[Ohio UZO News] The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus to seek new conductor in 2008

[AMurha at aol.com]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE         
CONTACT: 
Anatoli W. Murha, UBC  President 
 
UBCpresident at bandura.org,  734.658.6452 

The Ukrainian Bandurist  Chorus to seek new conductor in 2008
Detroit  - After almost twelve years at its artistic helm, Oleh Mahlay will 
be stepping  down as Artistic Director and Conductor of the internationally 
renowned  Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus (UBC) at the end of the 2007-2008 concert  
season.  Mr. Mahlay has been  directing the UBC since 1996, and his tenure is 
highlighted by a Western  European concert tour, a historic series of concerts 
and events in Ukraine  during the 10 Year Ukrainian Independence Anniversary 
Celebration, a commitment  to youth and educational programs of the UBC, as 
well as the recent concert tour  which commemorated the work of Hryhory Kytasty.  
Prior to being selected as the artistic  director, Mahlay was the Chorus' 
assistant conductor and concertmaster, and an  active member of the concert 
ensemble since 1987.  Mahlay has been credited for  revitalizing the membership of 
the UBC with talented bandura players and  vocalists from all over North 
America.   
Oleh  Mahlay plans to take some time off to spend with family and possibly 
explore  other musical ventures. Mahlay states, "It was not an easy decision to 
close  this chapter in my artistic life and leave a group of devoted and 
charismatic  individuals.  Most people do not  appreciate the caliber of 
individuals who make up the Chorus; individuals who  deeply care about the kobzar 
tradition, understand the importance of the Chorus'  work throughout the world, and 
are open to exploring new musical concepts."  He continues, "After almost 20 
years of  intense commitment to this legendary group, it is time to step away 
in order to  re-energize, focus on my family, and pass the torch to my 
successor.  As I told the membership, at the end of  my current tenure I will become 
the Kapelia's number one fan!"    
During  his time as Conductor, Mahlay has worked with the President of the 
UBC, Anatoli  Murha, for over eight years. Working together, they released five  
diverse recordings, organized tours, concerts and special  events throughout 
North America, Europe and Ukraine. Mahlay said, "Having strong administrative  
leadership has been one of the keys to the success of the UBC. It is rare to  
find such a good working relationship between art and commerce. Working  
together, Anatoli and I have been able to create a wonderful team consisting of  
the entire membership, which has led to a growth in our audience and an ability 
 to spread the word about the bandura to Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians  
alike.  I have no doubt that the  Chorus will continue to blossom as it approaches 
its 100 year anniversary in  2018."   
UBC  President Murha stated, "It should be noted that Maestro Mahlay looks  
forward to returning to the UBC one day and that his stepping down is  a 
personal decision, not organizational." A search committee has been  formed. Murha 
continues, "It is our intent to have a new conductor in place and  working with 
the membership on or before September 1,  2008. The search committee will 
identify candidates, interview them and  make recommendations to the membership 
of the UBC for final decision." According  to the by-laws of the UBC, the 
active membership must vote for the  conductor. Murha states, "The year 2008 is 
very important to the Ukrainian  community as it begins to commemorate the 
Holodomor. We have been invited to  join the commemoration in addition to other 
projects slated for 2008 and  2009.  Finding a new conductor is  priority number 
one so that we can continue our ambassadorial  mission." 
For  more information and latest developments, please visit www.bandura.org



**************Start the year off right.  Easy ways to stay in shape.     
http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://clevelanduzo.org/pipermail/uzonews_clevelanduzo.org/attachments/20080118/e80efc0c/attachment.html