Kytasty, Hryhory

Composer, conductor and bandurist Hryhory Kytasty (b. 1907, Kobeliaky, Ukraine, d. 1984, San Diego, USA) came from a peasant family. His childhood coincided with the First World War, the rise and fall of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, the rise of Bolshevism and the imposition of collectivization. He studied vocal and choral music at the Poltava Music College and choral conducting at the Lysenko Music and Drama Institute in Kyiv, where he also studied the bandura. He sang in the Kyiv Opera Chorus and in 1934 joined the Kyiv Bandura Cappella, which subsequently became the State Bandura Cappella. During the Second World War the Cappella made its way to Germany, and after several years in displaced persons camps, Kytasty emigrated to the United States and settled in Detroit in 1949. There he immediately founded the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus, which he directed until 1958 and again from 1967 until his death. In 2008 he was named Hero of Ukraine posthumously. Kytasty composed more than 200 works, primarily for voice, chorus and bandura. In particular he was noted for the epic dumas he composed for male chorus and bandura ensemble.