Ukrainian Catholic University choir sings for World Youth Day (09/08/02)

Ukrainian Catholic University choir sings for World Youth Day

by Matthew Matuszak

TORONTO - Stritennia, or Presentation, the choir of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, wowed audiences in the greater Toronto area this July. They came to sing for this year's World Youth Day held on July 23-28. But they also sang for divine liturgies at local Ukrainian Catholic parishes, performed concerts of sacred music and even appeared on a broadcast of a nationwide Christian television channel in Canada.

The choir, composed of students and staff of the Ukrainian Catholic University, has a short history. The choir considers the Rev. Peter Galadza of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at St. Paul University in Ottawa to be its "godfather." While he was teaching at the UCU's predecessor, the Lviv Theological Academy, for the 1999-2000 school year, he encouraged the academy to start its own choir. The seminary in Rudno already had a choir, but the city campus did not, and the Rev. Galadza thought it necessary "for when bishops come to visit." Volodymyr Ben, who also directs Osanna, another youth choir in Lviv, was asked to be the choir director.

The first bishop for whom the choir sang was then Auxiliary Bishop Lubomyr Husar, who celebrated divine liturgy in the academy's chapel for the Feast of the Presentation in 2000. The choir then decided to name itself after that feast. The next landmark in the choir's history was its first CD, "Z Namy Boh" (God is with Us). This compilation of Ukrainian religious music was released to mark the occasion of the visit of Pope John Paul to Ukraine in June of 2001.

An audition via CD

The story of Stritennia's Canadian tour begins in the summer of 2001, when various young musical groups were auditioning to perform for World Youth Day. The choir sent in its CD to Cardinal James Francis Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, for consideration.

The congregation didn't inform UCU's choir until April of this year, which, according to the Rev. Michael Loza, was "a little late for planning." The Rev. Loza is the director of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation in Canada; he organized the choir's tour from the Canadian end.

Though obstacles came in their way, the members of the choir managed to overcome them. Of the choir's 20 members, 17 were able to travel to Canada, and the airfare of $1,000 per person was daunting for the Ukrainians. The Council for the Laity paid a part of the cost, but the choir still had to "sing for its supper" in various Canadian parishes. The sale of their two CDs, "Z Namy Boh" and the new "Svityt Zvizda Chudna" (Thus Shines the Wondrous Star), also helped offset the expenses of the trip. Choir members sold all the copies they had with them and are trying to fill all the additional orders.

The choir's forte is liturgical music, specifically Galician and Kyivan chants of the 17th and 18th centuries. Accordingly, the plan was to be in Canada for as many Sundays as possible, so the choir could sing for divine liturgies. The choir arrived on July 4 and stayed until August 6, for five Sundays. Though they wanted to come earlier, they needed to be in Lviv for the festivities for the inauguration of the UCU during the week of June 29.

Thanks to the kindness of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, the choir was able to stay at a lovely retreat center in Hamilton, Ontario.

Their Sundays were busy as they sang at various local Ukrainian Catholic parishes. They even sang liturgies at Roman Catholic parishes on two Saturday evenings. The Rev. Loza celebrated the Byzantine-rite liturgy and delivered the sermons in English, while the choir responded in Ukrainian. The Rev. Loza notes that the Latin-rite congregations were very interested in the Eastern tradition, which he talked about during his sermons. On weekdays they sang at senior's centers and nursing homes, for both Ukrainian and Canadian audiences.

The Rev. Loza commented that the choir "was very well-received by the Ukrainian community - wherever they went, people sensed that obviously they are very sincere young people."

On Friday July 12, the Rev. Loza brought the choir members to the set of "100 Huntley Street," a live TV program broadcast on a Christian television network in Canada. The choir was part of the audience as such prominent performers as Phil Keaggy and Kathy Troccoli sang. When the cameras panned into the audience, the choir members were often in view.

When the show finished, Stritennia was asked to do an impromptu song. The staff of the program was impressed and mentioned that one of the performers scheduled for the show the next Friday, July 19, had cancelled. The choir was asked to perform - sort of advertising World Youth Day, which was to start on July 23. The Choir members were delighted with the offer. They showed up in embroidered blouses and shirts, singing three songs, the "Our Father" in English and in Ukrainian, and another Ukrainian song. The show was broadcast live across Canada and rebroadcast five times.

The Rev. Loza noted that throughout Canada audiences were pleasantly surprised that the choir members were fluent in English. Not only were they able to introduce their musical selections in English, but after performing they were able to mingle with the crowds.

Musically speaking, the Rev. Loza applauded Mr. Ben's choice of compositions throughout the tour. "They were pieces I hadn't heard," the Rev. Loza said, "fresh and unique, lively not long, inspiring. It's clear they sing from the heart."

World Youth Day

The six days of World Youth Day (WYD) kept Stritennia very busy. Registration costs posed the first challenge: $70 for the weekend, or $200 for all six days. In an attempt to save on expenses, choir member Veronika Velychko, who also works as the bookkeeper at the university's Institute of Church History, suggested the choir register only for the weekend. But Stritennia was scheduled to perform on Wednesday and Thursday. Fortunately, the WYD organizing committee waived the charges, giving choristers free access for the whole week.

Wednesday through Friday was the catechism component of the week. Various groups of youth from all over the world gathered in Toronto churches for morning prayer and catechism, with each session led by a bishop. About 750 Ukrainian Catholics registered for WYD: about 140 pilgrims from Ukraine, 75 from the U.S., two from Brazil, and the rest from Canada. The English-speaking Ukrainian Catholics assembled at St. Nicholas Church and the Ukrainian-speaking at the Slovak Greek-Catholic Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God.

The members of Stritennia were again called into unexpected service. The catechetical programs consisted of a general welcome, a song, an introduction for the bishop who then gave a talk, and then a discussion. The youth from Ukraine who were to act as facilitators for the catechism session had not showed up for registration. The choir members were asked to be the facilitators. They also sang for the divine liturgy that closed each day's session in the cathedral.

The theme of the meetings was "You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world." The Rev. Loza mentioned it was "interesting to see females presenting theological themes so eloquently." Stritennia is the choir of the university's Lviv city campus, which has male and female lay students, as well as religious. (The Greek-Catholic seminary in nearby Rudno has its own, separate choir.)

This added responsibility made the WYD trip even more demanding on the choir members because they were lodging a distance from Toronto. They needed to be in the city at 8 a.m. for the catechism sessions, which meant they needed to rise at 5:30 a.m. And they didn't return home until midnight throughout the week.

The large group activities for World Youth Day were held at Exhibition Place, which the The Rev. Loza describes as a "fairgrounds in Toronto." The whole area was rented out and fenced in, with booths set up and displays in various buildings. This was the location of the two events that the pope attended.

On Thursday, July 25, the pontiff flew in by helicopter and spoke for an hour. The Rev. Loza noted that it was surprising that, "though he was feeble, the Pope managed to talk so long." On Sunday, July 28, about 800,000 pilgrims came for the closing papal mass. Many had camped over the previous night, when a large prayer service had been held. At the beginning of the Mass it was raining, though the rain stopped after about 15 minutes.

The Rev. Loza mentioned that a great number of Ukrainian flags was very noticeable at both of these papal events. Though the flags of many countries were to be seen, the Ukrainian presence was quite evident.

As part of the WYD program, the choir had two performances. The first was in Trinity Bellwood Park, near St. Nicholas Church, on Wednesday, July 24. They sang on an outdoor stage located in a valley, with a good sound system and lighting. Because of the venue, they sang folk songs with electric amplification, which was a little foreign to this ensemble. The second performance was inside St. Nicholas Church on Thursday, July 25. It was a concert of sacred music, with church acoustics, so the choir was much more at ease.

The week after World Youth Day was a little quieter for the singers. On July 30 they sang a concert of religious music at a church in Burlington, Ontario, and on Sunday, August 4, they were the main component of a concert to raise money to help the victims of the Sknyliv air show disaster. This was held at Holy Dormition Church in Mississauga, just outside of Toronto, and attended by about 400 people.

And the choir members did not forget the alumni of Lviv Theological Academy. They visited the grave of the Rev. Dr. Bohdan Lypsky in Toronto, who was a student at the academy in the 1930s. In the 1960s and 1970s he was pastor of St. Nicholas Church in Toronto. His niece was at the graveside and told the students about him.

The Rev. Loza reported that choir members did have time to relax a bit. They took a day off to go swimming in Lake Erie, visited Niagara Falls and got to see museums and other sights in Toronto.

For further information about the Ukrainian Catholic University, contact the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, 2247 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622; phone, (773) 235-8462; fax, (773) 235-8464; e-mail, ucef@ucef.org; website, http://www.ucef.org.

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