2023 Music Staff

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Oleh Mahlay – Music Director

Oleh Mahlay (conductor, composer, lecturer) is the current artistic director and conductor of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America (Українська Капеля Бандуристів Північної Америки ім. Т. Шевченка). He is on the teaching staff of the Hryhory Kytasty Cleveland School of Bandura and the current artistic director of the Kobzarska Sich Bandura and Choral Programs (Emlenton, Pennsylvania). Maestro Mahlay received the prestigious Honored Artist of the Ukrainian Arts (Заслужений діяч мистецтв України) which was presented to him by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in September of 2021.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969 to Ukrainian immigrants, Maestro Mahlay received a bachelor of arts in music history and literature from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and then a juris doctor degree from The Ohio State University College of Law. As a musician, he has a varied background as a conductor, pianist, violinist, bandurist, lecturer and composer. At the age of 16, Mr. Mahlay became the choir director of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio (a post previously held by the legendary bandurist Hryhory Kytasty) and began teaching at the Kobzarska Sich Bandura Camp (Emlenton, Pennsylvania) soon thereafter. He also was the concertmaster of the University Circle Chamber Orchestra, a violinist with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, assistant conductor with the Parma Symphony Orchestra, and music curator at the Ukrainian Museum-Archives of Cleveland.

The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America (UBC), founded in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv in 1918, has been intertwined with Mr. Mahlay’s work as a conductor, composer, and educator. He has been a musician with the ensemble since 1982 (first serving as a vocalist, bandurist, bass bandura player, concertmaster), becoming its artistic director and conductor in 1996. During his tenure (1996 through 2008, and from 2012 through the present), the UBC has achieved artistic acclaim as a result of nine released recordings, educational outreach programming, hundreds of concerts throughout North America and Europe, and Ukraine. Most recently, Mr. Mahlay led the ensemble in its historic centennial concert tour of Ukraine, along with participation at the International Bandura Forum in Kyiv. With the ensemble, maestro Mahlay has spearheaded unique collaborative artistic projects with artists such as Paul Plishka (New York Metropolitan Opera), the National Bandurist Cappella of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine), the Shumka Dance Ensemble (Edmonton, Alberta), the Vesnivka Choir (Toronto, Ontario), the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America, and international singing star Ruslana (Eurovision winner).

As a composer, Oleh Mahlay has written over 120 original works or arrangements, with the majority of works for the bandura, chorus, or voice. His compositions have been performed by ensembles in the United States, Canada, and Ukraine. He continues to lecture on various musical topics, focusing on Ukrainian sacred music and the bandura. In his conductor role, he has led ensembles at memorable venues such as Massey Hall (Toronto), Lincoln Center (New York), the Ukrainian National Philharmonic (Kyiv), the Lviv Opera House, Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center (Cleveland) and Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris). In December of 2022, maestro Mahlay had the honor of conducting over 120 voices in Mykola Leontovych’s world- famous Shchedryk (“Carol of the Bells”) at New York’s Carnegie Hall during the centennial celebration of this choral classic.

Vocal Instructors

Folk Singing Workshop Director

Nadia Tarnawsky

Nadia Tarnawsky spent much of 2017 and 2018 doing research and teaching in Ukraine as a recipient of a Fulbright Award. She has taught Ukrainian village style singing in workshops for the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine, the Center for Traditional Music and Dance in New York, Village Harmony, and the Kitka Women’s Ensemble among others. In 2023, she directed a concert of Ukrainian wedding music for the ensemble Cappella Romana.

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Folk Singing Workshop Instructor

Iryna Voloshyna

Originally from Ukraine, Iryna Voloshyna is a PhD student at the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University Bloomington, and also serves as an Associate Instructor there. Iryna worked with the New York State Council on the Arts, New York Folklore Society, Yara Arts Group, Ukrainian Museum in New York and Ukrainian-American Museum and Archive in Detroit. She sang with folk singing ensemble Ladovytsi in her hometown Khmelnytskyi, the NYC-based ensemble Ukrainian Village Voices and currently she is a founding artistic director of Indiana Slavic Choir at Indiana University.

Choral Workshop Director

Roman Pachashynskyy

In 1998, Roman Pachashynskyy graduated from the "Zorynka" children's choir school in the violin class (Ternopil, Ukraine), and in 2003 he graduated from the Ternopil Music School named after S. Krushelnytska in the class of conducting. That same year he entered the National Academy of Music named after P.I. Tchaikovsky, Kyiv (2007-bachelor, 2008-master of musical art). Teacher-professor V.V. Petrychenko. In 2011, he graduated from an assistantship in the conducting class (supervisor - A.T. Avdievskyi). He worked as an artist of the choir of the National Choir Chapel "Dumka" (2005-2008), conductor-choirmaster of the choir named after H.G. Ropes (2008-2012).

Bandura Instructors

Guest

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 razvorasa" 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 Lviv State Music Lyceum named after S. Krushelnytska. Since 2009, he has been combining teaching with the position of deputy director for methodical work and international perspectives. Since 2017, he has also been the director of the Vasyl Slipak Competition of Young Vocalists.

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Bandura Instructor/Kharkiv Course Director

Andriy Birko

Andrij Birko is a long time bandurist, bandura instructor and bandura maker based in the Detroit area of Michigan. Andrij is a third generation of bandura players in the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America (UBC) and has been playing with the UBC for over 35 years. He has engineered several UBC and Kobzarska Sich summer bandura camp’s recordings, and for many years served as the Concertmaster of the UBC. Andrij has been instructing at bandura camps for even longer. He is known for exploring the boundaries of what’s possible with the bandura in both a musical sense and in its construction. Many of today’s up and coming young bandurists have been taught by Andrij at Kobzarska Sich, where he commissioned two groundbreaking instrumental pieces, “Myla’s Song” and “Field, Forest and Sky” from American composer David Minnick, to propel the student’s technique and musicality in fresh ways. Andrij also taught a popular sound production course at Kobzarska Sich. Andrij has performed and recorded bandura, bass guitar and keyboards/electronics with several popular style music acts including a project with George Clinton. Andrij enjoys jamming and live performance, sharing the cross-border experience and exploring the musical opportunities the bandura and other instruments may offer. Being an engineer, Andrij has been constructing banduras for many years. His banduras are highly praised by many prominent bandura players for their high-quality sound.

Bandura Instructor/ Jr. Bandura Director

Taisa Kulyk

Taisa Kulyk is a banduristka in Philadelphia. She is a member of the Women's Bandura Ensemble of North America and an instructor at the HK School Bandura. Taisa has performed at Austintown's Aid to Ukraine Concert, Lakewood Public Library's Dear Ukraine Program, the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, and other concerts.

Bandura Instructor

Maksym Mahlay

A graduate in a double degree in Music Composition and Piano Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music (University of Cincinnati), Maksym Mahlay (МАХЛАЙ Максим) is currently pursuing a Masters in Harpsichord with a Graduate Assistantship position. The main character of Obadiah Baker’s Fulbright documentary film (of preserving culture in wartime Ukraine), he serves as the soundtrack’s bandurist, collaborative producer, and audio engineer for Refresh Collective Cleveland. A researcher of the genre of Fugue, as well as kobzar musicology, Maksym has given ethnomusicology lectures in several universities including Akron University, Florida State University, University of Cincinnati, and more.

Bandura Instructor

Stephan Zaets

Stephan Zaets is a bandurist currently living in Boston, Massachusetts. Throughout his 10-plus years with the instrument, Stephan has striven to conserve Ukrainian culture through the preservation of folk songs. He is among the youngest members of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of America. In addition to his duties with the UBC, Stephan has participated in over a dozen benefit concerts over the past year. He first attended Kobzarska Sich in 2012 as a student and is finally returning after 5 years!

Music Theory & Rhythm Instructor

Nicholas Smereka-Hladio

Nick has been attending bandura camp since the summer of 2016. This camp gave him the opportunity to join and continue to perform in the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America and Korinya Ukrainian Folk Band. Nick recently moved to San Antonio, Texas where he will be teaching elementary music. Nick has worn many hats at a multitude of different summer camps, and looks forward to being a music theory teacher at Kobzarska Sich after being a camper, maintenance worker, and a counselor for this great camp!

Bandura Instructor

Kalyna Leshchuk

Kalyna Leshchuk is a bandurist from New Jersey. She is a member of the Women's Bandura Ensemble of North America. She has been playing in Duet Malvy with her sister, Uliana Leshchuk, for 7 years. Kalyna and Uliana Leshchuk have performed at the Ukrainian Cultural Festival at Soyuzivka, the 70th Anniversary Concert of the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York, Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN’s celebration of Ukraine’s 30 years of independence, the Round Hill Community Church, Picatinny Arsenal, Westchester Jewish Center, World Trade Center, and General Consulate of Lithuania. Besides sharing their talent with the Ukrainian community, Kalyna and Uliana have never missed an opportunity to share the rich Ukrainian culture and heritage among the general American public. In the past few years, they have participated in an International Online Festival of Ukrainian Culture and performed at various International Club meetings. Kalyna has always performed with her bandura at talent shows. Kalyna is an active member of Plast, CYM, and the Iskra Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. She is a graduate of Fordham University in New York City where she finished with a Bachelor’s of Science in biology and a music minor.

Guest

Uliana Sozansky

Uliana Sozanska is a pianist, piano teacher, and accompanist. A graduate of the Stanislav Liudkevych Lviv Music College (1995) and Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University (2003) as a double major: piano and choral conducting. From 1997 to 2001, she was a member of the legendary Lviv vocal sextet "Minestreli". Since 2017, she has been working as a piano teacher and concertmaster at the Lviv Krushelnytska State Music Lyceum.
Uliana had the opportunity to feel a bit of Kobzarska Sich in 2008 and from the stories of her husband and children bandurists, and ever since then she has dreamed of a full-fledged experience. Therefore, she is so looking forward to the Sich ’23.

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