Alexis Kochan
Encyclopedia
Alexis Kochan is a Ukrainian-Canadian composer
and singer. She was born in 1953 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Ukrainian immigrants.
in 1977 while studying music and beginning a multi-faceted career as singer, teacher, producer, and recording artist. In 1978-1979 she lived in Kiev
, Ukraine
where she studied with the Veriovka Folk Ensemble and composer/conductor Anatoly Avdievsky. While in Ukraine she began to collect old Ukrainian folk songs that she was hearing for the first time.
Ms. Kochan's interest in giving new life to these archaic fragments led directly to her first recording, 'Czarivna' (The Princess), an album of songs connected with ancient seasonal rituals, produced in 1982 with Arthur Polson and the principal players of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
. In 1992 she formed Paris To Kyiv, a musical project with a rotating collection of musical collaborators. These include bandurist Julian Kytasty
and jazz violist Richard Moody who have formed the core of Paris To Kyiv for the last ten years as well as many others such as Ukrainian saxophonist Sasha Boychouk, Persian master percussionist Pejman Hadadi
, John Wyre
of Nexus (percussion ensemble)
, Celtic multi-instrumentalist Martin Colledge and Serbian bassist Nenad Zdjelar. Since 1994, Kochan has released four Paris To Kyiv titles: Paris To Kiev (1994), Variances (1996), Prairie Nights and Peacock Feathers (2000), and Fragmenti (2005).
Alexis Kochan also co-directed (with Michael Alpert
and Alan Bern
of Brave Old World
) and performed in 'Night Songs from a Neighbouring Village', a program exploring the commonalities and contrasts between Ukrainian
music and the musical traditions of the Jews of Ukraine. 'Night Songs' was created for the Jewish Museum (New York)
in 1994. Other performances have included Ashkenaz in Toronto (1995), Tage Der Jiddischen Kultur in Berlin (1996), the World Music Institute at Symphony Space
in New York City (1999) and Yiddishkayt at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
in Hollywood, California (2000).
Her musical theatre credits include the world premiere of Warren Sulatycky's play 'Babas' at the Persephone Theatre
in Saskatoon in 1994, where Ms. Kochan worked with Canadian Hungarian director Tibor Feheregyhazi
and performed a number of the songs from her 'Czarivna' and Paris To Kyiv' recordings. Television and film rights to her work have been acquired by the CBC for 'Canada: A People's History' and by the popular television series 'PSI Factor' for her song 'Kant'. Most recently her music appears in films by Alan Pakarnyk (Polyphonic Songs), Danishka Esterhazy and Bobby Leigh ('Dark Bird' and 'Call'). She has also worked with Shumka (2006) and Rusalka, Canadian Ukrainian dance ensembles of international note, who have created dance works based on her songs.
As an educator, Ms. Kochan has led master classes in singing and Ukrainian folk polyphony and conducted numerous workshops and music camps in Canada, the United States, and Europe. She has worked with groups of women, choirs, and in 2003, a group of actor/singers at the Jagiellonian University
in Krakow, Poland. She speaks and writes about cultural politics and the importance of the arts in education, and her special interest 'ethnicity, artmaking, and the Ukrainian folk song'.
She was selected to sing with Walter Klymkiw in the Olexander Koshetz Choir. She studied piano, completed music programs and by 13 was playing guitar and performing in folk clubs.
At the University of Manitoba
she studied psychology. She completed a Masters degree, began a doctorate and practiced as a psychologist for some years.
In the late seventies Alexis was offered an internship in Ukraine with the Ukrainian folk music ensemble Veryovka. Shortly after this she began composing music based on old Ukrainian songs and fragments.
This led to her first recording Czarivna in 1982. Produced with Arthur Polson and principal players from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
, the collection paired ancient ritual songs with an orchestral sound.
In the early nineties Alexis formed Paris To Kyiv - a musical ensemble with a rotating collection of musicians including bandurist Julian Kytasty
and jazz violist Richard Moody who have formed the core of Paris To Kyiv for the last 10 years.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and singer. She was born in 1953 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Ukrainian immigrants.
Biography
Singer Alexis Kochan was born in 1953 and raised in Winnipeg's North End. She earned a Master's degree in Psychology from the University of ManitobaUniversity of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
in 1977 while studying music and beginning a multi-faceted career as singer, teacher, producer, and recording artist. In 1978-1979 she lived in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
where she studied with the Veriovka Folk Ensemble and composer/conductor Anatoly Avdievsky. While in Ukraine she began to collect old Ukrainian folk songs that she was hearing for the first time.
Ms. Kochan's interest in giving new life to these archaic fragments led directly to her first recording, 'Czarivna' (The Princess), an album of songs connected with ancient seasonal rituals, produced in 1982 with Arthur Polson and the principal players of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba.-History:...
. In 1992 she formed Paris To Kyiv, a musical project with a rotating collection of musical collaborators. These include bandurist Julian Kytasty
Julian Kytasty
Julian Kytasty is a Ukrainian-American composer, singer, kobzar, bandurist, flute player and conductor. He was born January 23 1958 in Detroit, Michigan, in the family of refugees....
and jazz violist Richard Moody who have formed the core of Paris To Kyiv for the last ten years as well as many others such as Ukrainian saxophonist Sasha Boychouk, Persian master percussionist Pejman Hadadi
Pejman Hadadi
Pejman Hadadi is an internationally acclaimed Iranian tonbak player and Persian classical musician. In 1990 Hadadi emigrated to the United States.In 1995 he joined Dastan ensemble...
, John Wyre
John Wyre
John Harvey Wyre was a U.S.-born Canadian percussionist, composer, and music educator. He worked as percussionist with a number of important orchestras in North America, notably serving for many years as the principal timpanist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra...
of Nexus (percussion ensemble)
Nexus (percussion ensemble)
Nexus is a Toronto-based percussion ensemble that performs jazz, world music, and western avantgarde music.The ensemble is made up of percussionists Bob Becker , Bill Cahn , Robin Engelman, Russell Hartenberger, John Wyre, and Garry Kvistad. Founding member Michael Craden died of liver cancer in 1982...
, Celtic multi-instrumentalist Martin Colledge and Serbian bassist Nenad Zdjelar. Since 1994, Kochan has released four Paris To Kyiv titles: Paris To Kiev (1994), Variances (1996), Prairie Nights and Peacock Feathers (2000), and Fragmenti (2005).
Alexis Kochan also co-directed (with Michael Alpert
Michael Alpert
Michael Alpert is a klezmer singer and multi-instrumentalist and has been called a key figure in the klezmer revival of the 1970s and 1980s....
and Alan Bern
Alan Bern
Alan Bern , born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, is the musical director of Brave Old World, and remains one of the leading lights in the teaching and revival of Yiddish music in the US, Canada, and Europe since the early 1980s.-Life:...
of Brave Old World
Brave Old World
Brave Old World is an international klezmer band formed in 1989.Members hail from the US and Germany. The Washington Post called Brave Old World "the revival's first supergroup. Every player is a virtuoso"....
) and performed in 'Night Songs from a Neighbouring Village', a program exploring the commonalities and contrasts between Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
music and the musical traditions of the Jews of Ukraine. 'Night Songs' was created for the Jewish Museum (New York)
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
in 1994. Other performances have included Ashkenaz in Toronto (1995), Tage Der Jiddischen Kultur in Berlin (1996), the World Music Institute at Symphony Space
Symphony Space
Symphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre or the 160-seat Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater. Programs include music, dance, theater, film, and literary readings...
in New York City (1999) and Yiddishkayt at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre is a 1421-seat performing arts theatre in Los Angeles, California. The theatre is owned and operated by the County of Los Angeles, and run through a three-way partnership between the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the...
in Hollywood, California (2000).
Her musical theatre credits include the world premiere of Warren Sulatycky's play 'Babas' at the Persephone Theatre
Persephone Theatre
Persephone Theatre, is a theatre company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The theatre company was founded in 1974 by Janet and Susan Wright and named after the greek goddess Persephone. The first season performances were held at the Mendel Art Gallery, with the second season at the...
in Saskatoon in 1994, where Ms. Kochan worked with Canadian Hungarian director Tibor Feheregyhazi
Tibor Feheregyhazi
Tibor Feheregyhazi, CM was a Hungarian-Canadian actor and director.He attended the National Theatre School in Montreal...
and performed a number of the songs from her 'Czarivna' and Paris To Kyiv' recordings. Television and film rights to her work have been acquired by the CBC for 'Canada: A People's History' and by the popular television series 'PSI Factor' for her song 'Kant'. Most recently her music appears in films by Alan Pakarnyk (Polyphonic Songs), Danishka Esterhazy and Bobby Leigh ('Dark Bird' and 'Call'). She has also worked with Shumka (2006) and Rusalka, Canadian Ukrainian dance ensembles of international note, who have created dance works based on her songs.
As an educator, Ms. Kochan has led master classes in singing and Ukrainian folk polyphony and conducted numerous workshops and music camps in Canada, the United States, and Europe. She has worked with groups of women, choirs, and in 2003, a group of actor/singers at the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Krakow, Poland. She speaks and writes about cultural politics and the importance of the arts in education, and her special interest 'ethnicity, artmaking, and the Ukrainian folk song'.
General information
At three Alexis became a member of her Ukrainian church choir in Winnipeg's North End. At five, she debuted as a soloist.She was selected to sing with Walter Klymkiw in the Olexander Koshetz Choir. She studied piano, completed music programs and by 13 was playing guitar and performing in folk clubs.
At the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
she studied psychology. She completed a Masters degree, began a doctorate and practiced as a psychologist for some years.
In the late seventies Alexis was offered an internship in Ukraine with the Ukrainian folk music ensemble Veryovka. Shortly after this she began composing music based on old Ukrainian songs and fragments.
This led to her first recording Czarivna in 1982. Produced with Arthur Polson and principal players from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba.-History:...
, the collection paired ancient ritual songs with an orchestral sound.
In the early nineties Alexis formed Paris To Kyiv - a musical ensemble with a rotating collection of musicians including bandurist Julian Kytasty
Julian Kytasty
Julian Kytasty is a Ukrainian-American composer, singer, kobzar, bandurist, flute player and conductor. He was born January 23 1958 in Detroit, Michigan, in the family of refugees....
and jazz violist Richard Moody who have formed the core of Paris To Kyiv for the last 10 years.
Discography
- Alexis Kochan: Царівна (Czarivna) (1982) «Olesia Records»
- Paris To Kiev: Paris To Kiev (1994) «Olesia Records»
- Paris To Kyiv: Variances (1996) «Olesia Records»
- Paris To Kyiv: Prairie Nights and Peacock Feathers (2000) «Olesia Records»
- Paris To Kyiv: Фраґменти (Fragmenti) (2005)
Notable live performances
- Harvard and Yale Universities (1997)
- Carpenter Centre in Long Beach, CA (1998)
- French Embassy in Washington, DC (1999)
- University of California in Santa Barbara and at the Skirball Centre in LA (2000)
- Yara Arts Group of La Mama Theatre in New York City (2001)
- Centre for Theatre Practices in Gardzienice and Lublin, Poland (2001)
- Rolston Recital Hall at the Banff Centre for the Arts (2002)
- Ring Ring Festival in Belgrade, at the Teatr Maly in Warsaw (2003)
- Centrum Kultury Zydowskiej in Krakow (2003)
- Osrodek Badan Tworczosci Jerzego Grotowskiego i Poszukiwan Teatralno-Kulturowych in Wroclaw (2003)
- Dakh and Podil Theatres in Kiev (2003)
- Philharmonia in Chernihiv (2003)
- Bowery Poetry Club in New York City (2004)
- Nakasuk School in Iqaluit, Nunavut (2005)
See also
- Christmas traditions in UkraineChristmas traditions in UkraineThe Ukrainian Christmas festive days according to the Julian calendar, start on 6 January, Christmas Eve, and end on 19 January, "Jordan" or Epiphany.-Sviaty Vechir :...
- History of UkraineHistory of UkraineThe territory of Ukraine was a key center of East Slavic culture in the Middle Ages, before being divided between a variety of powers. However, the history of Ukraine dates back many thousands of years. The territory has been settled continuously since at least 5000 BC, and is also a candidate site...
- MinimalismMinimalismMinimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
- Music of UkraineMusic of UkraineUkraine is a multi-ethnic Eastern European state situated north of the Black Sea, previously part of the Soviet Union. Many of its ethnic groups living within Ukraine have their own unique musical traditions and some have developed specific musical traditions in association with the land in which...
- Ukrainian culture
- Ukrainian danceUkrainian danceUkrainian dance refers to the traditional folk dances of the peoples of Ukraine.Today, Ukrainian dance is primarily represented by what ethnographers, folklorists and dance historians refer to as "Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dances" , which are stylized representations of traditional dances and their...
- Ukrainian folk musicUkrainian folk musicUkrainian folk music includes a number of varieties of ethnic , folkloric, folk inspired popular and folk inspired classical traditions....
- Ukrainian folkloreUkrainian folkloreUkrainian folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Ukraine and among ethnic Ukrainians. The earliest examples of folklore found in Ukraine is the layer of pan-slavic folklore that dates back to the ancient Slavic mythology of the Eastern Slavs. Gradually, Ukrainians developed a layer...
- Ukrainian languageUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
- Ukrainian literatureUkrainian literatureUkrainian literature is literature written in the Ukrainian language. Ukrainian literature had a difficult development because, due to constant foreign domination over Ukrainian territories, there was often a significant difference between the spoken and written language...
- Ukrainian wedding traditionsUkrainian wedding traditionsUkrainian wedding is the traditional marriage ceremony in Ukrainian culture, both in Ukraine and in the Ukrainian diaspora. The traditional Ukrainian wedding featured a rich assortment of folk music and singing, dancing, and visual art, with rituals dating back to the pre-Christian era...