Kurbasy celebrates rich cultural history with regional songs

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025)—Ukraine’s varied geography has been home to a mix of religious, artistic and political history for centuries.

Music and visual arts ensemble Kurbasy will celebrate the country’s distinct and diverse culture with “Songs of the Ukrainian Forest” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, in Recital Hall. The event is on tour as part of Center Stage.

Tickets are $39 for an adult, $14 for a University Park student, and $22 for a person 18 and younger and are available for purchase online. Avoid the $4 fee by purchasing over the phone at 814-863-0255 or in person, weekdays 10 a.m.–4 p.m., at Eisenhower Auditorium.

“These are the traditional songs of different regions of Ukraine” and represent the country’s rare ethnical minorities, said ensemble multi-instrumentalist Vsevolod Sadovyj in a virtual artist visit.

The songs include seasonal rituals (“A Mother Asked Her Daughter,” “The Waters Flow Into Four Fords”); ballads (“It Has Been Seven Years,” “I Am a Little Birdy”); narratives of unity (“Red Guelder Rose,” “The Wind Blows From the Mountain”); and more.

Visit Kurbasy online for more information and to purchase tickets.

Personal stories of the generations of people of Ukraine

Kurbasy is named after avant-garde theater director Les Kurbas, one of a group of artists from the 1920s and ‘30s known as the Executed Renaissance.

“He was murdered by Soviet occupational [forces], because he was too progressive for his time, and he proclaimed Ukrainian independent art,” Sadovyj said. “There is a theater named after Kubas in Lviv, very progressive, really inspiring. Actresses from that theater, were so inspired by one of the plays they prepared based on the Ukrainian traditional folklore songs, that they went into this tradition very deep.”

“Songs of the Ukrainian Forest” draws from a rich trove of lullabies and legends of generations of Ukrainians. Kurbasy artistic directors and singer-actresses Mariia Oneshchak and Nataliia Rybka-Parkhomenko reprise stories from their ancestors, and the accompanying folk musicians provide a dramatic soundtrack to the tight vocal harmonies and stunning background imagery.

Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia (which also spans the continent of Asia). Its diverse geography—from the densely wooded Carpathian Mountains to the Dnipro River basin and seaside of Odessa—has inspired the many rites, practices and traditions that together form Ukrainian culture.

Sadovyj said this topography lends itself to pockets of dialects, ways of singing and number of voices. Some region’s styles are known for their complexity and vocal nature, others revealing medieval musical phrasing in the vocals and archaic rituals.

“Most of the topics of the songs are, of course, personal stories, the love stories,” Sadovyj said. “Also, there’s a block of so-called spring calls … It’s half ritual, half song, but in early days, it was a very powerful tool, as well, to feel that you are the part of the nature, that you can impact things around you because you are the part of it.”

Watch a video about Kurbasy.

FREE MUSICAL DIALOGUE EVENT

The community is invited to learn about connections found in world folk music at the free event “Echoes of Tradition: Musical Dialogue at 3 Dots” from 5:30–7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 3 Dots Downtown, 137 S. Allen St., State College.

Artists from Kurbasy, Penn State Emeritus Professor and music expert Jerry Zolten, and Penn State Professor of Ukrainian language Michael Naydan will hold a musical discussion about the universality of folk music in cultural contexts, including the blues and gospel genres. The artists also will provide musical illustrations of the wide-ranging topics discussed.

The event is free, but registration is required. Visit “Echoes of Tradition” for more information.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Sponsored by
George and Nina Woskob

Accessibility services provided by
Sidney and Helen S. Friedman Endowment

A grant from the University Park Fee Board makes student prices possible.

Kurbasy is on tour in the United States as part of Center Stage, an initiative of the U. S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with funding provided by the U.S. Government. It is administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc. www.centerstageUS.org.

FIND US

The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, a unit of the College of Arts and Architecture, aspires to create connected, sustainable, and equitable communities, where everyone experiences joy, belonging and creativity.

For more information about the season, visit the Center for the Performing Arts online, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.