In 2022, Vlad Kostylev and a small group of other Canadians living in Nova Scotia with roots in Ukraine formed the Ukrainian Cultural Society here, or UCS, as a response to what was happening abroad. “That was when the active phase of Russia’s war against Ukraine started,” says Kostylev, who is president of the non-profit organization. Millions of Ukrainians were either fleeing an active warzone or were being displaced from their homes and coming to other countries, like Canada, to seek refuge.
Since its formation, the UCS has made it its mission to support local Ukrainian musicians and artists—both students and teachers—and lift up those artists’ talents through public concerts that direct ticket sales into the community through arts and music education scholarships.
At 6pm this Sunday Dec 15, the UCS is hosting its second annual Ukrainian Christmas Concert at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts at 6199 Chebucto Road in Halifax. Tickets are $25 and children ages 12 and under are free.
Kostylev says that, to date, the UCS has been able to help 20 Ukrainian students pay for music lessons and instruments. They do this by pairing students with musicians and music teachers from within the community, “most of whom are from Ukraine and can speak Ukrainian—which is very important,” Kostylev says, because many newly arrived students can’t speak English, and supporting the Ukrainian language is another part of the UCS’ function.
“Many people who are allowed to leave Ukraine,” says Kostylev, “have at least three kids and they need to find some kind of stability in their life.” Many are in the process of applying for permanent residence in countries like Canada.
The student-teacher pairings facilitated by the UCS also help to support Ukrainian music educators who are themselves recent arrivals and want to continue their careers here. Kostylev says finding teachers happens “through word of mouth in the music community, mostly” when he hears of new Ukrainian teachers arriving here and looking for work at places like Ekko Studio in Dartmouth or Long & McQuade’s music schools.
“It’s not a huge community,” says Kostylev, who estimates there are 300 members of UCS, “but I would say it’s a significant community. We’re organizing everything on our own as a group of volunteers.
“Ukraine is part of me, so this is why we’re doing this.”
Kostylev is also a musician and plays the violin in the adult orchestra at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. He says it’s existentially important to support the Ukrainian language, scholarship and culture in a time when, as UNICEF reports, 2 million children have fled Ukraine and 2.5 million have been internally displaced from their homes. These children endured the same interruptions to learning as everyone did during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have continued to face massive interruptions as many displaced children continue studying online if they’re not able to enroll in local schools.
Says Kostylev, that and the fact that many Ukrainians who fought and died on the front lines “were artists, musicians and scientists so forth, as people with deeper beliefs in Ukraine, Ukrainian culture, Ukrainian language—a lot of them were killed, so there have been enormous losses in this war.
“This is why we feel very strongly that we need to help Ukraine preserve this cultural heritage, the language, and the musical institutions and culture. The most likely people who carry this forward are the children, so our focus is on helping, primarily young children who are eager to learn or continue their studies here.”
Natalia Torishnia is a mother of four who moved here with her family in 2022. She will be emceeing Sunday’s concert alongside Kostylev. Three of her children are school-aged and play musical instruments: Serhii who is 13, Sasha who is 9 and Maria who is 6. All three have been matched with teachers through the UCS and performed in last year’s Christmas concert. Serhii is currently without an in-person piano instructor as his previous teacher, Natalia Pavlovska, recently retired. Both Sasha and Serhii also take piano lessons twice a week online.
“Despite the difference in time zones, our Ukrainian teacher Inna Yurievna Yakovenko teaches all three kids via Zoom twice a week, and she finishes classes with my kids after 9:30pm in Ukraine,” says Torishnia. “Because of her dedication, we can keep going as well and stay connected to Ukraine and maintain language and culture—otherwise, kids would forget where they are from.”
Fundraising concerts like Sunday’s go to scholarships to support in-person lessons for Ukrainian students, starting with $300 in support payments sent directly to teachers and music schools. Then, the UCS and teachers discuss how to best offer students with an interest and a financial need access to long-term funding. “So far, we have distributed close to $10,000 in scholarships,” says Kostylev.
Thanks to help from the Maritime Conservatory, Kostylev’s community of musicians, as well as businesses Wiltshire Financial Group and Soika, this year’s concert will be able to send the majority of funds raised through tickets or donations at the door to more student scholarships.
Kostylev says the future goal is for UCS to become a registered charity. “Because of our cultural focus, we’re a perfect candidate and, as a result, we’ll be able to fundraise much more and help many more people.”
This year’s concert will begin with a student recital, including siblings Serhii and Sasha who will be playing piano and violin. Sasha will perform a piece on violin with her music teacher who is also from Ukraine, Inna Klymenkko. Serhii will play “Melody,” composed by Myroslav Skoryk, which has become well-recognized in recent years as a spiritual hymn for Ukraine.
The students will be followed by well-known Ukrainian musicians, including professional opera singer Oleksii Fishcuk, who will perform with the visiting Ukrainian Children’s Choir; singer, songwriter and singing therapist Olena Yanchuk; and singer, songwriter and composer Anna Kykonova, who is actively involved with the UCS and will perform with Karyna Roik. There will also be a grand finale sung by all a capella.
Kostylev says the concert will feature a real mix of classical, traditional and contemporary music. “A lot of them are very close to the souls of Ukrainians who will be attending, but we also pick pieces that are universally beautiful and for anyone who doesn’t understand the Ukrainian language, so those who don’t know a lot about Ukraine can understand the beauty and the value of this culture and support it.”
This article appears in Dec 1-18, 2024.
