About artist
The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America (UBC) traces its roots to the “Kobzar Choir,” founded in Kyiv in 1918 by Vasyl Yemets. Its successor continued to perform until being disbanded by the Soviet government at the outbreak of World War II. In 1941, the ensemble was reconstituted in Ukraine’s capital by many of its former members. Under Nazi rule the group was exiled and compelled to perform at forced labor migrant camps in Germany. Unable to safely return to a Soviet Ukraine, it emigrated to the United States in 1949. The UBC has preserved and promoted the art of bandura by amassing an extensive discography and by touring North America, Australia, Europe, and Ukraine, having performed at such well-known concert venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kyiv Opera House, Kennedy Center, the Notre Dame Cathedral and Massey Hall. In 1992 the UBC was a recipient of the Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian State Prize, the highest award that can be bestowed for excellence in the contribution to the arts. In April 2025, the UBC was honored with a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the United States’ highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. The UBC continues its mission to promote bandura and kobzar tradition with ongoing international concerts, educational programming for youth, new recordings, and incoming talent. Intense passion for music by its members is united behind the common goal to extend the tradition of its predecessors - the kobzars. In the past several years, the ensemble has presented a program of new compositions to the words of Lesya Ukrayinka, raised much needed funds for humanitarian aid to Ukraine, performed at the “Shchedryk” (Carol of the Bells) Centennial in New York’s Carnegie Hall, and toured North America with its “Ukraine Lives!” concert program, dedicated to Ukraine’s struggle for freedom.
