THE BANDURA COMPETITION

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  Ostap Stakhiw is a renowned Ukrainian bandurist and a People’s Artist of Ukraine. He began his professional career in the Lviv Philharmonic and the “Vatra” ensemble, and later as a founder and leader of the “Folklore Theater of Ostap Stakhiw.” Ostap Stakhiw is a respected educator and accomplished bandura and vocal performer. He created

  Ostap Stakhiw is a renowned Ukrainian bandurist and a People’s Artist of Ukraine. He began his professional career in the Lviv Philharmonic and the “Vatra” ensemble, and later as a founder and leader of the “Folklore Theater of Ostap Stakhiw.” Ostap Stakhiw is a respected educator and accomplished bandura and vocal performer. He created and presented original theatrical concert programs and toured widely across Ukraine, the United States, Canada and globally. His work has been featured in numerous films and video productions. Dedicated to preserving the art of the bandura and served as a jury member for festivals and competitions. Ostap Stakhiw is a medalist at the 2001 World Championship of Performing Arts and the founder of BandurArts. 

  Ola Herasymenko is renowned Ukrainian bandurist and a Merited Artist of Ukraine. The daughter of Vasyl Herasymenko, she graduated of the Lviv Conservatory, she performed as a member of a bandurist trio, creating several dozen arrangements later published in three collections in the United States. She worked as a senior lecturer and acco

  Ola Herasymenko is renowned Ukrainian bandurist and a Merited Artist of Ukraine. The daughter of Vasyl Herasymenko, she graduated of the Lviv Conservatory, she performed as a member of a bandurist trio, creating several dozen arrangements later published in three collections in the United States. She worked as a senior lecturer and accompanist for the folk instrument orchestra at the Lviv Conservatory and has continued her artistic work in the United States. In Northern California, she and her husband lead the Ukrainian Heritage Preservation Society, host a program on the Society’s Ukrainian Community Radio, founded a bandurist ensemble at the Ukrainian School in Sacramento, and directs the Ukrainian music ensemble “Elegiya.” Recorded several CDs and served as the editor-in-chief of the journal Bandura. 

 Victor Mishalow was born in Sydney, Australia in 1960. He began to learn to play the bandura in 1969 under Peter Deriashnyj. In 1974 he contnued his studies with Hryhory Bazhul, a former student of Hnat Khotkevych. In 1978 Mishalow received a grants from the "Australia Arts Council" and Premiers Deartment enabling him to continue his mus

 Victor Mishalow was born in Sydney, Australia in 1960. He began to learn to play the bandura in 1969 under Peter Deriashnyj. In 1974 he contnued his studies with Hryhory Bazhul, a former student of Hnat Khotkevych. In 1978 Mishalow received a grants from the "Australia Arts Council" and Premiers Deartment enabling him to continue his music studies in North America with prominent emigre bandurists (Peter Kytasty, Peter Honcharenko, Hryhoriy Kytastyj, Leoniid Haydamaka and Vasyl Yemetz), In 1979 Victor received a scholarship to attend the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Kyiv, where he studied with professor Serhiy Bashtan. In Ukraine. He also studied with Heorhiy Tkachenko.
Victor Mishalow holds a bachelor's degree in Musicology and Ethnomusicology from the University of Sydney, a postgraduate diploma in Music Education, a Masters in Performance from the Kyiv conservatory and a PhD from the Kharkiv Academy of Culture. In 1999 he received the tittle “Merited Artist of Ukraine” and in 2009 became a Chevalier of the Order of Merit from the Ukrainian government. He has over 100 articles and publications to his credit.
He has performed in North and South America, Europe and Australia and has appeared as instrumental soloist with the Tommy Teaco International Orchestra in Sydney, Orchestra Toronto, Counterpoint Symphony Orchestra and various performing ensembles. 

 Georgiy Matviyiv is the winner of many international bandura competitions, inventor of the latest techniques for playing the bandura, has recorded six CDs with his own music, has performed in more than 15 countries around the world, and for the last two years has been performing in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Salt Spr

 Georgiy Matviyiv is the winner of many international bandura competitions, inventor of the latest techniques for playing the bandura, has recorded six CDs with his own music, has performed in more than 15 countries around the world, and for the last two years has been performing in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Salt Spring Island).
He is one of the best bandura players of our time.
In 2021, Georgiy earned doctorate in music and spoke at the world-famous TED conference. 

 Oksana Zelinska is a graduate of the Performance Diploma Program at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships in both Classical Voice and Grand Opera at the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto. In 2005, she obtained her Bachelor of Music through the 

 Oksana Zelinska is a graduate of the Performance Diploma Program at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships in both Classical Voice and Grand Opera at the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto. In 2005, she obtained her Bachelor of Music through the Thompson Rivers University in BC. The same year, she became a teacher of voice and piano and later a Head of the Voice Department at the Merriam School of Music, Oakville (Ontario). In 1993, she graduated from the Secondary State Boarding Music School in Lviv (Ukraine) and in 1998 was accepted to The Lviv State Academy of Music where she studied with Oksana Herasymenko, a renown teacher and a well-known composer of contemporary bandura music.
An accomplished instructor of bandura with 25 years of teaching experience, in 2001, Oksana began teaching bandura and voice at "Zoloti Struny" Bandura Capella established in Toronto by her late mother Vira Zelinska, a renown artist of Ukraine, and as of 2012, took over the role of an artistic director and a conductor at the Vira Zelinska Bandura Capella "Zoloti Struny". In 2015, started her artistic collaboration with the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America in a role of co-conductor. 

  Dr. Marko Farion is a dentist, bandurist, and bass soloist.  He received bandura and vocal training from Hryhory Kytasty.  He studied music and voice at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery from CWRU as well.
His accomplishments include performances and re

  Dr. Marko Farion is a dentist, bandurist, and bass soloist.  He received bandura and vocal training from Hryhory Kytasty.  He studied music and voice at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery from CWRU as well.
His accomplishments include performances and recordings with the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus (UBC), the Detroit Concert Choir, the Millennium Choir, and the Detroit Opera Chorus.
He has traveled the globe with his bandura giving performances and teaching at workshops and music camps  in North America, South America, Europe including several tours in Ukraine.
He was an instructor at the first Kobzarska Sich (KS) bandura camp in 1979 and Administrator from 1983-1996.  He was also a founding member and first Musical Director of the HK School of Bandura, and ran the CYM Bandura School in Detroit. He is currently on staff at the Detroit School of Bandura and Bandura at Bobriwka in Connecticut.
Marko has also served on various boards including the UBC (Executive, Artistic Council, President), Ukrainian Cultural Center (Cultural and Educational Officer), Immaculate Conception Schools, Ukrainian Educational Association and is currently on the Kobzarska Sich board.
Marko Farion has several solo releases which are available on all digital platforms.  

 Oksana Rodak is a bandurist, conductor, and music educator with extensive experience in Canada, the United States, and Europe. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Toronto and the Associate Diploma (ARCT) in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She completed advanced studies in choral c

 Oksana Rodak is a bandurist, conductor, and music educator with extensive experience in Canada, the United States, and Europe. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Toronto and the Associate Diploma (ARCT) in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She completed advanced studies in choral conducting and bandura at the National Music Academy of Ukraine, studying with Pavlo Muravsky, Vitaliy Lysenko, Serhiy Bashtan, and Kostiantyn Novytsky. She also studied bandura with Hryhory Kytasty.
Oksana began playing bandura at a young age in the Hnat Khotkevych Bandurists’ Ensemble of Toronto, founded by her mother, Walentina Rodak. She is currently Director of the Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent (ODUM) Bandura School in Chicago and Artistic Director of Voices in Plainfield.
An award-winning educator, she has received the Master Teacher Diploma from the Choral Music Experience Institute, the Leslie Bell Conducting Prize, and the Glenn Gould Memorial Scholarship. She is a member of the Chicago Bandura Ensemble and serves as Artistic Director of the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America. 

 Ukrainian American soprano and bandurist Teryn Kuzma is a versatile performer of classical, contemporary, musical theater, and folk repertoire. Based in NYC, Teryn’s had the pleasure of performing with On Site Opera, the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival, Trinity Church Wall Street, and the Little Orchestra Society. She has worked wi

 Ukrainian American soprano and bandurist Teryn Kuzma is a versatile performer of classical, contemporary, musical theater, and folk repertoire. Based in NYC, Teryn’s had the pleasure of performing with On Site Opera, the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival, Trinity Church Wall Street, and the Little Orchestra Society. She has worked with several companies premiering contemporary works, and in 2024, she starred in the world premiere of Layale Chaker’s new opera “Ruinous Gods” at Spoleto Festival, USA in Charleston. Teryn is passionate about sharing overlooked Eastern European art song and opera and often includes it in her repertoire when she performs and competes on operatic stages, including this past spring as a semifinalist at the Washington International Voice Competition. Teryn is also an accomplished instrumentalist on the 65-stringed bandura, and is devoted to sharing the art of the bandura through special concerts and outreach. She currently serves as Assistant Conductor of the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America, and is the founder of the project, Bandura for the Future, which raised over $20,000 for two rehabilitation hospitals in Ukraine in March of 2025.

  Oksana Lupak graduated from the Drohobych Music College of Vasyl Barvinsky specializing in bandura and later from the Drohobych Pedagogical University, the Music Pedagogy Department, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Music Arts.

For 37 years, she worked at the Dobrohostiv Music School as a bandura instructor, head of the folk instrum

  Oksana Lupak graduated from the Drohobych Music College of Vasyl Barvinsky specializing in bandura and later from the Drohobych Pedagogical University, the Music Pedagogy Department, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Music Arts.

For 37 years, she worked at the Dobrohostiv Music School as a bandura instructor, head of the folk instruments department, and director of the bandura ensemble. She also sang in the choir of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Drohobych. Her bandura students have repeatedly become diploma recipients and laureates of regional and international competitions.

Today, she continues to share her skill and experience with new generations of students and currently teaches music at the “Nova Khvylka” School of Ukrainian Studies in Brooklyn.