MARTA KRAWCIW-BARABASH

Professor Marta Krawciw-Bara­bash represents a multifaceted portrait. In her private life, she was a loving daughter, wife, mother and grand­mother. Her public persona is equally complex: starting as a budding piano artist, she grew to be a great musicologist and teacher, positively influencing the lives of thousands of her students and protégées. She was a constant and true friend to her col­leagues and an unfaltering protector of Ukrainian culture and history.

Marta Barabash's antecedents provided a strong emphasis on creativity and intellectual pursuit. Her father was Mykhailo Kraw­ciw, a talented water colourist, her mother Melania (nee Teodoro­vich) was an opera singer and writer, and her older sister Daria, a painter and choreographer.

Marta’s musical training began in Stryj under the tutelage of Sofia Okunevska and renowned examiners and directors Stanislav Ludkevych and Vasyl Barvinsky. She studied at the Lviv Conser­vatory of Music with Halia Levytska, then in 1938 completed her graduate work at the Vienna Academy under Hedvig Andrashfi (a student of F. Liszt). The war forced her to continue her studies at the HochschuIe fir Musik in Berlin sub­sequently finishing in Innsbruck.

Following her arrival in Toronto, Professor Barabash joined the Mykola Lysenko Ukrainian Music Institute, founded by Professor Ivan Kowaliw, an eminent violinist, and choral and chamber orchestra conductor. Marta remained ever the concert pianist active in the Toronto cultural scene and as a member of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers' Association. She involved many of her students in the Kiwanis Music Festivals.

Other events of note include appointment as Director of Music for the Ukrainian Cultural Association, participation in the League for the Liberation of Ukraine, reception of The Taras Shevchenko medal, awarded in 1983 by the Canadian Ukrainian Committee, and her position as the Director of Music for the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian World Congress.

With the financial support of the Toronto Arts Council, Professor Barabash launched a series of festivals named for Stanislav Lud­kevych aimed at developing bright young talent in the Ukrain­ian community. Since 1980, these festivals have taken place every five years and contribute greatly to the ability of young musicians to perform in front of audiences.

Professor Barabash’s enormous love of teaching music to young students and her unending struggle to save and pass-on Ukrainian music in particular, resulted in her founding the Ukrainian Music Festival in 1970 -- perhaps her greatest legacy to both Ukraine and Canada, dedicated to teaching the works of Ukrainian compos­ers and preserving Ukraine's music traditions in new generations of musicians. Today, the Ukrainian Music Festival has grown to an annual three-day affair for pianists, violinists, choral groups and bandurists from many countries.

Professor Barabash's enduring efforts to preserve Ukraine's musical heri­tage have gone beyond the performance hail and onto the printed page. Her publications are numerous, and include reprinted works of Ukrainian composers, materials for the Ukrainian Music Festival, Ukrainian language theory texts, the works of her mother Melania, and perhaps most significantly, an exhaustive collection of Ukrain­ian folk songs compiled with Zenowij Lysko. This 11 volume series is a comprehensive collection of folk songs from every region of Ukraine.

Professor Marta Barabash a tireless champion of Ukrainian music, a loving and nurturing teacher and a indisputable contributor to the cultural strength of Canada.