Oksana Rodak is a conductor, bandurist, and music educator with extensive experience across Canada, the United States, and Europe. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees under Dr. Doreen Rao and also holds a Certificate in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Her advanced studies at the National Music Academy of Ukraine focused on choral conducting, piano, voice, and bandura, working with maestro Pavlo Muravsky, Vitaliy Lysenko, Serhiy Bashtan, and Kostiantyn Novytsky. She also studied bandura with Hryhory Kytasty.

 

Passionate about nurturing young musicians, Oksana serves as Director of the ODUM (Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent) Bandura School in Chicago and as Artistic Director of Voices in Plainfield, a community youth choir. In these roles, she guides students in developing their skills and confidence through music. She has also held leadership roles as Artistic Director of Young Naperville Singers, Conductor with Anima (Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus), and Coordinator of Children’s Music at the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, and has served as adjudicator at  The Marta Krawciw-Barabash Ukrainian Music Festival.

 

Oksana began playing bandura at a young age in the Hnat Khotkevych ODUM Bandurists’ Ensemble of Toronto, founded by her mother, Walentina Rodak.  She later directed ODUM Bandura Summer Camps in London, Ontario. She has been recognized with the Master Teacher Diploma from the CME Institute for Choral Teacher Education, the Leslie Bell Conducting Prize, and the Glenn Gould Memorial Scholarship. Oksana is a member of the Chicago Bandura Ensemble and serves as Artistic Director of the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America.