UKRAINIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC BENEFIT CONCERT
YOU DID IT AGAIN! YOU DONATED OVER $7000!
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

On June 4, 2022 an unforgetable event took place at the beautiful Grace Lutheran Church in State College, PA. The Ukrainian Classic Music benefit concert was a big success. The concert program featured Ukrainian composers – Mykhailo Verbytsky, Mykola Lysenko, Vladimir Dyck, Vasyl Barvinsky, Valentin Silvestrov, & Stepan Charnetsky. At the beginning of the program pastor Rev. Scott Schul welcomed the audience and offered the prayer for Ukraine and its people. Mayor of State College Ezra Nanes greeted and thanked everyone for standing by Ukrainian people. And a special guest from Ukraine – Dr. Lyudmyla Kuzmych who is currently a resident scholar at the PSU College of Agriculture addressed the audience, thanking the spectators and the American people for their steadfast support of Ukraine in their existential fight. Lyudmyla’s husband volunteered for the Ukrainian army at the beginning of the war and is stilling fighting at the front lines.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who came to the concert and to those who were not able to come but sent donations. We thank from the bottom of our hearts to those who donated their time and talent creating this event and making the concert unforgetable. Our cordial thanks go:
To the musicians — Seulki Yoo, piano; David Stambler, saxophone; Jonida Lazellari, piano; James Lyon, violin; Melody Quah, piano; Ashley Shank, flute; Susan Kroeker, flute/piccolo; Andreas Oeste, oboe; Anthony Poehailos, clarinet; Brandy Davis, clarinet; Sarah Schouten, horn; Ethan Ruble, horn; Daryl Durran, bassoon; Benjamin Maclay, bassoon; Guanchen Liu, contrabassoon; Isabella Scotti, percussion; and Dennis Glocke for the masterful rendering of Ukrainian classical music. THANK YOU!
To the singer from from Ukraine — Niara Mamontova for her special performance of the Ukrainian unofficial anthem Oi U Luzi Chervona Kalyna (Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow). ДЯКУЮ!
To the concert organizer — prof. Daryl Durran for his unceasing devotion and tireless work in organizing this concert. Without Prof. Durran, this event would not have been possible. THANK YOU!
To our hosts — Grace Lutheran church of State College, PA for donating the venue and making this a very special event possible. THANK YOU!
To our welcome speakers — Rev. Scott Schul, Mayor Ezra Nanes, Ukrainian researcher Dr. Lyudmyla Kuzmych for their warm remarks and deeply felt statements. THANK YOU!
To our inspiring sponsors — George and Nina Woskob for all their support from little to big things, and in particular for those very special Ukrainian treats so generously given to all the participants.



GREAT NEWS: Skipping Stones magazine published artwork of Ukrainian children in their online edition and will publish it in their printed version in the fall. Please read more here. And visit the Skipping Stones magazine via this link: https://www.skippingstones.org/wp/2024/04/16/art-in-the-time-of-war-the-children-of-zaporizhia. It is free for all to read online. There is an introductory article there about the children, their teacher, and the Sister’s Sister, Inc of State College, PA.


We express our sincere gratitude to the Skipping Stones Editorial Board and to everyone who made this a reality. Please, visit the Skipping Stones site and second our gratitude to the magazine for providing this important support to Ukrainian children in the time of this brutal war. Thank you!
ARTWORK OF UKRAINIAN CHILDREN FROM ZAPORIZHZHIA AT THE MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL IN STATE COLLEGE

Credit: Svitlana Jones
Artwork created by Ukrainian children and their teacher Nadiya Chepiga from the city of Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine were exhibited at the Multicultural Children’s Festival at the State College Area High School organized by the WPSU on April 6, 2024. The city of Zaporizhzhia is under constant enemy shelling but the children’s creativity lives on. Zhanna Kaminska, sister of Nadiya, is a Ukrainian refugee from Zaporizhzhia, who currently calls State College her home, was instrumental in making the exhibition of children’s art a reality.

Credit: Svitlana Jones
VASYL POPADIUK BENEFIT CONCERT
Thank you all who came to to the concert to support Ukraine on Saturday, March 23, 2024. It was a great concert. The violinist was amazing. The exhibition of posters created by children from Zaporizhzhia, a city under constant enemy bombing, were outstanding. The atmosphere and camaraderie were awesome!
This was further evidence of how skillful and talented Ukrainian people are. All they need is peace to live on their own land, practicing their own culture and traditions. The enemy wants to annihilate all things Ukrainian, and denies the existence of the nation of Ukraine. Ukrainians continue fighting for their land and their independence. But they cannot do it alone. Please call your elected officials in DC and ask them to vote for supporting Ukraine. Most of the allocated funds will create well-paid jobs in the U.S. And the world will regard the U.S. as the leader of protecting democratic values, and resolving the humanitarian crisis.






VASYL POPADIUK CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The spring is here, and so is a new benefit concert for Ukraine. Please join us on Saturday 23, 2024 for a benefit concert featuring VASYL POPADIUK, a Ukrainian violinist. Vasyl is known as the “Ukrainian Paganini”. He is a classically trained violinist from Ukraine, who currently lives in Ottawa, Canada. He plays 15 instruments. He is a founder of the band “PapaDuke”, with whom he travels the world, playing music in world music styles, Latino, gypsy, and jazz.
The concert will take place on the stage of the Performing Arts Center of the State College Area High School. The entrance to the Arts Center is at the back entrance of the High School. The suggested price is $10 for an adult, and $5 for a student. Those who would like and are in the position to donate more, can do so before or after the concert. All donations will be used to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including our sister-city of Nizhyn. Donations are accepted by cash, checks (to Sister’s Sister), Zelle or Venmo.
In this critical time for Ukraine our support is vitally important for the Ukrainian people’s survival. Please bring your family, friends and neighbors to the concert on Saturday, March 23, at 7:00 pm. There are plenty of nice and comfortable seats in this outstanding auditorium. The seats will be occupied on a “first come, first serve” basis. Sorry, no food and no drinks are allowed in the Arts Center. Please, use the parking lot by the back entrance (keep right when entering the high school campus, driving around the school building to the back entrance).


Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Today, February 24, 2024, we commemorated 2 years of this nightmare. We wanted to thank everybody who was able to join us at the rally. We had a great turn out, very many Ukrainian and American flags, outstanding posters, and heartwarming words from Pastor Hryhoriy, Mayor Ezra Nanes, Councilmember Josh Portney, Chair of the PSU Ukrainian Society Igor Latsanych, Prof. Catherine Wanner, Prof. Olena Zolova, and others. We are also grateful to everyone who was thinking about coming but was not able to make it. Your thoughts were with us, as well.



Photo: Prof. Michael Naydan








Photo: Prof. Michael Naydan

Photo: Prof. Michael Naydan

Photo: Svitlana Jones

On Saturday, February 24, 2024, the world will witness the beginning of yet another year of the gruesome, ruthless, inhumane war fought by a country in the heart of Europe, Ukraine. This day will start the 3rd year of Russia’s imperialist claims to its neighbor, a sovereign country of Ukraine. The war that was planned to end in 3 days, continues into the 3rd year. Ukrainian brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents and grandparents keep on fighting for their freedom, for their survival, and for the future of all democracy. Events this week clearly demonstrate what a Russian victory would bring not just to Ukraine but to the entire world.
Please join us at 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 24, 2024 in front of the Old Main Building for a rally commemorating the two horrific years of the full-fledged war against Ukraine.
***The video is provided by the Mayor’s Office of Nizhyn, sister-city of State College.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rmt0vs8ebjfuWe5EYtlmCDpvZ3PePWp4/view?usp=drive_link
The documentary SCREAM OF MY BLOOD: A Gogol Bordello Story was viewed at the Phillipsburg Historic Theatre on Saturday, November 4, 2023, organized by the Centre Film Festival (see more here). The movie was about the GOGOL BORDELLO band created in NY by the Ukrainian immigrant Eugene Hutz. Eugene attended the event and performed several of the band’s songs accompanied by his violist Sergey Ryabtsev. Ukrainian food and drinks added a special flavor to the event. The funds raised were donated to the humanitarian assistance organization RAZOM. Thank you all who attended and who made this event possible!

Ukrainian dumplings – varenyky were delicious!




YES, WE DID IT!!!
Our Benefit Concert on June 5, 2023 was a BIG success! Thanks to your generosity we have raised $10,025 for our humanitarian assistance to the sister-city of Nizhyn. And there are still some checks coming in the mail. We’ll keep you updated.
Well done State College!

Max Zorin, performed “Spanish Dance” by Myroslav Skoryk, the composer he met in person while performing in Odessa at one of the International competitions.

Ruslana Kaminska a high-school student from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, who currently resides in State College with her parents, performed two famous Ukrainian songs “Ballad of the Mallows” (Volodymyr Ivasyuk/Bohdan Gura), and “Paint Me a Night” (Myroslav Skoryk/Mykola Petrenko).

If you were unable to attend the concert but would like to donate money for humanitarian relief for our sister-city of Nizhyn in Ukraine, you can still do it by pressing “Donate Now” button at the bottom of the page. THANK YOU!

All pictures but those specifically credited are by Svitlana B. Jones
THANK YOU! ДЯКУЄМО!
We are in the process of making the decision where the money will go. Most likely it will be related to helping children going back to school. We will keep you posted once the details are settled.
The music was beautiful and unique. The musicians were superb. The church was gracious and welcoming. It was a very special night thanks to all who attended the concert, and those who made it possible: Prof. Daryl Durran, Rev. Scott Schul, King Printing, Nina and George Woskob, and all the world class musicians residing in State College, PA.


PSU pianist Melody Quah beautifully performed Yakiv Stepovy’s “Prelude in Memory of Taras Shevchenko”.

The Winds Octet performs Esquisses champetres (Country Sketches) by Volodymyr Dyck (Credit: Rev. Scott Shul)
The Wind Octet comprised of the Stonebridge Winds – Ashley Shank, flute, Anthony Poehailos, clarinet, Anna Skrupky, horn, Daryl Durran, bassoon, together with Andreas Oeste, oboe, Brandy Davis, clarinet, Sarah Schouten, horn, Matthew So, bassoon, Dennis Glocke, conductor also performed the National Anthem of Ukraine (Mykhailo Verbytsky/Pavlo Chubynsky) to the standing ovation of the entire audience.
Over 300 people attended the All-Ukrainian Music concert to benefit the Ukrainian sister-city of Nizhyn.




OUR VERY FIRST BENEFIT CONCERT! We raised over $6000! Thank you everyone who supported our cause and who organized this event!

