Music was an important and integral part of the culture for our Ukrainian Canadian pioneers and for those of us who grew up in that milieu. In addition to the Divine Liturgy and music for other church services, there were the annual Christmas carols, concerts of folk songs, songs for weddings and other ritual events, and plenty of informal sing-alongs. The last century has seen the formation of hundreds of choirs and smaller vocal groups, dance and polka bands, and countless solo performers. This historic musical legacy must be preserved, and more importantly, should be made available to the public.
The following is just a sample of the wide variety of historic Ukrainian music that exists. Click on the Title to go to that page which has music tracks and information on the artists / performers and the recording. You can listen to the entire recording, and/or individual tracks. (This page is still construction. We are adding more albums and music tracks as time and resources permit).
Sacred Music
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Selections from the Ukrainian Orthodox Liturgy | St. John's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral Choir – Edmonton, Alberta
- Resurrectional: Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - Part I | Combined Ukrainian Male Chorus – Edmonton, Alberta
- Resurrectional: Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - Part II | Combined Ukrainian Male Chorus – Edmonton, Alberta
- Divine Liturgy | Millennium Choir of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Western Diocese – Edmonton, Alberta
- We have seen the True Light: Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom | St. George's Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir – Edmonton, Alberta
- We have seen the True Light: Hymns | St. George's Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir – Edmonton, Alberta
- Sing to the Lord a New Song: Ukrainian Sacred and Liturgical Music | Ukrainian Dnipro Choir – Edmonton, Alberta
- Holy Divine Liturgy | St. George's Ukrainian Greek-Orthodox Congregational Choir – Dauphin, Manitoba
- Byzantine Glory: The Divine Liturgy | Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral Choir – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Praise Ye the Lord | Olexander Koshetz Choir – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Liturgy 2000: Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom | Schola Cantorum of St. Peter the Apostle – Toronto, Ontario
- Liturgy No. 2 Roman Hurko: Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom | Vydubychi Church Chorus – Kyiv, Ukraine
- Music from the Orthodox Liturgy | Slavonic Cappella Ensemble – Garden City, New York
- Millennium of Baptism | St. Vladimir's Cathedral Choir – Kyiv, Ukraine
- Orthodox Chants | Kyiv Choir Svetilen – Monastery St. Uspenska Kyiv-Pechersk, Lavra
- Heart of Kyiv | ProCoro Canada – Edmonton, Alberta
- Golden Echoes of Kyiv | Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America
- Selected Hymns from Vespers and Matins | St. Andrew's College Ukrainian Orthodox Theology Students Choir – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Panikhida: Orthodox Requiem 17th century | Russian Orthodox Patriarchate Choir – Paris, France
- Panikhida: Kirilo Stetzenko, Composer| Bells of Podil Choir – Ukraine
Festive Music
- This is our Jubilee | Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Centennial song
- First Star | CYMK Choir and Ensemble – Edmonton, Alberta
- Glad Tidings: Ukrainian Carols | Ukrainian Ensemble, Dnipro – Edmonton, Alberta
- On Christmas Eve | Lastiwka: Ukrainian Orthodox Youth Choir of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Heaven and Earth | Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral Choir – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Ukrainian Christmas Carols | O. Koshetz Memorial Choir – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Ukrainian Christmas | Ivan Romanoff Male Chorus – Toronto, Ontario
- God is Born | Vydubychi Church Chorus – Kyiv, Ukraine
- Christmas Carols | Chorus Kozbar with Orchestra – Philadelphia, PA USA
- Christmas in Ukraine | St. John's Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir – Newark, NJ USA
- Christmas Songs | Kyiv Choir Svetilen – Monastery St. Uspenska Kyiv-Pechersk – Lavra, Ukraine
- Christmas Vespers | Russian Orthodox Cathedral Choir of Paris – Paris, France
- Easter Liturgy | Russian Orthodox Cathedral Choir of Paris – Paris, France
Folk and Popular Music
- 40th Anniversary | CYMK Choir – Edmonton, Alberta
- Ukrainian Songs | CYMK Choir – Edmonton, Alberta
- Ukrainian Folk Songs | CYMK Choir – Edmonton, Alberta
- Beginnings | Trubka Band – Edmonton, Alberta
- Ukrainian Feast | Victor Pasowisty – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- My Thoughts | Dumka Band – Edmonton, Alberta
- Album of Ukrainian Songs | Verkhovyna Quartet – Toronto, Ontario
- A Day to Remember | Interlake Polka Kings – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Songs and Dances of Ukraine | Various Bandura Choirs – Kyiv, Ukraine
- Ukrainian Dance Favourites | D-Drifters-5 – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Lubomyra | Lubomyra Kowalchuk – Montreal, Quebec
- My Land, My Beloved Country | Alex Holub – Toronto, Ontario
- Kvitka | Kvitka Cisyk – Ozone Park, New York
- Rushnychok | Rushnychok Volume 3 – Montreal, Quebec
- The Kobza: Songs and Tunes | Paul Konoplenko – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Ukrainian Wedding | Tommy Buick – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Fantazia | Voloshky – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- North American Tour | Virsky Symphony Orchestra – Toronto, Ontario
- Play, Gypsy, Play | Ron Lakusta & The Diamonds – Sherwood Park, Alberta
- Roots (Korinnya) | Millenia – Edmonton, Alberta
- Korinnya Photograph | Korinnya Ukrainian Folk Choir – Calgary, Alberta
- Lastiwka | Lastiwka: Ukrainian Orthodox Youth Choir and Orchestra – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Ukrainian Country | The Frunchaks: Ed and Falicia – Edmonton, Alberta
- Your Ukrainian Party | Naduzak Family + Three – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Second Greatest Album | Nick Hnatiuk and the Fugitives – Edmonton, Alberta
- Queen of Ukrainian Dulcimer (Cymbaly) | Irene Chamczuk – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Golden Ukrainian Memories | Al Cherny – Toronto, Ontario
- Get On Track Ukrainian Style | The Cimarrons – Edmonton, Alberta
- Dance to the Music of the Melody Tones | Melody Tones – Vegreville, Alberta
- Family Favourites | The Citulsky's – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- God Bless the Farmer | Victor Holubowich and the Royal Lites – Edmonton, Alberta
- Great Melodies of Many Lands | Betty and her Brothers Five – Regina, Saskatchewan
- Weave Ukrainian Melodies | Jimmy Watsko and his Lumberjacks – Edmonton, Alberta
- Best of Bill Prokopchuk | Bill Prokopchuk – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- The Emeralds | The Emeralds – Edmonton, Alberta
- Miss Ukrainian Fiddle | Gail Marie Neduzak – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Metro Goes Country | Metro – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Live in Toronto | Burya – Toronto, Ontario
- Echoes of Ukraine | Bandura Music by Roman Bociurkiw – Vancouver, British Columbia
- Playboy Band | The Playboy Band – Edmonton, Alberta
- Regina Poltava Ukrainian Ensemble | Regina Poltava Ukrainian Ensemble – Regina, Saskatchewan
- Spring Nights | Olesia and Andriana Chuchman – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Prairie Pride | Prairie Pride – Edmonton, Alberta
- Ukrainian Melodies | Valley Tsymbaly Ensemble – Fraser Valley, British Columbia
- Kalyna | Kalyna – Winnipeg, Manitoba
Other Ukrainian Music Resources
- Ukrainian Musicians Association
- Online Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Canadian Zabava Bands
- Internet Archive – Ukrainian Music
- PolkaDon DB: A collection of western Canadian prairie old-time music featuring many Ukrainian bands and performers.
- Polkas on the Prairies: Ukrainian Music and the Construction of Identity (PDF document)
- WikiSpiv: The Ruthenian Diaspora Music Project. This is a collaborative documentation project preserving and promoting the music of the Ukrainian, Rusyn, and Belarusian diasporas.
IMPORTANT: These recordings are being made for the historical preservation of the rich musical heritage of Ukrainian settlers in Canada during the period of 1891 to 2001. It is important that this music, and information about the many talented performers, be preserved and made available / accessible to their descendants and future generations.
For some of these recordings, only a sample of the total tracks were copied from the original media (tape cassettes, CDs, LPs). All music tracks were digitally cleaned and enhanced to ensure best possible audio quality.
All copyrights remain with the original artists or performers. These music tracks are provided for your personal listening enjoyment, memories and education only; commercial or other uses, without the permission from the copyright holders, is prohibited.