Jurij Fedynskyj

Jurij Fedynskyj, is the leader and producer of the Krachkyvka Village Band, and also the director of "Kobzarskiy Tabir" which hosts the festival and camps in Kryachkivka. He originates from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, where he grew up. Jurij studied classical piano at East Carolina University, but has always been interested in an array of musical genres including traditional folk, jazz, early music, and popular music. He spent many years in the Ukrainian diaspora studying the bandura with Julian Kytasty, at camps and with the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus. At age 23, Jurij continued his studies in the Kyiv and Lviv music conservatories with such giants as Vasyl Herasymenko, Myroslav Skoryk, and Roman Hrynkiv. Afterwards, he joined the popular group "Haydamaky", and later himself helped create ethno-folk groups such as "Karpatiyany" and "Khoreya Kozatska" in Kyiv. For ten years, he studied the kobzar tradition with Taras Kompanichenko, as well as instrument making with the "Kyiv Kobzar Guild". Afterwards, Jurij left Kyiv to relocate to the small village of Kryachkivka, in the Poltava region, in order to study singing with the group "Drevo", as well as raise a family of six in a healthy environment. For the past ten years, Jurij's main project "Kobzarskiy Tabir" focuses on traditional music education. Jurij actively practices the kobzar tradition by traveling around Ukraine, as well as abroad. The recent project "Kobzaring the New World" has led to continuing tours of the US and Canada. The Krachkyvka Village Band is Jurij's latest project, which was created to share the work of Kobzarskiy Tabir, presenting the Poltava region musical and dance culture to the world.