Cultural Fund Event: Taras Kulish, Bass Baritone

Sunday, Nov. 14, 2004 at 3:30 pm

Taras Kulish, bass baritone will perform at

The Lyceum
201 S. Washington St.
Old Towne, Alexandria, VA

Suggested donation is $15, students free.

Presented by The Washington Group Cultural Fund in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine, as part of their 2004-2005 Music Series.

For more information please contact Svitlana Shiells at (703) 506-4745.

Program:

music: Schubert
poetry: von Schober - An die Musik
poetry: Heine - Der Doppelgänger
poetry: Rellstab - Ständchen

music: Faure
poetry: Verlaine - Prison - (Prison)
poetry: Silvestre - Chanson d'amour - (Song of love)
poetry: Prudhomme - Les Berceaux - (The cradles)

music: Kern
words: Hammerstein - Old Man River from: Show Boat

----------------------------15 minute intermission---------------------

Lysenko - Hej, lita orel from the opera: Taras Bulba
Lysenko - Shcho u sviti je svjatishe? from the opera : Taras Bulba

Hulak-Artemovskyj - Oj shchos duzhe zahuljavsja from the opera: Zaporozhets za Dunajem

Kos-Anatolsky - Oj, ty divchyno
Kytasty - Yak davno!

Wesolowsky - Bulo ne tuzhyty - We shouldn’t be longing (tango)
- Yak my pokokhalys - How we fell in love (waltz)
- Kozhnyj raz - Every time (foxtrot)
- Vyna, vyna divchyno - Wine, wine my girl (waltz)
- Sertse - (tango)

TARAS KULISH Bass-Baritone: Born in Montreal of Ukrainian descent, Taras is quickly making a name for himself having already sung in all the major opera houses of Canada and under many prominent conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Julius Rudel, Mario Bernardi, and Steuart Bedford. The summer of 2002 he made his European debut singing the title role in Don Giovanni touring the castles of France and Belgium. This production was televised throughout the world in 2003 on the French channel TV5.

As a first generation Ukrainian, Taras began his singing experience with the folk and church choirs of Montreal’s Ukrainian community. His mother’s side of the family, the Verbitsky, were all singers so Taras was brought up with very strong musical genes. As a teenager he played and performed concerts as a bandura player, the national Ukrainian stringed instrument. In fact, he played in the bandura chorus with Hryhory Kytasty just before maestro Kytasty passed away.

Taras fluently speaks five languages and completed musical studies at both McGill University and the University of Toronto. He has been a member of the young artist programs of both l’Opéra de Montréal and Vancouver Opera, and has been a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council competition for western Canada and a finalist at the prestigious Belvedere International Opera Competition in Vienna. Grant awards include organizations such as the Canada Council for the Arts.

Taras has sung at American summer festivals such as Ravinia’s Steans Institute, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center where he sang in the anniversary production of Peter Grimes under maestro Seiji Ozawa. In Aspen he sang the role of Leporello in Don Giovanni under the baton of Metropolitan Opera conductor Julius Rudel, and the role of Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Recently, Taras has been busy performing with symphonies and opera companies of Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg and Minneapolis. Consistently, Taras’ performing has received much critical acclaim.

Upcoming opera engagements include Sparafucile in Rigoletto, the roles of Crespel, Luther and Shlemil in The Tales of Hoffman at the Opera Lyra Ottawa.

Upcoming recitals in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.

For more information on Taras’ career feel free to visit his website at www.taraskulish.com.