The Ukrainian Classical Voice Project presented The Magic of Ukrainian Song, a lecture-recital at the historic Casino Club of Chicago exploring the richness, history, and cultural significance of Ukraine’s classical vocal tradition. Presented as part of UCVP’s educational concert series, the program combined performance with historical and musical context, introducing audiences to both celebrated works and rarely heard treasures of Ukrainian repertoire.

UCVP founder and soprano Irina Petrik was joined by pianist Olga Sklyanskaya, vocal accompanist at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. Both Kyiv-born alumnae of the Glière Municipal Academy of Music, the two artists brought a shared cultural and musical heritage to the program, interweaving live performance with discussion of the historical context, musical origins, poetry, and traditions surrounding the featured works.

The program featured art songs and vocal works by Maksym Berezovsky, Dmytro Bortnyansky, Mykola Lysenko, Vladyslav Zaremba, Alois Jedliczka, Stanyslav Lyudkevych, Anatoly Kos-Anatolsky, Ihor Shamo, and Lesia Dychko, illuminating the breadth of Ukrainian vocal music across generations and introducing audiences to repertoire still insufficiently represented on international concert stages.

Beyond the performance itself, The Magic of Ukrainian Song invited reflection on the importance of whose stories and artistic traditions are represented within classical music. By bringing Ukrainian repertoire and its cultural context to audiences beyond traditional academic settings, the presentation reflected UCVP’s commitment to expanding cultural awareness, fostering dialogue across communities, and exploring the role of music education in advancing greater understanding, inclusion, and meaningful cultural exchange.