Introducing Vera 

Vera has lived in Manchester since 1991. She is a classically-trained singer and bandura player and part of the Ukrainian community in Manchester. 

Vera’s Dual Musical Heritage 

Vera graduated from music college in Ukraine having studied singing and conducting. She sang in a professional choir and also played professionally in a small ensemble of bandura players. I asked her first about how she came to the bandura and the music it is used for. 

"My mother was a very, very good singer. She had naturally beautiful voice … one that doesn't need any training. And so she sang, and she always wanted us to learn instruments. I'm one of five, she insisted that we all - when we moved from small village … she sent us all to music school to learn instruments. I chose bandura, my sister played cello, my brother played accordion. The other sister played like instruments like, you know, the string instruments." 

She holds up the bandura, a large lute-like instrument with lots of strings, and she gestures towards the neck. 

"It’s a bit like the lute… So this is the top of the range because it's got… [gestures to keys] so you can switch between… You can play up to four sharps and three flats, so this one is called “concert bandura”. So you could play slightly more advanced instrumental music, even classical performance. So you can play Bach on it and… yes, concertos, etc. I'm not that advanced [laughs] I sort of play a more basic level. The original purpose of the instrument was to play and accompany singers… mainly folk songs. [This] was the instrument that I learnt to play from the age of about 10." 

When she was studying at music college, Vera worked on opera rather than traditional Ukrainian music. She considers herself first and foremost a western classical musician, even while she often sings Ukrainian folk songs. 

"There are a lot of folk songs, sort of for classical singers. They were either transcribed, sort of modernised – I don't know if that's the word! – adapted for operatic singers. So uh, because it's quite interesting, because [in Ukraine] you have these two ways of singing. You have narodne, which is this chesty voice… You have choirs that sing mainly in Eastern Ukraine; but Western Ukraine is more classical, and I'm from Western Ukraine, so for me, that's always the way we sang." 

Vera can sing in both the chesty style and in the classical head voice, in which she feels more at home. 

"We do the chesty one when, probably when we are, I don't know, have a little bit to drink [both laugh] So you let your hair down and then … like, “Okay, let's try that one!” [laughs]" 

Vera's Music-Making in Manchester 

Vera came to Manchester to visit her aunt, who came to the UK as a refugee after World War II. Western Ukraine was occupied and her grandparents were farmers. Farmers had to send a family member to Germany, and her aunt was nominated for this. It was 1942, she was only 14 years old. 

"At the end of Second World War, obviously, because Stalin's policy, you know, whoever was working for Germans was captured… they were “enemies of the people” and ended up in gulags. So a lot people were offered refugee status, either to go to England or America, Australia, and so on. So my auntie ended up in, in Bolton. I came to visit my auntie, and then stayed on, and got married." 

"So, I was first studying, and then I got part time job, and then I did both. I was working as an interpreter as well, at one point – I’m a qualified court interpreter as well. Alongside like, weekends, teaching [at the] Ukrainian Saturday school… Having rehearsals, or giving lessons – bandura lessons, or singing lessons." 

Vera’s move to the UK meant a change of emphasis, and music became something for spare time, with just occasional paid projects. She was very active as a singer in choirs and opera societies, as well as engaging herself with the Ukrainian Cultural Centre. Her activities still bridge between groups working in European classical and Ukrainian traditions. 

"I was part of Preston operatic society, Bolton Opera 74, so did quite a few performances with them, because … But I always went back to my roots. At one point I had a small bandura ensemble, I used to give lessons to kids … I think I did that for about 10 years - that was late 90s, early 2000s. [I] got asked a few times to take part in one concert or another … as a singer and a bandura player, and also Ukrainian Saturday school, when we have school concerts, so [I] sometimes accompany children." 

Manchester's Ukrainian Community 

Manchester has the main Ukrainian Cultural Centre for the region. This houses a Ukrainian school, and is at the heart of Ukrainian life in Manchester. There are also smaller centres in Rochdale, Ashton … Bolton, Stockport. It is run by volunteers, but is well organised and contributes a lot to Manchester events. 

"When you have like festivals, Manchester festivals, etc, multicultural events, [the] Ukrainian community has always participated. And… If there's something happening in Ukraine, like there's [a] revolution, so the Ukrainian community Manchester always appealed to members of parliament etcetera, for support for, for all sorts of reasons." 

Music has always had a strong role in the Ukrainian community activities in Manchester. 

"Music and dancing, particular dancing, because obviously music… singing requires language knowledge, and you know, with each generation the language is… [pause] … in some way they still considers themselves Ukrainians but they use Ukrainian language less and less and less. They still listen to Ukrainian music, etc, but a lot of them carry on with dancing, because … probably [it’s] less effort. [laughs]" 

"We still have like… Ukrainian Christmas concerts, because Orthodox Christmas is two weeks later, two weeks later, 13 days later. And… Ukrainian people [are] I would say like Welsh people, they always sing. [laughs] They have loads of folk songs and carols, in fact for any occasion we have songs. So obviously for like Christmas concert you have loads of carols, traditional Ukrainian carols, Ukrainian dancing, and [a] nativity play. So all that is, is quite important. And then weddings and funerals, you have traditional music, to accompany all these events, and then obviously famous people like Taras Shevchenko … we celebrate his birthday with traditional songs, etcetera… So I would say, you know, those celebrations, … it makes it very special, music and singing. And also, you know, the church service is sung through, it's like opera. There's a few, quite a few churches- there's one in the city Manchester, there's Orthodox and Greek Catholic, two in London, and smaller ones- there’s a smaller one in Bolton." 

In the video above you can listen to Vera singing and playing the bandura as part of the Manchester International Festival in 2017.