The Kobzar’s Prayer for Ukraine with Jurij Fedynskyj on the Bandura, Kobza, and Torban

Jurij Fedynskyj, a 48-year-old Ukrainian American Ukrainian, born in the United States and has resided in Ukraine for the past 23 years. Jurij is a musician, researcher and instrument maker, who for decades has been reviving the lost music and spiritual tradition of the Kobzar. The kobzar were traveling musicians, storytellers and spiritual leaders, who for centuries went all around Ukraine spreading their art and wisdom.

With the rise of Stalin and the Soviet Union control over Ukraine, the kobzar were killed, their instruments destroyed, and their traditions almost forgotten. Almost. Jurij and his colleagues work to recreate lost traditional instruments, including the kobza, the bandura and the torban.

Jurij has witnessed the current war in Ukraine first-hand. When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Jurij and his fellow musicians performed at checkpoints, barracks, and shelters. Wherever possible, his guild performed for desperate civilians and soldiers alike.

On this North American Tour, Jurij will carry on the kobzar tradition, hoping to enrich the world, sharing the truth about what Ukraine really is, through historic songs which have preserved the emotions and national character of Ukraine.

Jurij will collect donations for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Poltava Kobzar Guild.