Roman Soltykewych

Roman Soltykewych was born on February 4th, 1909 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the town of Ulucz, located in what is now Poland in the area known as Lemkivshchyna.[1][2][3] He went to primary school in Ulucz before travelling to Przemysl for middle school. Roman continued his studies at the Musical Institute of Mykoly Lysenka in Lviv, Ukraine.[4] After the Second World War, Roman travelled through Austria to France before emigrating to Edmonton, Canada.

Personal life

Roman's father, Orest, was a Priest at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ulucz, the Church of Ascension of our Lord but also visited other churches in the area including the Church of St. Nicholas, built in 1925 (burned down after WWII).[5][6][7][8] The church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the oldest wooden church in Poland. During his time in Ulucz, Roman organized a patriotic choir called "Читaльні Просвіти" at the church to sing and perform for the local area.[9]

Roman's son, Orest Soltykevych, continued working in the world of music as the conductor of the Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton.[10]

Musical career

In 1953, Roman founded the "Dnipro" Choir, now knows as the Ukrainian Dnipro Ensemble of Edmonton, after the famous river in Ukraine, and was originally just a male choir.[11][12]

Roman founded the SUMK Choir (Ukrainian: Хор СУМК, meaning Canadian Ukrainian Youth Association) in 1966 in Edmonton, Alberta. Since its founding, it has performed across Canada and in Italy, Austria, and West Germany.[13] The group also performed in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Ukrainian Week Festival to celebrate the 57th anniversary of the independence of Ukraine in January 1975.[14]

Roman was also the conductor of the St. John’s Cathedral Choir in Edmonton, Alberta.[15]

In 1973, Roman was presented with an achievement award by the Premier of Alberta at the time, Peter Lougheed.[16]

Death

Roman Soltykewych passed away on November 17th, 1976 in Edmonton, Alberta at the age of 67 after suffering a major heart attack.[15][17][18]

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.svoboda-news.com/arxiv/pdf/1976/Svoboda-1976-253.pdf
  2. ↑ http://www.ulucz.org/?p=2039
  3. ↑ "History | Хор Дніпро :: Ukrainian Dnipro Ensemble of Edmonton". dniprochoir.com. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  4. ↑ http://www.svoboda-news.com/arxiv/pdf/1976/Svoboda-1976-253.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-wooden-cross-near-church-of-ascension-of-our-lord-ulucz-gmina-dydnia-60964164.html
  6. ↑ https://www.ulucz.org/?p=2265
  7. ↑ http://www.ulucz.org/?p=742
  8. ↑ https://www.stnicholascenter.org/galleries/gazetteer/1929/
  9. ↑ http://www.ulucz.org/?p=742
  10. ↑ Edmonton, Ukrainian Male Chorus of. "Ukrainian Male Chorus > About Us > About UMCE".
  11. ↑ http://www.svoboda-news.com/arxiv/pdf/1976/Svoboda-1976-253.pdf
  12. ↑ http://www.dniprochoir.com/about-dnipro/history/
  13. ↑ http://www.ukrweekly.com/archive/1983/The_Ukrainian_Weekly_1983-32.pdf
  14. ↑ http://www.ukrweekly.com/archive/1975/The_Ukrainian_Weekly_1975-07.pdf
  15. 1 2 http://uocc.ca/pdf/visnyk/visnyk-2007-07-1-15.pdf
  16. ↑ http://www.svoboda-news.com/arxiv/pdf/1976/Svoboda-1976-253.pdf
  17. ↑ "EPL - Edmonton Obituaries".
  18. ↑ http://www.svoboda-news.com/arxiv/pdf/1976/Svoboda-1976-253.pdf
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.