Christmas Carol Festival with Nigel Osborne

Together with Nigel Osborne, we organized a small festival of holiday songs created by children affected by the war in Ukraine.

All the lyrics and music were written by the children themselves. Their songs express themes of love, relationships that many have lost, flowers and trees, and the beauty and safety of home. Nightingales sing of peace, white dream planes soar to the USA, and drums, violins, and pianos chime and sing along.

Overall, children from various parts of the country created an entire album:

• “The Big Drum,” created by children from the shelter for children of the “Children’s Services” of the Lviv Regional State Administration.
• “White Plane Dream,” created by children from Kharkiv Children’s Hospital No. 16.
• “New Year Miracle,” created by children from recently de-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region.
• “Black Dog,” created by children from the shelter for children of the “Children’s Services” of the Lviv Regional State Administration.
• “Green, Blue, Red Gnomes,” created by children from Kharkiv Children’s Hospital No. 16.
• “Merry Song,” created by children from the shelter for children of the “Children’s Services” of the Lviv Regional State Administration.
• “Home in Ukraine,” created by children from the shelter for children of the “Children’s Services” of the Lviv Regional State Administration.
• “Ukrainian Tiger,” created by children from Kharkiv Children’s Hospital No. 16.
• “Tulip and Rose,” created by children from the shelter for children of the “Children’s Services” of the Lviv Regional State Administration.
• “Bear, Crocodile, and Boar,” created by children from recently de-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region.

Following this, students, teachers, and guest musicians from Kharkiv, Uzhhorod, and Lviv worked on these songs under Nigel Osborne’s guidance. Nigel, a composer and music therapist, helped transform these children’s songs into professionally arranged and performed pieces.

Live recording at the shelter for children of the “Children’s Services” of the Lviv Regional State Administration:
Operators: Nazar Parkhomyk, Valentyna Prylypko, Anastasiia Halushko, Kateryna Korol, Jonathan Walton, Yulia Nikolaevska, Clea Friend

Live recording (various locations), Kharkiv:
Operator: Yulia Nikolaevska

Special thanks to:

• Employees of the shelter for children of the “Children’s Services” of the Lviv Regional State Administration
• Charitable Organization “MBF “Little Victories” (Lviv)
• oncopsychologist Vlad Yevseyev (Kharkiv); employees of City Clinical Hospital No. 16 in Kharkiv
• volunteer association “RadiYou” in Kharkiv
• Charitable Organization “BF “Ostrovets Dobra” (Kharkiv)
• Coordination Center for assistance in Kharkiv
• students of the Ukrainian Catholic University: Oksana Shoturmi, Lilia Dulher, Oksana Demych, Ksenia Barabash, Valeriya Prylypko, Sophia-Iryna Hromyk, Taras Kurylko, Anastasiia Haiiovych, Anna Korablyova, Sofia Kopach, Katerina Rets, Anna Kharchenko, Bozhena Boychuk, Natali Vakarchuk, Anastasiia Halushko, Christina Yevdokymova, Maria Vasilyzhenko, Daryna Pavlenko, Oksana Mykhailovych, Olena Moshovska, Anna Kushchak
• students of Kharkiv National University of Arts named after I.P. Kotliarevsky: Veronica Ivonina, Danilo Lazarev, Olena Pryhunkova, Kateryna Korol, Anna Cherniak, Taisiia Akzhytova, Anastasiia Agafonova.

Recording managers:

Anastasia Shyrokа – Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv)

Yulia Nikolaevska – Professor at Kharkiv National University of Arts named after I.P. Kotliarevsky.

Special thanks to Oleksandr Fomenko, Marta Kuziy, Anastasiia Volturnist, Yevheniia Marchuk, Lenka Udovychenko, Jonathan Walton, Clea Friend, Tina Ellen Lee, Michael Coply.

“Shchedryk”:

Operator: Hennadii Yemelyanov
Organ and solo arranger: Evheniia Marchuk
Orchestra: Cherkasy Academic Symphony Orchestra
Artistic Director of the Orchestra: Oleksandr Diachenko
Choir: Cherkasy Academic Traditional Music Chapel
Artistic Director of the Choir: Volodymyr Fedas
Orchestral-choir arranger: Viktor Stepurk
Producer: Evheniia Marchuk
Project coordinator: Veronica Sklyarova
Editing: Dmytro Pashko
Director: Nigel Osborne