Kyiv-Mohyla Academy is the Home of Award-Winning Choir “Pochayna” (Капела Почайна)
Did you know?
Kyiv-Mohyla Academy has many well-hidden secrets. Not everyone knows that the Academy is the home of the Chorus “Pochayna” (Почайна), a cultural pearl of the university. The choir, also known as Capella Pochayna was established in 1995 by composer and choir director Oleksandr Zhyhun. Recently, on August 24, 2021, Maestro Oleksandr Zhyhun was awarded the Taras Shevchenko National Prize in recognition of his exceptional work in choral music. We salute him! Congratulations Maestro!
Under the direction of Maestro Oleksandr Zhyhun, the choir has been thriving with new generations of singers and musicians, including special guest soloists. Concerts are performed at the university and Ukraine’s leading venues, such as the Kyiv Philarmonia, St. Nicholas Cathedral and others in Kyiv to the acclaim of musicians, audiences, and the press.
The Pochayna Chorus is a testament to the dedication to music of Maestro Oleksandr Zhyhun and the singers and soloists who sing for the love of Ukraine’s musical culture. These are students, members of the faculty, and alumni who sing and perform pro-bono. Their gatherings take place at the university’s rehearsal rooms, and their performances, often with full orchestra, are attended by audiences who fill the halls.
The Pochayna Chorus has focused performances on composers Berezovsky and Vedel, Mykola Leontovych, Kyrylo Stetsenko, Mykola Lysenko, and Ukrainian folk songs in various arrangements. As well, the choir performed Haydn’s Mass, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Requiem, Cerubini’s Requiem, and the Rachmaninoff’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
The Chorus also performs works to promote contemporary Ukrainian composers Alemdar Karamanov, Mykhailo Verykivskyj, Otara Taktakiwshvili, Victor Stepurka, Oleksandr Yakovchuk. For the 70th anniversary of the Holodomor, the Pochayna Capella performed Symphony Requiem of O. Yakovchuk. On another occasion the chorus performed Lemkivske Vesillia of Mykola Kolessa.
Maestro Oleksandr Zhyhun and the Chorus deserve not only our thanks and moral support, but they also merit our financial support. Their dedication and work is inspiring. There are costs incurred with honorariums, printing, copying scores, orchestral arrangements and engagements, and basic performance requirements, which require a budget that is beyond the university’s means.
Music has always been at the center of the culture of the Ukrainian people, and at the heart of their most profound social, religious, and political occasions and experiences. With such a rich tradition in music, the students, alumni, and faculty of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy participate in the choir with love and dedication.
The Chorus has its own Youtube channel, which you can access on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOj4osUZx2Pk_aLW7C3jdFg/videos
If you are a music lover, or you value Ukraine’s musical cultural heritage, we encourage you to donate to support the Pochayna Chorus at the university. We welcome your donations to Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation for the chorus with a notation “for MUSIC”.
