Strong Cavan connection with new Ukrainian choir

Neither Ukrainian-born Julia Boyko nor Irish musician Dermot Dunne could envision that their meeting at the National Tchaikovsky Academy of music in Kiev decades ago would spark a lifelong friendship and, years later, see her lead the newly-formed National Ukrainian Choir in Ireland in re-recording one of songwriter Phil Coulter’s most famous songs, ‘Steal Away’.

Last Tuesday marked what has been an incredible life journey for the talented Yulia, who has lived in Cavan for the past 20 years and currently runs the Gold Star School of Music with her husband, and fellow musician, Viktor.

The couple are no strangers to the power of music as a force to bring people together and unite them as one.

But even Yulia expresses a degree of surprise at just how meaningful this latest project has become. The brainchild of CEO of Cavan County Local Development, Terry Hyland, who happened upon the Derry-born Coulter’s song while driving his kids to the park one evening, it culminated in the performance in Dublin’s Saint Stephen’s Church last week (August 22). It shows a dramatic scaling of events that begun slowly behind the scenes but quickly gathered pace as the year went on.

The song, originally written 40 years ago, tells the story of a couple who escape from the Troubles, and speaks to the many parallels with the current situation facing Ukrainian refugees today.

“In our own history our ancestors too faced tyranny and persecution. In the past, we too had to leave our homeland in search of a safer and better life,” said Terry, speaking at the performance, where he also gave credit to the wide LCD organisation for helping move the initiative forward.

Those involved include Adeline O’Brien, CEO of Empower; Fingal LDC,; and Michelle Mullally, Programme, Impact and Communications Officer of the Irish Local Development Network.

They were also joined by LDCs and other support network organisations in Galway, Longford, Louth, Monaghan, Meath, North East West Kerry, Offaly, Limerick, Cork, Sligo, South Tipperary, and Westmeath.

Phil Coulter meanwhile provided his expertise and guidance to the project over the past number of months.

The National Ukrainian Choir is made up of 40 people from across the country, including nine singers from Cavan, all of whom have been forced to leave their home country following the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began just over 550 days ago.

They include Olena Aleksieieva, Ilona Aleksieieva, Alina Aleksieieva, Lillian Nebuvailo, Marina Poberezhna, Polina Zhamharian, Svetlana Krasnianska, Yasmin Yanies and Nataliia Kazanzhy, and that doesn’t include the roles played by Yulia, Vikor, or Seirgy Balan who joined the group on accordion.

“Most of the people involved weren’t singers or musicians before they joined,” explains Julia, speaking to The Anglo-Celt. “The idea for the choir was to give them something to help them escape the trauma of escaping war.”

As a result, mum-of-two Yulia said that Ukranian refugee families are still living in hostels or hotels. In some cases, with no other choice available, families are divided.

Their coming together was “therapeutic” both for them, and for her, as Yulia has watched on in horror at the war taking place back in her native Ukraine.

“I think they have a brother, or a husband; maybe they have a son who is still in Ukraine, they may never see again. It was very emotional.”

To begin the process of re-recording the Coulter classic, Yulia reworked the musical arrangement of the song when translating it into Ukrainian. She started by dividing the different voices of the singers by melody. As the majority of the singers are located in provided accommodation across Ireland, much of that work had to be done remotely.

Once she’d collected the recordings, she and the organisers arranged for all the refugees to finally meet in person in Balbriggan in North County Dublin.

It soon became evident to Yulia just how much being involved meant to the singers. One singer would wake at 4am to get a bus from rural Kerry, across two stops, just to make it to the Capital.

Then there was the human element to contend with. Some of the singers, unbeknownst to them, soon realised they were from the same war-torn town as each other, forming strong bonds by sharing the trauma of what they’ve had to leave behind. “It is more than just a choir, more than just a song. They feel more to this than that. They feel together, and they feel that this is something here from their own country too. It’s really huge for them actually,” says Yulia. “It has become something really beautiful.”

Commenting on his involvement in the initiative, Coulter, who performed the new single in Dublin with the choir, said: “I have travelled all over the world with my music and have seen how it can cross borders and create friendships as a universal language.”

Coulter, who was touched when group members turned up to record the song in full traditional Ukrainian traditional costume, added: “It has been an honour to work on the recording of this single. I hope that the initiative has provided a source of unity and has given the choir some semblance of hope for a brighter future.”

The performance, supported by the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), was attended by Ukrainian Ambassador Larysa Gerasko, elected representatives and invited guests.

Terry, CEO of CCLD, believes that the choir project can be expanded further in future.

“There is so much scope here to keep this going,” he told the Celt this week. “There is definitely the will there to keep the Ukrainian choir going I feel, and to work with others in the future as well. What we’ve seen with this is - there is great power in bringing people together, supporting them through a common cause, and music is powerful in the way it can touch people.”

The song is available for download on Spotify from August 31.