Christmas with Bandura in WHIPPANY, NJ

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 Ostap Stakhiw is a renowned Ukrainian bandurist and a National’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.

 Solomia Stahiv is a Ukrainian musician and accomplished bandura player. She graduated from a bandura and piano program in Lviv, Ukraine and played in the National Bandura Ensemble “Zoryanytsia” under Honored Artist of Ukraine Zinovia Sychak. Now based in North America, she performs as a solo bandura artist throughout the United States and Canada and is part of the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America (WBENA), sharing and promoting bandura music and Ukrainian culture. She is also an active member of BandurArts.

  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.

 Duet Malvy-Kalyna & Uliana Leshchuk are accomplished vocalists and bandura players who have performed together throughout the tristate area in the United States. Their appearances include the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations, the World Trade Center, Rose Hill Community Church, the Consulates General of Lithuania and Greece, the Westchester Jewish Center, the Bloor West Village Toronto Festival, synagogues, international club events, and weddings.

Kalyna and Uliana are members of the Women’s Bandurist Ensemble of North America and are actively involved in Ukrainian community organizations, including Plast, CYM, and the Iskra Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.

Kalyna Leshchuk is a second-year medical student at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine in New Jersey.
Uliana Leshchuk is a junior at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In spring 2018, she performed at the Golden Key Festival winners’ recital at Carnegie Hall.
 

Olesia Romanchuk is a native of Transcarpathia, Ukraine. She studied at the Uzhhorod Vocational College named after D. E. Zador, where she received her foundational musical education, and later earned a Master of Musical Arts degree from the Mukachevo Institute. After completing her studies, she worked as a violin teacher in district schools.

From childhood, she has been an active member of various folklore ensembles, academic orchestras, and choirs, including the exemplary folklore ensemble Kyrnychenka, Irshava Family, the People’s Chamber Orchestra of the Irshava State Musical School, as well as the Borzhava and Melody choirs.

In her professional activities, she prioritizes the education and artistic development of the younger generation. She continues to pass on her native, authentic melodies—those that have remained forever in her heart—to her own children and to her students, even far beyond her homeland.