Press Release for Aug 27th concert of Ukrainian Music in conjunction with Ukraine Independence Day, Lewiston Maine at 2 PM

Mark your Calendar for August 27th

The Maine Balkan Choir will reprise an all-Ukrainian-language musical program for a charity concert in Lewiston at the Saints Peter and Paul Basilica Sunday afternoon August 27th starting at 2 PM. The event coincides with Ukraine Independence Day August 24th.  The theme of the event is “Flowers and Songs from a Ukraine Garden.”  The program is designed to offer a vision of hope and family, suitable for all ages. Proceeds of the event will go toward Catholic Charities of Maine and the Jewish Community Alliance,  each of which serves refugees in the Lewiston area.  The suggested donation is ten dollars, but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. We expect a large turnout of local Ukrainians and supporters and for that reason the announcements will be simultaneously made in both English and Ukrainian. If you own a blue-and-yellow flag or banner, please bring it. 

The Choir

“The Maine Balkan Choir was founded in 1998, and mostly focused on the music of Bulgaria, but when the war started last year we decided to learn Ukrainian folk songs in support of the defense of Ukraine.  We chose songs that offer a sense of hopefulness and community with a strong sense of family,”  said Joe Niemczura, the organizer of the event. “We first presented this repertoire in Portland May 21st. The standing-room-only crowd was very enthusiastic. Many Ukrainians expressed their delight  with our ability to sing in their language and the choice of uplifting songs. There were immediate requests to repeat this in Lewiston, where refugees from many communities have been welcomed.” 

Singing in Ukrainian language

The Maine Balkan Choir began rehearsing in January for this concert. “Many of us grew up around Slavic music. There is a wide variety of Slavic genres, and the women’s choral music is very popular. It is characterised by the use of minor keys and haunting melodies. We worked very hard to achieve authentic pronunciation, helped by a number of Ukrainians who joined the Choir. This added an element of authenticity that took it to a new level. We expect to welcome new Ukrainian members when regular rehearsals resume in fall, creating even more opportunities to create cross-cultural bonds with music as the vehicle.” The concert featured Lyudmila Iurchenko of Saco, who plays the Bayan, an authentic instrument of eastern Europe, and Dasha Artemchuk of Bar Harbor, who is from Kherson. 

Three subgroups from around the state of Maine

The Maine Balkan Choir has been based in Ellsworth, but in December 2022 when we announced our plans, we got inquiries from other parts of Maine. We ultimately formed three subgroups, adding one in Belfast and one in the Portland region. The three groups never met each other until a month prior to the May concert. Fifty singers created a wonderful sound. Niemczura was joined by Tanya Cherednichenko of Auburn, who repeated each announcement in Ukrainian, since we knew there would be many recent arrivals in the audience. 

The Basilica in Lewiston

Lewiston is a natural venue for this event. It is a city of  immigrants. Lewiston is the home of the only Byzantine Catholic Church in Maine, as well as a thriving Eastern Orthodox Parish. The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul dominates the skyline. It is the second-largest Roman Catholic church in New England, built by the French-speaking immigrants from Quebec who migrated there to work in the textile industry. The pipe organ, built by Casavant Freres, is renowned for its power, tone and flexibility. The Basilica  presents a prestigious summer series of organ concerts every Sunday afternoon. 

High Definition videos available for use in TV or radio promotion

There is a set of YouTube videos to show the Choir at the Portland event, and the media has permission to use these for promotional purposes. The link is: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSXynKNP9Lj_ANpKXqFTlK9YKa2_y8Wtt

We have contact information from various members of the Choir and local Ukrainian community who are involved with this event. For further information call (808) 352 1714 or email joeniemczura@gmail.com

Huddled Masses Orchestra Serbian dance tunes playlist July 2023

The “back office” work of having a band. Deciding what to play and making sure that the band has the music and the dancers know the steps if it’s a choreographed dance.

The Huddled Masses Orchestra uses sheet music. Given our situation it is the only way to get everyone up to speed. The internet is scoured for sources of sheet music, then it’s downloaded. In some cases, a band member listens to the tune and writes it down. Old School. Photocopies are made. Paper gets shuffled.

Here is the list of Serbian Tunes we will play at the 2023 Comon Ground Fair for our roving set from 3 to 5 PM Saturday Sept 23rd. The Common Ground Fair tunes are chosen on the basis of skill level and variety for a dance program. Our policy is to have a specific playlist written out so everyone knows what we will play next.

YouTube Playlist

We create this so people will know what to expect and to remind the band what it is generally supposed to sound like. for this event: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSXynKNP9Lj_lyaBKoiIoQH3Q1NNFqaKi

Here is The list in Alphabetical order

Not the order in which they will be played. For example, Ramo Ramo is such a ripsnorting tune we will probably play that one first!

(“@” means that we do need to prioritize these for rehearsal time)

Bela Ciao @ on the first go-round I found just the head of part of the tune. we now have all-parts-written-out.

First, a set of Ukrainian Lyrics: https://youtu.be/jAIrI_uZVGo

But we will be playing the mostly-instrumental version: https://youtu.be/onPZUQLpumg both versions are on the playlist

Biserka-Bojarka – kolo.

Bubamara @ recently dug up an all-parts-written-out version of this one. https://youtu.be/KiBoZJnEquo

Devetorka (Samakovsko Horo) @ In Hijaz mode, and 9/8 time. https://youtu.be/EGF_9-oHN68

Ederlezi @ all-parts-written-out. cocek https://youtu.be/J-begplTvNc

Ersko Kolo – kolo

Gelem Gelem (Djelem Djelem) @ all-parts-written-out. this is a brass cocek version.  https://youtu.be/REC7bDG0QLs

Jerusalema @ this is the one tune which is not Serbian. Steve Gruverman has agreed to play the lead melody part to this, and everyone else will be playing background chords in long tones, except for percussion  https://youtu.be/613A9d6Doac we will do this because the lyrics are wonderful, it’s got a great beat, and when it went viral during the pandemic it gave people a sense of hope.

Majko Majko – Jay Hanes solo piece with taxim. https://youtu.be/0T_sn8zvm38

Makazice – kolo

Milo Mou Kokkino – this a Greek “kalamatiano”, it is very easy but has a very inviting soaring melody and a part where we all need to sing along (“la-la-la- etc”) https://youtu.be/ppvGVYi1Gao 

Mesecina @ all-parts-written-out We will simplify any tempo changes and stick to a cocek beat. https://youtu.be/QV6HrABMXak

Niska Banja @ 9/8 most-parts-written-out, I need to finish transposing the Bb part.  The version we have is verbatim from the version performed by Bakije Bakica – https://youtu.be/SaI_n-4Garw and yes, it is in 9/8 

Raca – kolo. https://youtu.be/x8T3MMKoR6k

Ramo Ramo – I wrote out the Bb part.  we all need to learn to sing the chorus. Margot will take the melody

Rumelaj – also transposed the Bb harmony. Margot will take the lead on this. 

Sano Duso ak.a. Vranjanka – kolo . Margot will take the melody.

Savila Se Bela Loza – kolo

Srbjanka -kolo https://youtu.be/1qoHP2H34HM

Syrto Rodou – this is a syrto we have played for twentyfive years.  The Syrto and kalamatiano are the bread-and-butter of Greek dancing. https://youtu.be/DcapXV2CO1s

Toma Kosa @ Ruthenian tune from the Lemon Bucket Orchestra.  We will do the chorale at the beginning, then rock out. Pat Boone will not recognize our version. I intend to ask Anne very politely to join us singing the vocal part. We will not use a violin like this recording does – there will be a trombone solo. https://youtu.be/7c215alua2w

U Sest – kolo. we did this one. 

Underground Cocek @ I have a new all-parts-written-out arrangement of this, I will attach the whole shebang to this email, find your part to print out. the video closely matches the written out version:   https://youtu.be/2rKY8Y_Dfnk

Uzicko Kolo – the classic kolo tune.  the small group worked on this. easy! https://youtu.be/p2kSiS0QrCo

Vlasko Kolo – Steve will do this on zurla, with Chris Marshall on percussion

Zalna Majka ( lesnoto) – 7/8 a lesnoto. https://youtu.be/GUcL5Rv7llI

This is twentyfive tunes. ( the one labelled U Sest does not have a video in the list). More than enough to fill two hours. and the small group has already worked on more than half of them. I have specifically chosen ones for which as much of it is in all-parts-written-out format as possible.