Author: Adrian Bryttan

NEW YORK – Imagine constructing a 3-foot wooden ship model of a mighty 17th-century Man-o’-War, its four decks bristling with over 100 cannons. Picture gluing the frames to the keel, and planking the hull sides just like the original, then sewing sails and laying decks, adding masts, yards, crosstrees, blocks and ratlines, until finally the...

NEW YORK – Pulitzer Prize-winning Ukrainian photojournalist and Associated Press (AP) war correspondent Mstyslav Chernov’s documentary film “20 Days in Mariupol” began screening in select theaters in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States in July. The film, which was co-produced by the AP, PBS, Frontline and GBH Boston, had its world premiere in...

NEW YORK – To all passersby and the many who circled the Brass Bull statue in the middle of lower Broadway, the swarm of photographers mobbing every glittering long gown and tuxedo on the nearby red-carpeted stairs to the historic Cipriani building must have called to mind the Oscars or Grammys. And, in fact, this...

NEW YORK – After a century hiatus, the world famous and beloved Ukrainian Christmas carol “Shchedryk” (Carol of the Bells), composed by Mykola Leontovych, echoed once more throughout Carnegie Hall in New York City on December 4. The performance, held to commemorate the first time that American audiences heard the song played there a century...

The repetitious “Shchedryk” motif was originally sung with only four notes. Ukrainian composer Mykola Leonto­vych’s harmonization and inspired variations were truly a work of genius. Today, many commercials, pop and instrumental groups use, and abuse, this melody by breathlessly racing through the music. This composition should always be performed at a moderate tempo, so as...

Debbie Fritz and her husband attended the December 4 concert in New York’s Carnegie Hall commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the playing of the Ukrainian carol “Shchedryk” in the famed concert venue. During an interview with this correspondent, she spoke about the look and sound of the bandura, as well as the Ukrainian Children’s Choir...

In 1972, composer Dmitri Shosta­kovich’s memoirs “Testimony” were smuggled out of the Soviet Union. One of its bombshell revelations confirmed that in 1932 Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered the killing of a whole generation of traveling troubadours known as bandurists. The reason these artists were seen as a threat to Soviet rulers was that they...

Russia’s wholesale destruction and genocide in Ukraine today is nothing new. It is no surprise that President Vladimir Putin boldly and flatly lies that Ukraine and its language are indistinguishable from Russian culture. Ukraine, its people, language and culture have suffered for centuries under Russian attacks. In 1876, a secret imperial decree, the Emsk Ukaz,...

KERHONKSON, N.Y. – For 17 years, families that adopted children from Ukraine have been reconnecting at the Ukrainian National Foundation’s (UNF) Soyuzivka Heritage Center during annual Adoptive Families’ Weekend (AFW). Participants of the weekend event often look forward to the annual gathering, especially the many children who often become lifelong best buddies and even “soul...

KERHONKSON, N.Y. – Amid the traditional pageantry and celebration, a central goal of the Ukrainian National Foundation’s (UNF) 2022 Cultural Festival, held on July 15-18 at the Soyuzivka Heritage Center in Kerhonkson, N.Y., was to raise funds and support for Ukraine, which has for five months been defending itself in a full-scale war launched by...

Ukrainian National Foundation Board Member Valentyna Tabaka wears any number of hats – but to most, she is simply the beloved “Pani Valya” (Ms. Valya). Ms. Tabaka is the second vice president of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. She works as wound care manager at the Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, N.J., and she is in close contact with the chiefs of medicine of many nearby hospitals. Ms. Tabaka coordinated with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health to distribute medical equipment to the front lines, and to numerous hospitals in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, Uman,…

Born in the Uzhhorod region of Ukraine, Petro Maha is known for his work in Ukrainian television, on stage, and, recently, for his war-poem videos on YouTube. On July 16, he screened these videos and recited from his book, “Poems from the trenches.” In an interview with this reporter, he spoke on a wide range of subjects. Upon the Russian invasion, Mr. Maha joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to serve with the air defense of Kyiv. He notes with pride that every member of his theater group stepped up to the challenge – women volunteered for various jobs, while…