Contest-Festival
1.5.2018
The Vocal and Choral Contest-Festival “Khai Pisnia Sklykaie Druziv” found a new house in the beautiful walls of the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University.
A very important and significant event for Chernivtsi was the 9th International Vocal and Choral Contest-Festival “Khai Pisnia Sklykaie Druziv”, which after three years of silence resumed its work in Bukovina.
The history of creating a musical youth forum begins in 2007. It was then, in Luhansk, the contest was held for the first time at Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University and was held for eight consecutive years at the initiative of the Assistant Professor Olga Churikova-Kushnir. During this time, the vocal-choral forum gained international status, found friends from different countries of the world, significantly expanded the geography of the participants. In 2014, the festival took place in Luhansk city for the last time. Today the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University took over the relay of this significant musical event.
Despite the fact that the Contest-Festival “Khai Pisnia Sklykaie Druziv” resumed its work in Bukovina, leading experts of the Information Technologies Center of Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University, members of the organizing committee Anna Zvereva and Olena Esaulova continued to organize and conduct the contest. Head of the Department of Musical Art and Choreography of the Institute of Culture and Arts of LTSNU, Honored Artist of Ukraine, Doctor of Art History, Professor Andrii Stashevskyi joined the jury. The Director of the festival events was the Associate Professor of the Department of Journalism and New Media of the Boris Grinchenko Kyiv University Alina Lisnevska.
The grand opening of the Contest-Festival took place on April 23 in the Marble Hall of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University. The event was attended by the chairman of the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration Oleksandr Fischuk, the chairman of the Chernivtsi Regional Council Ivan Muntian and many other guests. The Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine congratulated the organizers and participants on the resumption of the music forum. At the opening ceremony, a symbolic transfer of the relay race from the Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University to the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University took place. “I am especially pleased that Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University passes us the International Contest-Festival “Khai Pisnia Sklykaie Druziv”, – the Rector of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University Stepan Melnichuk said. – “Consider that the Luhansk forum in Bukovina will be in safe hands.”
The jury member, head of the Music and Choreography Department of the Institute of Culture and Arts of Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University Andrii Stashevskyi said: “We, the people of Luhansk, are very happy that today the festival has come to Bukovina land … The festival is held under the slogan” East + West = Peace”. It is about the unity of our people – cultural, mental, and national. In this context, the festival has yet to fulfill its mission.” On these words the representative of Lugansk University passed the baton to the festival to the Rector of the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University.
The Contest-Festival lasted almost a week, from April 23 to April 27, 2018. About 140 teams attended participation in the event. More than 850 participants demonstrated their vocal and choral skills in five categories: “Academic Solo Singing”, “Variety Solo Singing”, “Folk Singing”, “Ensembles” and “Choral Singing”. This year there were no age restrictions for the participants. Another feature of the festival is the name of the first cosmonaut of independent Ukraine Leonid Kadeniuk, who during his lifetime supported the idea of holding this creative event on his native land – Bukovina.
The jury included choirmasters-teachers, composers, social and political figures, representatives of creative intelligentsia, including Konstantin Rusnak (Moldova), Ivo Bobul (Ukraine), Aurelia Simion (Romania), Andrii Stashevskyi (Ukraine), Alla Kozyr (Ukraine), Liudmyla Gavrilova (Ukraine), Christian Dreo (Austria), Xia Juan (China), Andrea Angelini (Italy), Natalia Filipchuk (Ukraine).
The program of the contest-festival was full of not only competitive auditions, but also interesting events in various concert halls of Chernivtsi. Most of the competition auditions and festival events took place at the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, which is located on the UNESCO World Heritage site – the residence of the metropolitans of Bukovina and Dalmatia.
So, within the framework of the Vocal And Choral Contest-Festival “Khai Pisnia Sklykaie Druziv” a concert of sacred music took place in the temple of the Three Saints in the Residence territory, a night festival, as well as concerts of nominees of “Academic Solo Singing” and “Variety Singing”.
All the contestants received certificates and booklets, and the winners were awarded with the festival logo. The laureates of the second degree received valuable gifts, and the laureates of the first degree received cash prizes. The development of the corporate style of the Contest-Festival, as in previous years, belongs to Olena Esaulova (Center for Information Technologies of Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University).
The contest ended with the Gala Concert, which was held at the Chernivtsi Academic Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after Olga Kobylianska. Vasyl Ilashchuk, People’s Artist of Ukraine, became the host. Traditionally, the winners of the first stage and the winner of the Grand Prix, who received money prizes from patrons, politicians, public figures of Kyiv and Chernivtsi, took part in the final concert. In particular, the owner of the Grand Prix – the Choir “Subito” of Chernivtsi Regional College of Arts named after S. Vorobkevych received a cash prize of 10 000 UAH from the Kadeniuk family. In addition, Chernivtsi patrons presented an electronic piano to the Music Department of the Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University.
Anna Zvereva,
Information Technologies Center of LTSNU