Sometime around 1900, my grandfather, Theodore Pochapsky, emigrated to the US from what is now Volyn Oblast in northwest Ukraine. Grandpa made his living as a cantor for the Ukrainian Catholic Church in communities from Scranton Pennsylvania to Cleveland Ohio. And yes, you could make a living cantoring in those days.
I never really thought too much about my roots, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed that. I am horrified by the inhuman and institutionalized cruelty that Putin’s regime has visited upon a neighbor, but also proud of how my distant cousins have shown strength, resilience and deep courage in resisting those evils. It is in the fields, the cities and the skies of Ukraine that the future of western civilization, maybe even the whole world, is being determined. To the fallen and wounded, those who suffer loss and pain in Ukraine, we here in the US owe a debt that can never be repaid.
Still, we can try. A few Sundays ago (October 18th, to be exact), three different choral groups, the St. Eulalia Choir of Winchester, MA, the Iveria Georgian Ensemble (disclaimer: I am a member of both of those groups) and the Yevshan Ukrainian Ensemble of Connecticut gathered at St. Eulalia’s Church for a benefit concert, Voices for Ukraine. Proceeds from donations went to the Veteran’s Clinic at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, where injured soldiers and civilians can undergo treatment and.rehabilitation. It was an afternoon of haunting and beautiful music, with selections in English, Ukrainian and Georgian. After the concert, a collation was held in the church hall, with Ukrainian treats provided by parishioners of Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church of Jamaica Plain.
St. Eulalia is set up for live streaming and rebroadcast, so we could bring in viewers from around the world, including some UDF front-line soldiers who watched the concert from their bunker. (I would include photos that those soldiers sent us, but I worry that some facial recognition or geolocation software would allow the Russians to target their positions). For me, that was perhaps the most important thing about the concert, as that was the same week that Trump and Elon Musk demonstrated their subservience to Putin by allowing the US to import Russian diesel and slowing the Starlink connections necessary for stopping Russia’s attacks on civilians. With the blood of Ukrainian children on Trump’s hands, it was important (for me at least) to let a few Ukrainian soldiers know that not all Americans see their lives as commodities to be traded for comfort and cheap diesel.
Even if the war were to end tomorrow, the needs of the wounded and bereaved of Ukraine, who have endured so much, will continue for years to come. If you want hear the concert, you can follow this link to the Vimeo recording, with options to download and share. Even if you don’t want to listen, I encourage you to donate at https://ucufoundation.org/donate/. On the pulldown menu, you can specify “Support for Veterans and their families”, and the optional “Care to share?” further specify “veteran’s clinic”, and also mention the concert as to how you found out about this opportunity.
