Musical meditation

On March 21 “Musical Quadragesimal Meditation” will be held at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Congregation of St. Joseph the Betrothed, with the participation of Ukrainian traditional music performer Julian Kytasty, informs the event’s Facebook page.

Julian Kytasty is an American-born composer, conductor, performer on traditional Ukrainian instruments (kobza, bandura, sopilka) of Ukrainian descent. Born in Detroit, US, he got his MA (Composition, Theory, and Voice) from the conservatoire at the Concordia University in Montreal. His father, Petro Kytasty, taught him to play the bandura. In 1980 he became artistic director of the New York school of bandura playing and of ensembles Homin Stepiv, New York Bandura, and the avant-garde Experimental Bandura Trio. He succeeded in introducing the bandura to modern and improvised music.

Kytasty participated in the first edition of Chervona Ruta (a Ukrainian pop song festival) in 1989. At present, he is working together with Mariana Sadovska, Wu Man, and Alexis Kochan. Also he is known for his work in Oles Sanin’s film The Guide, a story of an American boy and blind Ukrainian musician’s travels in Soviet Ukraine before and during the Holodomor.