Ukrainians are the best!

This year Ukrainian singers won most of the awards at the prestigious Borys Hmyria International Vocal Competition, with the Grand Prix awarded to the original young vocalist Olena Tokar. She is only 21 and studies at the National Music Academy of Ukraine (class of Z. Buzyna).

“This singer has a radiant artistic future,” Hanna Prynts, president of the Borys Hmyria Foundation, told The Day. “Olena can already put her voice to maximum advantage in a richly colored palette. As Borys Hmyria used to say, a singer should use his or her voice as if it were a painter’s brush, and when you perform a chamber piece, you must not only produce broad strokes, but also imagine that you are painting a watercolor. In the three rounds of the competition Tokar enchanted the audience, and the jury loved her singing and acting. She has a lot of talent, and if she works hard, she will soon become a world-class star.

“This year’s competition attracted participants from eight countries: Bulgaria, Armenia, China, Latvia, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, and Serbia. The representatives of the Ukrainian vocal school had a very good showing and won all kinds of prizes. Among the men, the first place and the gold medal were conferred on Andrii Maslakov (Ukraine) who studies in Germany. The jury granted the second prize jointly to Serhii Bortnyk of Ukraine and Illia Pavlov of Russia.

The special prize of the Borys Hmyria Foundation went to Maksim Sakirov. Born in Ulan-Ude, Sakirov studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He gave a fine rendition of the Ukrainian song, “I Would Pick Up a Bandura” from Hmyria’s repertoire. I think this competition was much better than the previous one. It was organized very well. The jury, which was headed by the well-known Ukrainian bass Valentyn Pyvovarov, was unbiased and very democratic. There were no secret arrangements, intrigues, or biased voting. The jurors had a fair and cordial attitude to all the competitors.

“The young vocalists received a powerful impetus for further work, and I wish them all a long and fruitful journey in the world of art. I hope that when the 3rd Hmyria Competition opens in Kyiv, there will be a monument to this outstanding singer in our capital,” Prynts said.