Passion & Pluck
SCRUBGRASS TWP, Venango County — More than 40 musicians are gathered near Emlenton this week to study and celebrate Ukrainian music.
With a primary focus on playing the bandura, the 90 acres at the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church Camp echoes with the joyful plinking of more than 2,000 strings.
"It has the most strings of any handheld instrument," said Charlie Sakuma, describing the full sound produced from just one bandura.
"People hear a tape or CD and think two people are playing."
Sakuma, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is among the 40-some musicians gathered at the camp, situated on a country road along the Allegheny River.
Dating back to the sixth century, the instruments resemble a large-bodied guitar shaped like a teardrop with a short, sturdy neck. Depending on its age and style, the bandura can have more than 60 strings, but on modern banduras, 55 are common. Their sound is sometimes compared to that of the lute and the harp.
<embed src="/assets/mov/BE25403811.MOV" width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" align="right"></embed>As part of the annual camp, which began Aug. 5, musicians receive lessons from experienced bandurists — playing their instruments at least six hours each day. Part of that time includes group rehearsals for a concert that concludes the two-week program.Although experienced bandurists are brought in to teach each season, this year's camp features Taras Lazurkevych and Oleh Sozansky, well-known bandurists from Lviv in western Ukraine.Sakuma takes regular lessons at home in Edmonton, but jumped at the chance to learn from full-time professionals — especially this year's duo, who perform as the band Bandura Tells. Many of the campers, Sakura included, are familiar with the duo's recordings.Adriana Krasniansky, also attending bandura camp, says the long hours and highly skilled instructors have helped propel her forward in the four years she has been playing."They say this camp is equal to about two years of training," said the 14-year-old Cleveland resident.
"The (teachers) that are from Ukraine, they have academy training. The teachers here: This is pretty much their hobby."Hosted by the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus, the annual camp has been offered since 1979, with a break between 1983 and 1988.About 10 years ago, the program expanded with vocal workshops. More recently, it lowered the age requirement to 9 from the previous 12-year minimum.At 45, Sakuma was among the older musicians who traveled from all parts of the United States — and in Sakuma's case, Canada — to gain the intensive training.To expand his learning, Sakuma has already traveled twice to Ukraine, once two years ago and again in May, but the camp seemed more economical."The cost is cheaper and I don't need a translator," he said.Only two days into the camp, Sakuma said his sight-reading skills were improving."I practice all day," he said, noting the stress on his fingers. "It's painful, a little."Krasniansky also points to the back and legs."You need perfect posture. "It's a lot heavier than a guitar," she said.Also, the bandura must sometimes be clenched upright between the knees — especially during tuning. Although she couldn't hold it upright as a beginner four years ago, Krasniansky since has developed the necessary muscles."It gives your thighs a workout," she said. "It's better than a ThighMaster."Being of Japanese descent, Sakuma doesn't fit the profile of most bandura players. But a large Ukrainian population in Edmonton exposed him to the region's culture when he moved there in 1998.
Interested in folk dancing, Sakuma lacked the preliminary training to join a Ukrainian troupe that performed the complicated steps."I play a Japanese (stringed) instrument called the shamisen, and also guitar," Sakura said. "This is more strings, but I think I can do — so I tried it."Unlike Sakuma, Krasniansky was born in the Ukraine, but was adopted as an infant by American parents of Ukrainian descent.Those factors combined with Cleveland's large ethnic population exposed Krasniansky to her heritage."I'm proud of it," she said, alluding to the rich tales that surround the ancient instrument.History in motionAlthough some form of the bandura dates back to the sixth century, the instrument is most widely known for its use by kobzari, disabled blind war veterans who wandered from village to village telling epic war tales."They were like today's Internet or news source," said Anatoli Murha, camp administrator.
A bandurist himself, Murha began attending the camp as a child, continuing his studies as an adult between his professional duties at the camp.Although banduras were used in the Middle Ages to accompany song and dance, they eventually became popular among the Ukrainian soldiers, or kozaks, from which the word kobzari originated.Because they were carried while being played, the instruments at that time, called kobzas, were smaller with fewer strings.Often addressing political topics, the kobzari's epic songs gained interest by scholars in the 1870s, influencing other music of the time.While Ukraine was independent for a brief period after the Russian Revolution of 1917, it was absorbed into the Soviet Union in 1922.In the mid-1930s, the Soviet government eliminated many remaining blind kobzari as part of an effort to wipe out Ukrainian culture.Reports say the musicians were lured to Kharkiv under the pretense of a conference at which their music work be recorded. Once assembled, the bandurists were killed.Afterward, many Ukrainian artists and musicians sought refuge in North America, keeping their music and culture alive.Although Ukraine regained its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union, bandura popularity began to resurge in the early 20th century.New music was composed, and ensembles began to form, allowing the instrument to evolve to its current larger size.
Julian Kytasty of New York City, who teaches at the camp, descends from one composer noted from that time.With a master's degree in music, Kytasty is artistic director of the New York Bandura Ensemble, performing and teaching around the world.As well as composing bandura music, Kytasty's great-uncle Hryhory, who lived from 1907 to 1984, was director of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus in Detroit and was a founder of the bandura camp. This year's concert will focus on Hryhory Kytasty's compositions, marking 100 years since his birth.Since the time of Kytasty's great-uncle and father, also a bandurist, Kytasty says the instrument and its music continue to evolve — partially because musicians are evolving in different parts of the world.Young musicians in the United States, for example, experience influences unlike those overseas."These kids live in America. Their musical sensibility is impacted," Kytasty said."They have a particular musical esthetic that they're part of as Americans.""The future is going to (reveal) some really good players coming out of this camp and others," he said."And doing something different than what's coming out of the Ukraine."<br><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Times New Roman">Video by Brandon Gerthoffer</font>
<B>WHAT:</B> Kobzarska Sich Bandura Camp concert at the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church Camp in Scrubgrass Township, Venango County<B>WHEN:</B> 2 p.m. Aug. 19.<B>WHERE:</B> 110 All Saints Road<B>INFORMATION:</B> Call 724-867-5811.
