Julian Kytasty

Julian Kytasty grew up within a strong tradition of family music-making. He is a third generation bandurist following in the footsteps of his father Petro and grandfather Ivan Kytasty. He has directed bandura ensembles that have had an enduring impact on the bandura in North America: the New York School of Bandura and Homin Stepiv Ensemble, Experimental Bandura Trio and collaborated with Alexis Kochan and Paris to Kyiv. He has worked frequently with Yara Arts Group creating and performing music for theatre pieces, poetry performances, and festivals. His work on Yara’s 1917-2017 Tychyna, Zhadan, and the Dogs earned him a NY Innovative Theater award for best original score. He was involved with Kobzarska Sich since its inception in 1979, and served as music director almost every year from 1990-2007. He continues to teach bandura to a new generation of students in North America and Ukraine, to record, to compose and arrange music for bandura, and to engage in collaborative projects.

Nadia Tarnawsky

Nadia Tarnawsky has been studying Eastern European singing techniques for nearly two decades with leading teachers including Mariana Sadowska, Nina Matvienko, Lilia Pavlovska, Albanian singer Merita Halili and Bulgarian singers Donka Koleva and Maria Bebelekova. Nadia Tarnawsky is a recipient of a Fulbright Award. She spent much of 2017 and 2018 in Ukraine collecting traditional Ukrainian folk music. Other awards include a Traditional Arts Fellowship from Artist Trust, a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship from the University of Kansas which allowed her to collect traditional folk songs and folklore in Ukraine as well as an Artist Support Residency from Jack Straw Productions which provided studio time to record an album with her ensemble Alchymeia. She has performed and recorded with dozens of ensembles, including the GRAMMY®-nominated Capella Romana choir, Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble, Ukrainian Village Voices, Dunava Ensemble, and more.​

Melita Mudri-Zubacz

Melita Mudri-Zubacz holds both a bachelor and masters degree in theology (St. Paul University, Ottawa) as well as Bachelor and Masters degrees in music with a concentration in choral conducting (University of Manitoba, Winnipeg). Her thesis in theology explored historical evaluation of congregational singing in the Eastern Christian liturgical traditions. Her graduate work at University of Manitoba combined choral conducting with a historico-cultural Ukrainian study. Mudri-Zubacz has always been active in her work with music and liturgical studies, working extensively with community and church choirs, as well as publishing studies related to the Eastern Christian church music. At Fresno Pacific University she directs Crosswind, a contemporary Christian ensemble, and teaches Music Appreciation.