2025 Musical CO-directors
oleh sozansky
Oleh Sozansky is a bandurist, Honored Artist of Ukraine, teacher, and artist.
He learned to play the bandura from Professor Vasyl Gerasimenko. He has two different ways of playing the "Kyiv" and "Kharkiv" type banduras. He presents his performance skills as a solo performer, a member of the duet
"Bandurna rozmova" and as a soloist accompanied by chamber and symphony orchestras.Since 2000, Oleh Sozansky has been a teacher of the department of folk instruments at the S.Krushelnytska Lviv State Music Lyceum. Since 2017, he has also been the director of the Vasyl Slipak Competition of Young Vocalists.
TERYN KYTASTY-KUZMA
Teryn is an NYC-based professional soprano and bandurist who specializes in classical, contemporary, musical theater, and folk repertoire. Teryn grew up within the incredible North American bandura community, where so much of her musicianship was nurtured from a young age.She is a founding member and the current Concertmaster of the Women's Bandura Ensemble of North America, and is the Artistic Director of the newly revived New York School of Bandura alongside Zoya Shepko. She is also the founder of Bandura for the Future (a new fundraising initiative in partnership with Ukraine Matters), which fundraises for several Ukrainian humanitarian aid organizations through private and public bandura concerts.
Board of directors
Mykola Murskyj
Mykola Murskyj is Director Advocacy at Razom for Ukraine, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping build a democratic and prosperous Ukraine. He also serves as Archivist of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America. He earned his Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University in 2017, writing his dissertation on Russia-Ukraine conflict. He was a U.S. Presidential Management Fellow with the Department of Homeland Security HQ in Washington, D.C., as well as at the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs. He has also been a lecturer in the Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine. Murskyj also holds master's degrees in physics from MIT and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.
Nick Deychakiwsky
Mykola (Nick) began his bandura studies in 1972 with Hryhory Kytasty in Cleveland,
Ohio.He played with the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America between 1974
and 1991, and again since 2017. From 2021 he serves as its Concertmaster. Since the
mid-1970s, Mykola has taught bandura privately, has been an instructor at numerous
bandura camps (including the first KS in 1979) and the music director of several of
them. Currently he is the administrator of the Detroit School of Bandura. Mykola has
written numerous arrangements and compositions for bandura ensembles. He holds Bachelor's Degree in Music Theory from Baldwin Wallace University and a Master of
Music Degree in Choral Conducting from Kent State University. He also has an MBA
from Columbia University and is a Senior Program Officer at the Charles Stewart Mott
Foundation.
Alexandra Holowatyj
Alexandra Holowatyj was the longtime camp director and administrator of Kobzarska Sich until 2018. A lifelong educator and lover of Ukrainian folk arts, Alexandra has been integral to the success and growth of Kobzarska Sich and bandura education across North America. She holds a Masters Degree in Theology from Notre Dame University and a Bachelor's Degree in Humanities from St. Mary's College.
Administrative team
Julian Hayda
Marketing & Strategic Partnerships Lead
Julian's heart has been tied up with Kobzarska Sich since 2005. Throughout the year, he's associated director of public engagement at Razom for Ukraine. Before that, he served as Coordinating Producer for NPR in Ukraine, managing a team of journalists telling the story of Ukraine’s defense against Russia before 30 million daily listeners. He first attended Kobzarska Sich in 2005, and performed with the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus from 2010 to 2018. Julian is particularly interested in the Kobzar tradition, Ukrainian baroque, and the ways those genres still have philosophical relevance to contemporary social Justice movements. He holds an M.A. in International Studies from DePaul University and a B.A. in Journalism and Film Production, also from DePaul.
Christina Hlutkowsky
Administrative Lead
Christina Hlutkowsky has been attending Kobzarska Sich since 2004 as a camper, counselor, and bandura instructor. She has been singing and playing bandura since age 10. Chrystia has taught private bandura lessons in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and at ODUM's Bandura Camp in London, Ontario. She holds a master's degree in Clinical Child Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University, where she is working on her doctorate. Chrystia is also a member and President-Elect of the Women's Bandura Ensemble of North America and has sung with the Zorya Ukrainian Female Vocal Ensemble in Cleveland, Ohio.
Sophia Charron
Social Media Lead
Sophia was thrown into Kobzarska Sich in 2014 and hasn’t left since. She’s been singing and playing music in a liturgical setting since childhood but she’s so grateful to have been given the opportunity to learn to play bandura at Sich. She has sang with the Zorya Women’s Ensemble of Cleveland and recently finished a degree in politics and philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Lesia Mahlay
Archivist and Alumni Relations Lead
Lesia knows All Saints Camp very well, first attending as a camper back in 2000, and working as a counselor, kitchen hand, and maintenance staff over the years. She’s worked with kids at camps, classrooms, churches, retreats — everywhere from Emlenton to Indonesia. While she hasn’t picked up a bandura in quite some time, she is involved with the Hryhory Kytasty Cleveland School of Bandura, helping with administrative work. She’s looking forward to spending some time at Kobzarska Sich, listening to the echo of the bandura in the steppes of the Allegheny!
Taisa Kulyk
Junior Bandura Workshop Director
Taisa Kulyk is a banduristka based out of Philadelphia. She is a member of the Women's Bandura Ensemble of North America and has taught at the Hryhory Kytasty School of Bandura as well as Kobzarska Sich Bandura Camp. Taisa has performed at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Holodomor Remembrance Day in Philadelphia, Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival, Lakewood Public Library's Dear Ukraine Program, and other concerts.