The Ukrainian trident at his heart and a violin in his hands

The violin virtuoso is a world-renowned star now. Music critics call Popadiuk a “golden violin,” a “live nerve” and a “Ukrainian Paganini.” Hearing him play makes one feel that it is a magician on stage, because Popadiuk’s mastery of his capricious instrument is akin to magic. It seems he was born with a violin in his hands and the Ukrainian trident at his heart!

Music lovers from many countries applaud him now, but Popadiuk never forgets his roots. Born in Ukraine and currently residing in Canada, the musician has Ukraine, our common mother, close at heart. He keeps a trident-decorated finger ring as a kind of talisman.

Popadiuk remembers how he painted a trident on a wall when studying at the Lysenko Kyiv Music School, and authorities of the time punished his father, a fiddler, with a five-year ban on performing abroad...

Later on, the violinist talked about his dream to see Ukraine independent in an interview with foreign media while touring in Spain in 1990 (let us recall that Ukraine was still under the Soviet regime then, so the musician’s openness landed him in trouble and led to him being called a Banderite behind his back). Popadiuk has lived in Canada since his tour of that country in 1997.

He organized a band called Papa Duke there, which brought together musicians from around the world: Ecuadoran David West, Hungarian Roma brothers Robi and Frank Botos, and another Ukrainian Viktor Khomenko.

Popadiuk performed with world-renowned artists, including Julio Iglesias, Ian Gillan, the blind guitarist Jeff Healey, Nia Vardalos who wrote the script for and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Yes group. He came to Kyiv from Canada in December 2004 to perform on the Independence Square stage.

Looking at Popadiuk’s virtuoso performance, it seems the violin and bow are alive, sometimes speaking gently to each other, and sometimes performing a wild dance.