IRYNA VOLOSHYNA
Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
Iryna is a folklorist-practitioner, performer and a young scholar.
In 2007 she joined a folk singing ensemble “Ladovytsi” (Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine) whose aim is not only to perform traditional Ukrainian songs in an authentic manner, but also to collect them during field research, to study the calendar traditions of Podillya, to organize folklore festivals, seminars etc. Since 1992, the ensemble has made numerous trips to remote villages, where they gathered folk songs of different genres in Podillya region along the Dnister river, an important historical area where the remains of the ancient Trypillya and Chernyahivska cultures are found.
In 2011 “Ladovytsi” took 2nd place in a prestigious music contest in Ukraine “Chervona Ruta” in the category of group singing (authentic singing). In 2013 “Ladovytsi” won 1st place in “Chervona Ruta” in the category of ritual performance (authentic singing), and Iryna Voloshyna won 2nd place as a solo singer.
Together with “Ladovytsi”, Iryna participated in a number of festivals and cultural events in Ukraine and abroad (Lithuania, Georgia).
During 2014-2016 Iryna was a Head of the NGO “Podillya traditions revival” in Khmelnytskyi, when aside from other small projects they organized several regional and one international folk festival in their city.
In April 2016 she attended School of Traditional Music in Kyiv, where she studied in the group led by Yevhen Yefremov.
A Fulbright Scholar, Iryna earned her Master’s degree in Folklore from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She hosted workshops in Ukrainian folk singing in Chapel Hill and New York City, and is happy to meet the community of folk singing lovers at Folk Camp Canada this summer. The program will include learning folk songs from the Dnister river valley of Podillya region of different genres.
E-mail: voloshyna.iryna@gmail.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/iryna.voloshyna.1