The goal of this project was to arrange and record a couple traditional Ukrainian folk songs, that have not quite made their way over to Canada yet, and/or have been buried over the years by the sea of songs that became popular standards among the community. We chose three contrasting songs and arranged the music to accommodate their beautiful lyrics.

The plan all along was to release all three tracks for free, so please: download, enjoy, and share!

Vocals: Katarina Ljahovic
Sopilka: Mike Romaniak
Guitar: Patrick Power
Double Bass: Stephen Kreuger
Recording Engineer: Jason Cho
Mix: Rob Teehan

Approximate Duration: 4:00

Program notes: This is an arrangement of a past tune that I wrote for saxophone and piano. The dumka, which means thought in Ukrainian, is one that remains on my mind and made its way into this trombone and tuba duo. This piece and recording is all part of the Torontiade II project

Recording info: Recorded in studio, as part of the Torontiade II project. It was performed by Stephen Lecik (trombone) and Eric Probst (tuba).

Approximate Duration: 2:30

Program notes: This piece was written for a friend that put on a concert in Michigan at the end of January 2012. It’s fun to play and challenges the performer to work on techniques that aren’t too ‘outside of the box’, but are also not used very frequently.

Video below info: Just a quick demo recorded by Mike Romaniak and Chris Weatherstone in February 2012.

Video below info: After a successful first Torontiade workshop in Nov-Dec 2011, it was time to promote another one coming up. After quickly editing the footage myself, I decided to original music for the short video in the spirit of new music. Torontiade: new music workshops that emphasize collaboration and networking between composers and performers. Get involved at http://torontiade.com

Approximate Duration: 4:20

Program notes: This piece was written during Torontiade, a new music workshop that emphasizes collaboration and networking. The workshop took place during the months of November and December of 2011. Composers were working closely with performers during the writing process and the rehearsal process.

The initial idea for this piece came from a tune that I played while performing as part of the case of “I”, a theatre production by David Hersh that was part of the SummerWorks Theatre Festival in Toronto 2011.

Video below info: Here is some footage from the premier in Toronto at Gallery 345 on December 15, 2011. It was performed by Colin Repas (violin), Katie Avery (violin), Anne Prévost (viola), Hunter Coblentz (cello), Wesley Shen (piano).

Approximate Duration: 3:00

Program notes: The term ‘dumka’, which translates from the Ukrainian language literally as ‘a thought’, has been a term adopted by many Slavic composers (Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, etc). This particular piece is written in an energetic and driven seven pattern, which is a strong tradition in Balkan countries. The middle section opens up to feature a soloistic soprano saxophone line that is influenced by music found in the Carpathian mountains of Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia. The instrument that’s often heard in those regions is a wooden recorder-like instrument called a Sopilka.

Video below info: Here is some footage from the premier in Toronto at Gallery 345 on Novemeber 6th, 2011. It was performed by Chelsea Shanoff (saxophone) and Teresa Vaughan (piano).

Approximate Duration: 3:40

Video below info: This is an electroacoustic recording of this song (as originally intended). It features recorded acoustic sounds and digitally produced ones as well. Performers: Anthony Varahidis (vocals), Jaash Singh (darbuka).

Video below info: Here’s a video of the premier performed by Charlotte Mundy, Brendan Cassidy, and Rosano Coutinho. The event, “The Charlotte Concert”, took place on July 26th 2011 at The Music Gallery in Toronto. The night was filled with many premieres of new works by 9 different composers!

Approximate Duration: 6:00

Program notes: Мила Лемковина [Myla Lemkovyna] (2010) enhances text written by the talented Lemko poet Osyf Frycki, who depicts Lemko life in the Carpathian Mountains before and after the First World War. Lemkos are a Ukrainian ethnic group that practice their own dialect of the Ukrainian language, their own specific style of music and dance, and other cultural aspects in their everyday lives.

Video below info: Here are videos of the premiere at my 2011 Composition Recital in February. Performed by: Mike Brough (double bass), Gala Castaños (soprano), Alejandro Céspedes Pazos (percussion), Robert Fowler (bass), Rachel Gauntlett (cello), Dimitri Katotakis (bass), Julia Morson (soprano), Patricia Nesci (alto), Evan Porter (bass), Anastasia Tchernikova (alto), Anthony Varahidis (tenor), Leonidas Varahidis (tenor). Conducted by: Mike Romaniak.

First Movement:

Second Movement:

Approximate Duration: 7:30

Program notes: Program Notes: Three Klezmer Dances (2011) was produced after being introduced to many different Klezmer dances while playing with the University of Toronto Klezmer Ensemble. Learning to improvise using modes of the minor harmonic scale (e.g. Freygish, Mishabarach, etc.) instantly sparked my interest in this music. The natural tendency to bring out the augmented second leap in these modes is something very characteristic of Klezmer music, and very exotic for a young composer. The dances included in this piece: a khassidl, an Eastern-European hora, and a bulgar. Each movement features one of the members of the saxophone trio.

Video below info: Here are videos of the premiere at my 2011 Composition Recital in February. Performed by: Jen Blackwell, Mike Romaniak, Alex Espinosa.

I. Khassidl

II. Hora

III. Bulgar

Approximate Duration: 3:20

Program notes: Zazhurena Kolomeyka is a short piece written for sopilka and piano. Sopilka is a traditional Ukrainian folk wind instrument that is often used to mimic birds, insects, and other sounds of nature. Shepherds in the Carpathian Mountains would often play a tune on their sopilka to herd their sheep. This piece reflects the sopilkas search for its place in our 21st century world.

Recording: Click here (to download: Right-Click and Save Link As…) to listen to an .mp3 recording of the world premier; performed by Mike Romaniak (sopilka) and Nicholas King (piano) in March 2010.

Video below info: Here’s some footage from the premier at the University of Toronto.

Video below info: Now here’s a video of this piece at my 2011 Composition Recital in February. Performed by: Mike Romaniak (sopilka), Valentina Sadovski (piano).