The Ukrainian Art Song Project, now in its 18th year, has introduced the beauty of Ukrainian art songs to many singers and to the song-loving public. The project was founded in 2004 by bass-baritone Pavlo Hunka, who has sung to great acclaim at the Canadian Opera Company. Born in the UK to a Ukrainian father and a British mother, Hunka is passionate about bringing Ukrainian art songs, the bulk of which remain unheard and largely forgotten, to the consciousness of classical music lovers everywhere. Hunka sees these songs as a vital part of the Ukrainian cultural heritage and rightly deserves to be heard.
An offshoot of the UASP is the Summer Institute that started a few years ago, where a group of aspiring young singers gather in Toronto for a week of intensive immersion, mentored by a distinguished faculty. The week culminates in a public concert. This year’s concert was the fourth, and the first one that Hunka was not able to be here. I was told that he was busy recording the Ukrainian art songs in Ukraine, despite the danger posed by the Russian invasion…
