Shchedryk Ukrainian Choir Series

Shchedryk Ukrainian Choir Series is currently comprised of four works by Roman Surzha. These works are best known from performances by The Children’s Choir Shchedryk. The choir was founded in 1971 in Kyiv by Iryna Sablina. Marianna Sablina, the Honoured Artist of Ukraine, has served as the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the choir since 2004.

Currently over 150 children of various ages are involved in the choir. They are organized into groups, usually according to their age. Shchedryk’s concert cast is comprised of approximately 55 best performers.

The choir’s repertoire covers Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, adaptations of Ukrainian and other national folk songs, and contemporary musical compositions. The choir has received standing ovations in famous music halls all over the world.

Roman Surzha is a Ukrainian composer whose creative assets include music for plays, cinema, choreographic productions, and choral works. He was born in Kyiv in 1960 into a family of musicians. He studied choral conducting at music college, where he began to show interest in composition, and then studied at the Odesa Conservatory. At the 2005 international choral and sacred music festival Musica Sacra in Rome, held in the summer residence of the Pope, Roman’s work “Alleluia,” performed by the Shchedryk Choir, received the highest score and brought them victory in the competition.

Composer Roman Surzha introduces the works in the series: