Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Singing an American song
By Camille Villanueva
Daily Evergreen (Washington State U.)
01/16/2008

(U-WIRE) PULLMAN, Wash. — Venturing to Ukraine would cause culture shock for even the most seasoned of travelers. New food, strange customs and a language barrier serve as perfect causes for homesickness.

If you were to travel there today, however, you might be able to hear some strains of Americana wafting along the banks of the Dniepr River.

Last year, WSU music professor Julie Anne Wieck went to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, to collaborate with faculty and students at the National Music Academy of Ukraine on teaching techniques, gain access to their music, and share the American art of song.

"They have very little exposure to American songs, and I was very interested in their music, so it was a perfect cultural exchange," Wieck said.

In the five weeks she spent in Kiev, Wieck sat in on singing lessons and rehearsals for choir and opera, in addition to attending several music theater and opera productions. The culmination of her stay was the presentation of a recital she put together as a representation of American song.

"The people there are very warm and passionate," she said. "I brought over a lot of American art song scores and donated them to the library there because music is so hard for them to get. In turn, they gave me Ukrainian scores. This was a precious honor because they can't afford to buy music, it's always photocopied there." Wieck spent six months preparing her recital, and debuted it at WSU before she left. It included works of important American composers such as Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Libby Larsen and George Gershwin, as well as two vocal works written by WSU faculty member Gregory Yasinitsky.

"They were very excited to hear American music, and they were not shy about letting you know," Weick said. "After each set of songs I would receive a bouquet of flowers, bravos and standing ovations." Wieck is now working on bringing the international forum to WSU. She has been applying for grants so faculty and students in Ukraine can experience American music and culture firsthand.

"We are so similar," she said. "They are just as passionate about music and teaching as I am. And despite what I previously thought, they teach basically the same way." Wieck said singers in Ukraine have a much bigger and fuller sound, but instructors teach and stress the same things as American instructors. Wieck attributes it to the full body and passion found in the folk songs they grow up listening to.

"It's beautiful, but big. It was a sensory overload some days," she said.

Ukrainians believe their voices are bigger because of their facial structure, saying their features more resonant, she added.

Students in Ukraine mostly perform Russian, Ukrainian and opera music with a little Italian. They do not study German, English or French music, Wieck said. And new music there still evokes the style of the 1800s.

"They are not as advanced harmonically or rhythmically," she said. "I think it's part of a larger phenomenon in music where Americans need to be more versatile. It's not that the country is backward or behind, it's just easier there to get ahead only knowing a certain type of music." While she was there, Wieck was honored with an invitation to participate in the International Forum of Arts and Education in the 21st Century held in Vorzel, a community outside of Kiev. She acted as a judge in a competition of singers from Russia and Ukraine, presented a seminar on music education in America compared to Ukraine and taught short master classes.

Afterward, Wieck was invited to become a member of the association. She said she is hoping to travel to Finland in June for the next competition.

Wieck had been interested in Russian literature and culture since she visited St. Petersburg during spring break a few years ago. When her sister was offered a position in Kiev, she jumped at the chance to take a sabbatical and share the experience with her sister.

Unfortunately, because the opportunity to go to Ukraine was so sudden, Wieck was not able to acquire any language skills.

"I was the only non-Russian, non-Ukrainian person there, without a translator," she said. "It was total immersion. The country was also in a transition period, so half the people speak Russian and the other half speaks Ukraine. I never knew what I should be learning. I really have a new respect for international students."

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