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13 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ • Грудень 2022 We defend our freedom. To live. To love. To sound. Fill the silence with your music. Support Ukraine in any way you can. Any – but not silence. And then peace will come. These memorable words, spoken by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the 2022 Grammy Awards, are quoted at the start of a video released a few months ago that features members of 10 children’s choirs from around the world jointly performing Ukraine’s national anthem, in English. When russia brutally attacked Ukraine on February 24, the choirs wanted to support Ukraine and raise consciousness about the situation unfolding there. To do so, the partici - pating choirs – Cape Town Children's Choir (South Africa), Glasgow Youth Chorus (Scotland), Grand Philharmonic Chil - dren's Choir (Canada), Sing and Shine Choirs (Finland), The Singing Tree (India), Chamber Girls Choir of the Kyiv Lysenko State Music Lyceum (Ukraine), ChildrenSong of New Jer - sey (USA), Young Voices of Colorado (USA), Grande Prairie Children’s Choir (USA), and Spectrum Youth Singers (USA) – made a virtual recording of a beautiful, singable English translation of the Ukrainian national anthem (lyrics by Pavlo Chubynsky, music by Mykhailo Verbytsky). The translation Oksana Rodak, Artistic Director, Spectrum Youth Singers; Director, Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent (ODUM) School of Bandura; Co-Artistic Director, Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America A screenshot from the virtual recording of children’s choirs around the world performing an English version of the Ukrainian national anthem. was by Ukraine-based Canadian Lidia Wolanskyj. Ban - dura accompaniment was provided by a trio from the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America: Oksa - na Zelinska, Oksana Rodak, and Lesya Klimchenko. For the joint video, the choirs made recordings in their respective countries/locations, and these recordings were then expertly edited and produced by 15-year- old Bohuslav Lucenko, a member of Spectrum Youth Singers in Illinois. The video premiered on May 15, 2022, with many positive comments and a great deal of moral support for Ukraine. It shows not only the hopeful faces of the young singers but also historic cities, beautiful landscapes, a Taras Shevchenko mon - ument, and the Mariupol Drama Theater before its destruction by the russian forces. It concludes with a field of sunflowers symbolizing peace. You can watch the recording and all the credits on YouTube: https:// youtu.be/rK4MtZClv0I The Association of American Youth of Ukrainian De - scent (ODUM) in Chicago has been preserving and promoting the art of the bandura for many years. In March, three members of the ODUM School of Ban - dura – Anastasia, Bohuslav, and Victor Lucenko – sang the Ukrainian national anthem at the Elgin (Illinois) Solidarity with Ukraine Proclamation. Recently, the ODUM School performed at the CSA (Czechoslovak Society of America) Fraternal Life President's Banquet at the Chicago Marriott in Oak Brook, Illinois. The au - dience of non-Ukrainians listened attentively to the performance of folk and contemporary songs, infor - mation about Ukraine, and a brief history of the ban - dura – the national instrument of Ukraine, a source of power, pride, and courage – and gave the young ban - durysty a standing ovation for their performance. The School also took part in Chicago’s Ukrainian Independ - ence Day celebration at Navy Pier (performing “Let’s Sing a Song for Ukraine” by Oleksander Ponomariov), in Ukrainian Cultural Exploration Day at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, and in the Arlington Heights Heritage Festival in Illinois. THE BANDURA The ODUM School of Bandura received a standing ovation for their performance at the CSA Fraternal Life President's Banquet at the Chicago Marriott in Oak Brook, Illinois. Our Music Is Our Strength
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