NUMBER 83 November 2017 626 BATHURST ST. TORONTO, ON ISSN-0703-9999

Just look at what we’re up to!

All inside this issue of the Bulletin…

• This year’s Annual Concert, April 30 at St. Michael’s Centre for the Arts cele-brated 150 years of Canadian diversity

• The tmo’s first-ever Fall Classic all-clas-sical concert presented just last month

• The World Premiere of Toronto Man-dolin Orchestra: 60 Years of Diversity – a documentary film telling the rich history of this unique musical group

• An upcoming Choral Concert featur-ing the Shevchenko Choir and Common Thread community choir

As you can see, we’re busier than ever, tackling a more challenging and diverse repertoire, and reaching out to the broader artistic community in Toronto…

But none of this is possible without your support. Please support the important and ambitious cultural work of the Shevchen-ko Musical Ensemble, Toronto Mandolin Orchestra and Shevchenko Choir.

…donate today!

Annual Concert page 6

Fall Classic page 4

Choral Concert page 9

…but none of it is possible without your support

Photos by Wayne Gilbert GPS Photography

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A new stage for SMEThe Shevchenko Musical Ensemble has once again

had to search for a suitable theatre in which to stage its annual concert. The theatre at St. Michael’s School of the Arts, Bathurst and St. Clair, where we’ve been performing for a number of years, is no longer available for rent by the general public.

One might think that in a city the size of Toronto, which has numerous theatres from which to pick, it shouldn’t present a problem for a performing group like the Ensemble. However, besides cost being a major deterent, an auditorium of 1,000 or more seats would not be realistic even although an ensemble of choir, orchestra and dance group requires a large stage.

Cardinal Carter Arts School, with a large stage and more intimate auditorium, answers the needs of the Ensemble. A real plus is that the theatre is also on the subway line, with only a very short walk from the Yonge and Sheppard station. Although there is no parking available on the school grounds, there is ample street parking in the area.

For a comparison, those who have been attending Ensemble concerts for many years will recall our performances at Leah Posluns Theatre, north of Sheppard on Bathurst Street, which was not close to the subway. So, traveling to Yonge and Sheppard by subway will be much more convenient than some of the other locations we’ve used.

Our first appearance at Cardinal Carter will be June 16. Accompanying the publicity for that concert, we’ll send out detailed directions to our new stage.

Cardinal Carter Academy of the Arts

Legacy of lifelong supporters

The most valuable asset of any charitable organization is people – people who support the organization by attend-ing concerts and events, by donating funds, and by volun-teering in many and various ways so that the organization may prosper and continue to grow and develop.

Over the many decades since inception in 1972, the Guild has been the grateful recipient of immense moral and financial support from thousands of people. Among these many generous donors were Stanley and Olia Shaw, a lovely couple who would be seen at all Ensemble concerts and events – at picnics, banquets and meetings and gather-ings of Club 626 Seniors. They appreciated fine music and theatrical arts and never missed a season at Stratford or their local drama theatre.

Both born in Manitoba, Stanley and Olia (Paladichuk) didn’t meet until both their families moved to Ontario in the 1920s. They met in Windsor during the Second World War and were married in 1944.

Stanley was a draftsman who worked at Ontario Hydro. Olia, a skilled seamstress, was a Home Economics high school teacher whose specialty was sewing instruction.

Stanley and Olia purchased a bungalow in the Pape and Danforth area of Toronto where they lived their entire lives. They had no children, but enjoyed time with their nieces and nephews.

Olia died at the age of 93 and Stanley, having just passed his 100th birthday, died in 2015. Faithful to his love for the arts, Stanley left a substantial bequest in his will to the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, the Canadian Stage Company, and the National Shevchenko Musical Ensem-ble Guild of Canada.

The larger part of this generous gift to the Guild will go towards furthering the cultural work of the Ensemble, which will have a profound impact on its future. A portion will also be put towards urgently needed repairs and refur-bishment for our premises at 626 Bathurst.

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Club 626 Seniors UpdateAnother fun barbecue and a fresh voice on Remembrance Day

Once again in August, a large crowd of Club members and friends gathered at the home of Stan and Evelyn Nazarec for the annual “Garlic Fest” barbecue. This event has become very popular, not only for the tasty lunch, complete with homemade pastries, nor for the camaraderie among old friends, but also for the chance to win heads of fresh garlic grown by Stan himself. Even in his senior years, Stan continues to grow a beautiful and varied garden full of vegetables and flowers in addition to a large patch of garlic. This event would not be the same without his garlic, and the Club extends a huge thank-you to both Stan and Evelyn for hosting this event year after year.

On November 8, the Club’s meeting was dedicated to Remem-brance Day. Last year, in a joint event with the auuc, young people from a neighbouring high school were invited to partic-ipate. This year, as the government of Canada is marking 100 years of the Battle of Passchendaele (1917-2017), Joshua Kautto, a 13-year-old Grade 8 student who has a passion for war histo-ry, particularly wwi, was asked to speak to the gathering. After a moment of silence at 11 o’clock, Josh delivered an extremely well-prepared speech tracing the events of the “war to end all wars”, including the participation of Canadian troops.

In his closing remarks Josh said: “They said it would be the war to end all wars: sadly it was not.

Over 20 million people lost their lives in that war and for that we remember them. But most of all we remember the soldiers who fought for our freedom, the soldiers who sacrificed their today for our tomorrow. And we remember our Canadian men who fought a war that did not even affect them but through their courage and strength won it with every last drop of blood, sweat and tears in a manner that is truly Canadian. We thank you.”

Josh was commended for his very fine presentation which was followed by questions from Club members. This special day of remembrance was topped off with a delicious lasagna lunch.

The festive season would not be complete for the Club without its Annual Christmas Party. Sponsored by Club 626 Seniors, this year the party will welcome participants of the Shevchenko Mu-sical Ensemble, Guild members as well as Club members. It will be held in the Golden Lion Restaurant (adjacent to the King’s Garden Banquet Hall) at 15 Canmotor Ave. Doors will open at 12:30 and lunch will be served at 1:00 pm. Tickets are $35.00 each and can be ordered by calling June Morris (416-447-5962) or Florenz Seychuk (905-625-3708).

Watch for notices of meetings and events of the Club in the new year. New members are always welcome!

Photos

Top: Club 626 at Garlic Fest barbecue hosted by Stan and Evelyn Nazarec (photo by George Rayko)Above: Joshua Kautto addresses Club 626 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele (photo by Wayne Gilbert, GPS Photography)

A lthough the repertoire of the To-ronto Mandolin Orchestra has always included a broad range

of genres, the “Fall Classic” held on Sun-day, October 29 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Cen-tre for Faith, Justice and the Arts, was its very first all-classical concert. Performed for a large and enthusiastic audience, the program presented works by some of the most loved composers such as Beethoven, Grieg, Vivaldi, and Rachmaninoff.

Setting the pace for the afternoon, the orchestra opened with a lively perfor-mance of Rossini’s Overture to the opera Barber of Seville.

The first of the concert’s guest artists, Wanes Moubayed and his 15-year-old daughter Anna Maria, were joined by the orchestra in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins.

A Syrian of Armenian descent, Wanes Moubayed was a music teacher before coming to Canada. He worked with El Sistema Armenia and was also founder of the “Artist Project” in Syria, where he taught children the Suzuki violin meth-od. In addition to instructing, Wanes was concert master and artistic director of Gomidas Chamber Orchestra in Alep-po, Syria, until the outbreak of war. His daughter, Anna Maria, is the two-time silver prize winner of the Renascence In-ternational Competition held in Armenia and has received numerous other awards. This father-daughter duo, accompanied by the tmo, was warmly received by the appreciative audience.

The tmo completed the first half of the concert with the haunting 2nd Movement of Beethoven’s Symphony Nº 7 followed by two parts from Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite – the lyrical Morning Mood and the fierce, even frightening, In the Hall of the Mountain King.

The dramatic crescendo of the 10 open-ing bars to the first movement of Rach-maninoff’s Piano Concerto Nº 2 were but a prelude to the magnificent performance

of 14-year-old Richard Gao, a scholarship student of The Taylor Performance Acad-emy for Young Artists, The Royal Conser-vatory of Music (rcm).

The musicality and flawless technique of this young man was breathtaking and the audience responded accordingly, bring-ing him back for an encore during which he performed Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor.

Richard has won many international and national competitions, has performed at a number of prestigious theatres, and was the youngest pianist to perform with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Roy Thomson Hall.

As time goes by, I am sure that Richard Gao will become a household name for classical music lovers and all who appre-ciate outstanding talent.

Selections from the Bizet-Shchedrin Carmen Suite – Dance and Torero – were beautifully performed by the orchestra, as was Massenet’s lovely Méditation from the opera Thais with resident soloist Ira Erokhina on domra.

Guest artist Wanes Moubayed returned to a warm welcome to perform Lulla-

by and Dance of the Rose Maidens from Khachaturian’s ballet suite Gayaneh.

Domra virtuoso Ira Erokhina and the tmo brought the concert to a rousing fin-ish with Concerto for Domra and Orches-tra by Russian composer Anatoliy Losku-tov. In both solo works on this progam, Ira was once again outstanding and received well-deserved, enthusiastic applause for her shining performance.

As mentioned, this was the first time the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra under-took an all-classical program. And this first-time experience was made even more memorable with special guest appearance by Meesha the Cat, obviously a resident of the theatre who seemed to enjoy the performance immensely as she sauntered back and forth in the balcony.

Members of the tmo can be justly proud of their performance of this challenging all-classical program, but kudos must go to Artistic Director and Conductor Alex-ander Veprinskiy, not only for his amaz-ing arrangements for the mandolin fami-ly, but also for his talent and capabilities as a teacher and conductor.

by Ginger Kautto

First Fall Classic a big hitGuest artists, an all-classical programme and a music-loving cat made this a show to remember

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First Fall Classic a big hitGuest artists, an all-classical programme and a music-loving cat made this a show to remember

Dear Maestro.I would like to say thank you for the opportunity given to me and my daughter to perform with your wonderful orchestra. It was really pleasure to play with the orchestra, the love that dominates the spirit of the orchestra is phenomenal. I missed it when playing with other orchestras and it reminds me the spirit of my orchestra in Syria.Great job Maestro.

Wanes Moubayed, violinist

Alexander,On behalf of Richard and our entire family, I would like to sincerely say thank you to you and Toronto Mandolin Orchestra for providing such a wonderful opportunity to Richard to perform Rachmaninoff Concerto No.2 in the Fall Classic Concert on Oct 29, 2017. Richard performed very well, and the entire concert was outstanding and very successful, to me, your conducting is second to none. Congratulations!

Kevin Gao, father of Richard

T hank you notes

5

Photos (clockwise from top left)

Ira Erokhina and tmo; Wanes and daughter Anna Maria Moubayed, violins; Richard Gao, piano; right, Meesha the Cat(top three photos by Jerry Dobrowolsky)

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As Western Canada continued to open and offer its riches, among the new settlers, of course, were our Ukrainian forebears. To represent these newcomers, the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra performed Lev Kolodub’s Kolomeyky from Hutsul Sketches. The Shevchenko Choir and orchestra followed with Mother’s Cherry Tree (Ma-myna vyshnia) and the old favourite, Unharness the Hors-es, Lads (Rozpryahaite khloptsi, koni). And to the delight of the audience, the Desna Ukrainian Dance Company excelled in its performance of the traditional Hopak.

The second half of the concert was dedicated to those who made a contribution to the growth of Canadian cul-ture. Oscar Peterson’s Hymn to Freedom, embraced by the world as the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, was

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The Annual Concert of the Shevchen-ko Musical Ensemble, held on April 30th to mark 150 years of Canada,

was a fine representation of our founding nations and of those who came as immi-grants, not only to make it their home, but to cherish and nurture this land.

The concert, under the artistic direc-tion of conductor Alexander Veprinskiy, opened with a resounding rendition of O Canada followed by O Lovely Land, words by Canadian poet Joe Wallace. As the program flowed, the artists and selections were linked through a narration delivered by Master of Ceremonies Larissa Stavroff, setting the tone for a concert honouring those who shaped this land:

“O Lovely Land… the land we call Canada, our home …was nurtured for thousands of years by the Indigenous Peoples, preserving nature and all its beauty for those who were to follow - the explorers, and later immigrants who came to make this dream come”

Representing Indigenous peoples was world champion hoop dancer, Lisa Odjig. Her amazing performance, spinning while twirling up to a dozen hoops at a time, was frequently interrupted by en-thusiastic applause. Her presentation left no doubt that she is the true world cham-pion of this Indigenous tradition repre-senting creation, unity and balance.

The French, who were among the first Europeans to arrive, were represented by the lovely singing of Mon Pays by soloist Tanya Podolskaya.

As the early French and other Europe-an settlers intermarried with Indigenous women, a rich new culture was born – the Métis. The audience was treated to a medley of Indigenous and Francophone fiddle music by the Métis Fiddler Quartet – a group of four talented siblings of the Delbaere-Sawchuk family who are them-selves of Métis descent.

Canada’s diversity on display at Annual Concert

performed by the choir and orchestra. In a tribute to poet/songwriter Leonard Co-hen, the ensemble performed his moving Hallelujah.

To connect east and west of this vast land, a national railway was built primar-ily by Chinese immigrant labour under extremely harsh conditions. In tribute to all the Chinese immigrants who have helped build Canada, the award-winning pipa player, Kate Tian, performed with or-chestra Spring over Tian Shan Mountains to enthusiastic applause. The Ensemble’s wonderful soprano soloist, Adele Kozak, performed Quando m’en vo from Pucci-ni’s La Boheme in recognition of Italian immigrants who brought not only their delicious cuisine, but a classical musical culture, loved by all.

People from all over the world have made this country unique by developing

its national identity through embracing the culture of others. Domra virtuoso Ira Erokhina performed Sha! Shtil! based on Jewish folk songs, and the entire En-semble, with tenor soloist Hassan Anami, performed the ever-popular Russian folk song Kalinka.

We Rise Again, an anthem of resil-ience and hope by Leon Dubinsky, was performed by choir and orchestra as the narrator introduced A World is Born from A Feast of Thunder by Morris Surdin: “…we rise again to make right the mistakes of the past, to create a more just future for all…”. With these words, the entire Ensemble and guest artists – Indigenous hoop dancer Lisa Odjig, the Métis Quar-tet, and the Desna Dancers with Country Dance – brought this moving concert to a rousing close.

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Photos (clockwise from top left)

Kate Tian, pipa ; Shevchenko Musical Ensemble; Métis Quartet; Lisa Odjig, hoop dancer; Country Dance by Desna Ukrainian Dance Co.

All photos by Wayne Gilbert, GPS Photography

Above: Ira Erokhina, domraRight: Adele Kozak, sopranoFar right: Hassan Anami, tenor

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Choirs Ontario was established in 1971 to promote, sup-port and celebrate choral music in the province. Last year, this venerable and important organization needed to find new accommodations. Upon learning that Choirs Ontario was in need of office space, the Shevchenko Board was able to offer the use of a large room on the second floor of our building at 626 Bathurst Street. By last April, after a general cleaning and repurposing of the space by Guild volunteers, it was made ready for Choirs Ontario. It’s a win-win arrangement: the ex-tra funds help the Guild in its artistic programs and Choirs Ontario has a stable location from which to continue its work.

By offering a wide variety of programs and services that raise the profile and quality of choral music, the organization provides growth and development opportunities for choral musicians and administrators throughout the province. By providing resources and learning opportunities, including training programs, it facilitates the development of skills and knowledge for choristers, conductors and administrators. Its website offers online resources such as an extensive music li-brary, a quarterly newsletter, a workshop for adult choristers as well as choral-management workshops.

Its key program, the Ontario Youth Choir, also founded in 1971, has provided a unique opportunity for young singers to develop their choral skills and work with some of Canada’s finest choral conductors.

Choirs Ontario also celebrates the achievements of choral music through several awards programs. These include the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting, The Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition and the Presi-dents’ Leadership Award.

Elena Koneva, current administrator of Choirs Ontario, is no stranger to the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble as some years ago, she was a member of the Kaniv Dancers.

You can find out more about this worthy organization at choirsontario.org.

Grand Final1000 Club

Draw WinnersJune 29, 2017

License #M790095

$100 Nº 428 Olga Kovalcik Nº 545 Ira Erokhina Nº 284 Rob Rennick Nº 143 Mike Matwichuk Nº 129 Wes Spiers $500 Nº 451 Virginia Evans $1,000 Nº 320 Lisa McIlmoyle

…and that’s a wrap!

The last few years, the Final 1000 Club Draw has been held at the end of June so that our lottery season matches our per-formance season. Rehearsals are off till fall and the season-ending annual concert of the Shevchenko Ensemble is a wrap, so what better time to have a party!

On June 29, members of the Board of Directors and Artistic Committee, top sellers of 1000 Club tickets, and specially invited volunteers gathered for a “season wind-up” luncheon. It was pot luck with each person bringing one of their favour-ite dishes: a real smorgasbord of delicious salads, wraps, pastas and meat dishes.

Following the lunch, Florenz Seychuk and Pat Ignacz conducted the Final 1000 Club Draw, awarding a total of $2,000 to seven lucky winners.

The next 1000 Club lottery will be launched early in the New Year, so watch your mail for notice of this popular and important fundraiser. Besides giving you a chance to win money each week, your participation helps sustain the cultural work of this unique Canadian ensemble.

We’re happy to welcome Choirs Ontario to our second floor space

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A Choral FeastShevchenko Choir finds common cause with Common Thread

Blended voices of the Shevchenko Choir will once again resound throughout the beautiful sanctuary of Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre on Sunday, January 28, 2018. The rich program will include songs of peace, freedom, inclusion and resilience with a special tribute to Paul Robeson.

Joining the Shevchenko Choir will be Common Thread, a chorus which “pro-motes a sense of community by perform-ing joyful and empowering music.... mu-sic that celebrates the dignity of all peo-ple and their struggles to create a better world”. A more suitable choice for this collaboration could not be made, for this vocal group holds the same values and sentiments as the Shevchenko Choir.

Readers of the Bulletin are well ac-

quainted with Alexander Veprinskiy, ar-tistic director of the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble. Now in his 21st year with the Ensemble, he is not only conductor of both the choir and orchestra, but is also an educator and great inspiration to the singers and musicians.

Isabel Bernaus, artistic director of Common Thread, was born in Catalonia, Spain, and trained as a musician in Eu-rope and North America. Her education and experience have established her as an accomplished and reputed conductor and music educator.

Isabel speaks several languages and is familiar with classical and folk-music traditions from many cultures. A strong believer that music should be accessible

to everyone, she has conducted several choirs with a wide range of singing expe-riences as part of her lifelong involvement in promoting education and music.

The January 28th program will feature such selections as Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child and Ol’ Man River, – both made popular by Paul Robeson – as well as traditional Ukrainian, Jewish and other songs. As in previous choral con-certs, young, talented instrumentalists will also be featured.

Watch for notice of this concert early in the New Year, or call the Ensemble at 416-533-2725 to pre-order tickets, perhaps as a Christmas gift for family or friends.

Choral ConcertSHEVCHENKO CHOIRAlexander Veprinskiy, Artistic Director & Conductor

COMMON THREAD Community Chorus

Isabel Bernaus, Conductor

Songs of sharing, inclusiveness and peace with a special

tribute to Paul Robeson.

Sunday, January 28, 2018 • 4:00 PMTrinity-St. Paul’s Centre

Call 416-533-2725 for tickets or info

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Remembering Steve Koruna

Steve Koruna, a long-time member of the Shevchenko Male Chorus and active participant on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Guild, passed away on June 12, 2017 at the age of 94. Steve and his wife Mary (Keniak) who played in the orchestra, were not only per-formers, but also active members of the Ensemble, sharing with us unforgettable moments in rehearsals, concerts, meet-ings and social events.

As the resident comedian in the male chorus, Steve with his sharp wit would of-ten have the cast of 100 burst out laughing during a rehearsal much to the chagrin of the conductor. Steve was also a quiet, un-pretentious man who gave generously of himself, to his family of four sons, as well as to his fellow workers and colleagues in the Ensemble.

In addition to serving on the Board and Executive, Steve was among a group of men who donated many volunteer hours to the renovation and later the mainte-nance of 626 Bathurst. The renovation was headed by Joe Cook and Steve Soldat and the crew that continued to keep the centre in shape over the years included Joe Cook, Ronny Boychuk, William Ross, Ron Shto-kalo, George Kirlik, and Alex Zuk in addi-tion to Steve Koruna. Steve will be fondly and lovingly remembered by all who had the honour of knowing him, working with him, and sharing life’s precious mo-ments with him.

Published semi-annually with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council Issued by the National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada, a federally incorporated charitable cultural institution, Reg. Nº 11905 1910 RR0001626 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5S 2R1 416-533-2725 • info-sme@bellnet.cashevchenkomusic.comEditorial: Ginger Kautto, Larissa Stavroff Layout & Design: Byron Kautto

Sunday, November 26, 2017• 2pmAnnual MeetingNational Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada626 Bathurst Street

Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017 • 12:30 PMClub 626 Seniors Christmas PartyGolden Lion Restaurant15 Canmotor Ave • $35 for tickets call June Morris (416-447-5962) or Florenz Seychuk (905-625-3708)

Monday, Dec. 11, 2017 • 7:30 PM Toronto Mandolin Orchestraand Vocal Soloists at Delmanor Prince Edward Seniors’ Residence

Sunday, January 28, 2018 • 4:00 PM Shevchenko Choir andCommon Thread Community ChorusWith a dedication to Paul RobesonTrinity-St. Paul’s Centre427 Bloor St. W$30 Adult • $15 studentVISA orders add $2 per ticket

Sunday, February 18, 2018 • 2:00 PMShevchenko Choirat Christie Gardens Seniors’ Residence

Sunday, March 25, 2018 • 3:30 PMToronto Mandolin Orchestra presents“Peter and the Wolf” with visual effectsTrinity-St. Paul’s Centre 427 Bloor St. W

Monday, May 7, 2018 • 7:30 PMToronto Mandolin Orchestraand Vocal Soloists at Christie Gardens Seniors’ Residence

Saturday, June 16 • 7:00 PMShevchenko Musical Ensemblepresents “Reflections”, a cultural display, through song, music and dance of our diverse society.Cardinal Carter Academy of the Arts36 Greenfield Ave (Yonge and Sheppard)

Upcoming events

In Fond Memory

The National Shevchenko Musical Ensemble Guild of Canada

gratefully acknowledges contributions in memory

of the following:

Anne Shack2017

Steve Koruna2017

Gillian Budd-Thompson2017

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A large, enthusiastic and appreciative group of people gathered on Sunday, Sep-tember 24 for the World Premiere of To-ronto Mandolin Orchestra: 60 Years of Diversity – a documentary film about the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra. They were greeted by the film’s director, Norm Saw-chyn, and served a light appetizer course with wine.

Master of Ceremonies, Larissa Stav-roff, greeted the audience and began by describing just how this amazing project came to be. It was only made possible because Norm Sawchyn, director, and Aldo Columpsi, cameraman, graciously donated their valuable time and exper-tise to produce it on a pro-bono basis. A third crew member, Malcolm Hamilton, was hired to assist and Norm’s wife, Bet-ty-Ann (who was also present), dedicat-ed endless hours transcribing the hours of interview footage. This creative team wove together interviews with current members, hundreds of archival photos

and other documents, and scenes of To-ronto streets showing the city’s incredible diversty to tell the history of this unique and important musical group. Normally, productions of this scale and calibre cost tens of thousands of dollars, but thanks to the generosity of its creators, it was pro-duced at a fraction of the cost.

Larissa went on to say that “we owe a great debt of gratitude, not only to Norm, Aldo and Malcolm, but to eleven individ-uals and Club 626 Seniors who responded to our appeal for donations. And last, but not least, to Ginger Kautto without whose creative vision, talent, tenacity and end-less hours of work we would not be here today celebrating this momentous event.”

After the appetizer reception, the big moment had arrived. The house lights came down and the film was projected on two large screens on either side of the hall. The hall’s sound system delivered the soundtrack clearly and loudly. As the film played, the audience responded to each new scene with sighs, sometimes chuckles and variations on, “Oh yes, I remember that!”. Before the credits were over, the au-dience had burst into loud, warm applause in appreciation of the heartwarming story of the Toronto Mandolin Orchestra and the Shevchenko Musical Ensemble.

The film recalls and relives the early decades of the orchestra and chorus un-der the leadership of founding Artistic Director Eugene Dolny. It takes the view-er through the years with Andrew Mar-kow as Conductor and the significant role played by Concertmaster and Assis-tant Mary Kuzyk and tells the story of the building of the Guild’s centre at 626 Bathurst Street by volunteer labour con-tributed by members of the Shevchenko Male Chorus in which one found all the necessary industrial trades. The film con-tinues to the present day, introducing the viewer to Alexander Veprinskiy, current Artistic Director, and reprises the history of teaching young people the mandolin

from the early 1920s to today.The film is both emotional and heart-

warming, especially for current members or those who participated in the orches-tra or chorus at one time, and many were brought to tears as the story unfolded.

Following the screening, Norm spoke about the film and took questions from the audience.

This documentary – a first for the En-semble and perhaps for any mandolin or-chestra in this country – is a treasure, not only for the current musicians and singers and those who had the pleasure of being part of this ensemble at one time, but truly a treasure for all of Canada.

Get your own copy!

Find out how on the

back page

World Premiere of TMO docFilm telling the 60-year story of the TMO elicits smiles, tears

Norm Sawchyn speaks about his filmPhoto by Wayne Gilbert, GPS Photography

Treasure it forever

Toronto Mandolin Orchestra: 60 Years of Diversity tells the story of this one-of-a-kind orchestra, tracing its roots from the Ukrainian community in Toronto, through a period of growth, innovation and transformation, and maturing into a diverse, multicultural, truly Canadian musical collective. Through interviews with current members and by delving into archival sources, we see how a group of dedicated amateurs can thrive and grow over a span of decades by coming together around a simple, yet powerful idea: that we’re better when we share our experiences as nations, as cultures, as people.

DVD

$30Blu-Ray

$35Makes a great Christmas gift!

Order yours today!

This beautifully produced film is an im-portant piece of work, not just for the tmo, but for all of Canada. As a 1st generation Ukrainian Canadian from western Cana-da, I had never heard of the tmo. At the screening, I was totally overcome with emotions hard to describe – awe, love, and fierce pride that this beautiful mandolin orchestra existed, and a little sadness that I never knew about the tmo before. Nor, I imagine, do a lot of other people outside of Toronto. This is why I believe this work is so important – more Canadians need to see this film and experience the beauty of the music, the orchestra’s sense of community and the way in which it embraces diversity as demonstrated by the talented perform-ers (old and new) from so many ethnocul-tural backgrounds. This is truly a remark-able film that adds to the many contribu-tions of Ukrainian Canadians and all the friends tmo has embraced.

Donna Woloshyn, Regina, SK

The film is a delightful and nostalgic work of art.

- Adele Paraschuk, Club 626 Seniors

This brilliant documentary shows how the group has transformed the music of the ‘humble’ mandolin from its Ukrainian roots into one that has become truly di-versified and multicultural. The scope and significant value of the archival material collected over the years is also amazing.

-Jane Steckle, Calgary, AB

I was very impressed with this film which is made with talent, pride and love. The unique story about a group of people united by playing mandolins was really ex-citing. I am proud to have been part of this project. And I am very grateful to my dear Canadian friends for all these years of deep friendship and love that mean so much to me and my family!

Tamara Volskaya, domra virtuosoBrooklyn, NY

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