city.

Conductor Christian Knapp, a very skilled and talented musician, paid attention to all details of the music while following the soloist’s interpretation. Although he had never worked with mandolin before and had never seen a domra, it felt as if we had performed together many times before.

Finally the time of performance came … can you imagine a capacity audience that gives you a standing ovation in the middle of the program? It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I thought about my parents, and how happy they would have been to see me there performing with such a famous orchestra in the renowned Benaroya Hall.

The next wonderful event was the tour in March of the Russian Duo (my husband and myself)) to Russia, our first trip back since moving to the United States.

by TAMARA VOLSKAYA

see TAMARA page 10Tamara Volskaya and Anatoliy Trofimov

The Nose (1927) is one of the greatest achievements of the young composer. How wonderful it is that Shostakovich used domras and balalaikas in the orchestration of this opera.

The story of the opera by Nikolay Gogol is a mystery in which the nose of Mayor Kovalyov leaves his face to live on its own in St. Petersburg. The first musical climax starts with a C-major chord that a group of four domras had to play loud enough to be heard over a 70-piece symphony. My pick cracked at once during the first performance!

Shostakovich gave a significant solo to the balalaika in the scene with Ivan, the Mayor’s servant. The producer decided to bring balalaika players on stage. That is how I became an actress! I was made up as a peasant woman and had to entertain drunk Ivan while he flirted with me. It was a lot of fun.

Then there was Moscow: Cherry Tree Towers. It is hard to imagine that both operas where written by the same composer. Cherry Tree Towers is completely different from The Nose.It is a reflection of the mid-60s in Russia, when ‘novostroyki’, or new homes, fast appeared far from the centre of Moscow. Full of naive enthusiasm, the story reflects the mood of Soviet people at that time.

8

Photo: H

eran Rom

bouts

President’s Report to Annual Meeting of Shevchenko Guild

When I think of previous Annual Reports that I have had the privilege to deliver as President of the Guild, this is one that caused me to think hardest of what I want to say. But before I go on, I want to thank all members of the Board for their help and support in getting to the contents of this report.

The membership of the Shevchenko Ensemble has undergone big changes since its inception (which is natural given that life and times change) and since the incorporation of the Guild.

Those who joined originally were instilled (by the AUUC) with an under-standing of how organizations function, how it is important that members partici-pate at all levels to achieve success and continuance of the organization.

We still have with us a small num-ber of those originals, people with that understanding and dedication. They are the ones who, for the most part, are in the leadership – on the Board and on various committees.

Many of the new members come from different places (for example, newcom-ers from Ukraine and Russia) and have a different perspective. They join the Ensemble to enjoy making music and performing, but don’t have the same dedication to the organization – to the Ensemble or Guild.

Most newcomers don’t see the differ-ence between the Guild and Ensemble. The Guild is the body that supports the Ensemble. If the Guild folds, the Ensem-ble dies. If the Ensemble withers away, there is no need for the Guild.

This report is about how the Guild – and that is you – has served as a sup-port to the Ensemble.

We have two basic choices: rejuvenate

Let’s start with the basics. What does it cost to keep the Ensemble alive? Ap-proximately $200,000 annually to run the Shevchenko Ensemble and Performing Arts School.

Through our concerts and fundrais-ing activities we bring in approximately $150,000. This gave us a shortfall of $50,000 in 2004.

Why was it different last year than in the past? In previous years we had the casinos which provided us with substan-tial support. That ended several years ago and left us with quite a dirth in our in-come. We have been struggling ever since to maintain the level of artistic leadership we acquired at that time and to continue to develop our programming.

Costs of doing business have risen, but many members continue to give as they did 20 or more years ago. Over the years we have also lost many strong financial supporters through death, and although we gain new supporters, they are people who attend our concerts, not people like the original group, the ‘old guard’ so to speak, who gave generously and also participated in our activities. Then the topper last year was the closing of the bingo hall which lost us approxi-mately $25,000 in annual income.

The School of Dance and Music at

two locations (Columbus Centre and Swansea Town Hall) this year brought in a total of $21,620 in fees, Swansea accounting for $7,450 and Columbus Centre for $14,170.

After counting in the feees paid to the two dance instructors (the music teacher is a volunteer), we are left with a small deficit. However, if we factor in the school’s estimated portion of rent, based on number of hours at Columbus Centre, there is a considerable deficit.

We could save money if we closed the school. But is that what we want? As a result of the school, we have experienced growth in the Kaniv dance troupe and there are three children and one adult in the mandolin classes that are now joining the orchestra. The annual concert pre-sented by the school and Kaniv Dancers has consistently made money and last year had a net profit of $1,530.

Although the Guild must still sub-sidize the school, it is our future, an integral part of us; and like the Guild maintains the entire Ensemble, we should continue to support and subsidize the school.

We may be able to cut costs if we can find another venue (in as convenient an area as we have) for the school, or the

Edna Rigby, Guild President

and develop, or wither away.

See RIGBY page 11

9

Mark your calendarSunday, May 1 • Annual Concert • Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Leah Posluns Theatre • 2:00 pm Be prepared! Another Silent Auction of art pieces, theatre tickets and other great items will take place in the lobby.

Sunday, May 8 • Let’s Dance… the Tango • A Comedy Dance Review presented by the Kaniv Dancers and Shevchenko students Betty Oliphant Theatre • 3:00 pm.

Sunday, June 5 • Toronto Jewish Folk Choir • Featuring The New Saga with Toronto Mandolin Orchestra as guest artists Leah Posluns Theatre • 7:00 pm.

Sunday, June 12 • Annual Shevchenko Picnic • Concert Program by children of the Shevchenko School of Dance Sloval Camp, Mississauga • from 12:00 noon

Shostakovich was under pressure from the government to write music that was simple, understandable and full of Soviet realism. So he did.

Anatoliy and I were part of an ‘orchestra’ that consisted only of two pianos and our duo. This was the idea of composer Dreznin, who was also the musical director, to put some ‘Russian flavour’ by adding domra and bayan sound to his piano arrangement of Shostakovich’s score. Producer Zambello’s creative fantasy had us acting again as well.

Before the Bard Festival we would never have believed that life could give us such an experience.

October 16, 2004 will always be the

TAMARA from page 8 most memorable day for the Russian Carnival Ensemble. A concert, ‘Russian Splendor’, which was held in Lincoln Centre’s Avery Fisher Hall, was organized in memory of the terroist attack in Osetya, Breslan and was a fundraiser for the children of Breslan.

Because our program was to be classical only, we performed music by Schnittke, Tchaikovsky, Rossini, Paganini and the Concerto by Budashkin. With the very first note by the Russian Carnival Ensemble we got a great response from the audience. The ensemble worked very hard in preparation for this concert, for our dream of playing in one of the most famous halls had come true. We were at our finest.

Our encore, Korobeyniki by Ditel arranged by Anatoliy Trofimov, was a little removed from the main idea of the program, but it was immediately recognized and accompanied by clapping to the end which brought the audience to their feet!

Invited by the Lyric Chamber Society of New York, I recently had a recital at Victor Borge Hall, the first time in America that I had a full concert

10

In AppreciationThe National Shevchenko

Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada

gratefully acknowledges contributions made

in memory of:

E. George2004

Winston Yonge2004

Jim Giffin2004

William Galange2004

Olga Nazarec2004

David Stein2004

John Jurowski2005

Joe Stavroff2005

Nick Lokun2005

Nellie Blatnyk2005

recital. It was a philharmonic repertoire and included numbers with piano accompaniment, solo pieces for mandolin and pieces with Anatoliy on bayan.

In February, 2005, Anatoliy and I were invited to play with Vladimir Tsypin, violinist from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, in the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall. We played Anatoliy’s arrangements of Russian and virtuoso tunes. We played to a full house and got a tremendous reaction to every piece. Unbelievable! It was such a happy moment – a hall of great acoustics full of people and a wonderful response.

In August I myself will go to Tokyo to appear with the Tokyo Mandolin Orchestra as I did two years ago. At that time I took a few CDs of my performance with the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra. They sold out so quickly that I had to ask the administrator of Shevchenko Ensemble to send more.

They have already asked me to come with even more TMO CDs as they are very popular in Japan. So, through my travels, the wonderful music of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra is being listened to by eager fans in Japan. ❐

The BULLETIN is published semi-annually with the support of the and City of Toronto through Issued by the National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada, a federally incorporated charitable cultural institution, Reg. Nº 11905 1910 RR0001 626 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2R1 • Phone 416-533-2725 • Fax 416-533-6348 E-mail: info-sme@bellnet.ca • www.geocities.com/shevchenko1951Editorial: Ginger Kautto • Editorial Assistance/Contributor: Eric SteinPhotography: Wayne Gilbert, Herman Rombouts, Gretta Rossi.

Club 626 Seniors welcome to the club!

The Club meets every first Wednesday of the month from 10:00 a.m. at 626 Bathurst Street. Guest speakers on a variety of health and political issues, a nice lunch in a friendly atmosphere.

Next guest speaker on Wednesday, April 6

JOHN BOYD on the topic “UKRAINE TODAY”

ANNUAL APPRECIATION LUNCHEONWednesday, June 1 at Canadiana Banquet Hall5230 Dundas St. W • Six Points Plaza

Call President Bill Morris for tickets • 416-447-5962

RIGBY from page 9

In closing I would like to say that the Guild has done its best for the Ensemble. It would be wonderful if more members would step forward to participate in the implementation of our plan.

As I said earlier, it is your call. Do we rejuvenate and develop further, or do we wither away? New, strong supporters and participants are needed, and that’s up to each of us.

Next year we will gather data on mem-bership of both the Guild and Ensemble, as well as our audiences and bring forth recommendations on how to proceed in the future. ❐

11

entire dance program. We have looked into this and didn’t fi nd anything possible for any less rent.

In recent years, we received two grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The fi rst was for $10,000 to undergo a review of our way of operating and to develop a business plan to enlarge our audience, as well as membership in the Guild and Ensemble in order to become more self-suffi cient. The second grant was for $89,900 over a three year period to imple-ment our business plan.

We have done a good job in that imple-mentation. We have increased our audi-ence and membership, have improved our way of doing business; we have upgraded 626 Bathurst, and have met, for the most part, the goals we set for ourselves. The unfortunate part is that we have not gained the substantial fi nancial supporters that we had in the past.

Because of these issues, we were in extreme fi nancial diffi culties in the spring of this year and made a special appeal to 35 Guild members to give additional dona-tions. Seventeen members responded with $9,480 in donations and $7,000 in interest free loans.

Even with this, things became impos-sible. Although we had cut our expenses to the bone, we ran out of money. The Administrator was not paid for months and bills were piling up.

Our largest asset is 626 Bathurst Street which today is worth $445,000. We still have a number of personal loans from members who, fortunately, have asked for no interest or who return the interest as part of their donation. We had a mortgage loan totaling $46,000. After substantial discussion by the Board, we decided to research a larger mortgage loan to replace the original mortgage and provide us with

cash fl ow while we pursue other sources of revenue.

We have begun planning the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary activities. They are on today’s agenda. The activities of the Grants Committee will also be reported on today.

TMO to appear with Toronto Jewish Folk ChoirThe Toronto Jewish Folk Choir, now

in its 80th year, has been a close frater-nal friend of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble for at least half a century. It not only shares a common perspective on life and culture, but now a common conductor as well in Alexander Veprinsky.

This year’s concert of the TJFC, to be held on Sunday, June 5 at Leah Posluns Theatre, will feature Di naye hagode (The New Saga) by Max Helfman and arranged for the choir by Alexander Veprinsky.

Helfman composed the work to a text by Itzik Feffer which celebrates the heroic uprising against the Nazis in 1943 by the Jewish Fighting Organization in the War-saw Ghetto.

Guest group to accompany the choir in this signifi cant work is the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra of the Shevchenko

The Choir will also perform a suite of Yiddish songs by Alexander Goldfad-den, the “father” of the modern Yiddish Theatre, arranged by Alexander Veprin-sky; Yiddish labour songs, Israeli Hebrew hit songs, two opera choruses, Song of the Polovetsian Maidens from Prince Igor (Borodin) and Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Nebucco (Verdi); and two Yiddish theatre songs, Der Alter Tzigayner (The Old Gypsy) and Abi Gezunt (As Long as You’re Healthy).

As guest artists, the TMO will bring a number of orchestral selections to the program. ❐

Musical Ensemble. The work has been orchestrated by Veprinsky for this occa-sion. The performance of this piece will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Toronto Jewish Folk Choir. Conductor: Alexander Veprinsky

Toronto Jewish Folk Choir

Toronto Mandolin

Orchestra

in Di naye hagode The New Saga

Sunday, June 57:00 pm

Leah Posluns Theatre4588 Bathurst St

ForticketsJeanShek•416-489-7681EddySterk•416-630-7717

12

Alexander Veprinsky Artistic Director • Andrei Pendik Dance Director

SHEVCHENKO MUSICAL ENSEMBLE

100performersinShevchenkoChoir,TorontoMandolinOrchestraandKanivDancers

LeahPoslunsTheatre4588BathurstStreet(nofSheppard)

Sunday,May1•2:00pmFolk,World,ClassicalandCanadianmusic

$24.00•$22.00seniors/students•$12children•Call416-533-2725•VISA

Let’s dance… the Tango

Comedy Dance Reviewa new dance production by Andrei Pendik to music from Dmitri Shostakovich’s Jazz Suite

Featuring the Kaniv Dancers and students of the Shevchenko School of Dance

Sunday, May 8 • 3:00 pmBetty Oliphant Theatre404 Jarvis Street (north of Carlton)

$17 ($15 seniors/students • $12 children)

416-533-2725 • VISA