Ensemble Cherubim Brings Ukraine's Winter Carols to New York to Benefit the Olena Zelenska Foundation

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Media Contact: Amanda Sweet, Bucklesweet | amanda@bucklesweet.com

 

Ensemble Cherubim Brings Ukraine's Winter Carols to New York to Benefit the Olena Zelenska Foundation

Ensemble Cherubim performs a January 9 benefit concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in partnership with Ukraine House

 

NEW YORK, NY (October 27, 2026) – Ensemble Cherubim, the acclaimed professional chamber chorus dedicated to Ukrainian choral music, presents Carols of Birds, Bells, and Peace from Ukraine on Saturday, January 9, 2027, at 7:00 PM, a co-production with the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street, New York). Artistic director Marika Kuzma leads the concert, with the Cathedral Choristers, Bryan Zaros director; the Ukrainian children's chorus "Moloda Dumka," Hrechynsky director; and guest artists to be announced at a later date. The event raises funds for the Olena Zelenska Foundation in its "Safe School" project for the children of Ukraine. 

Ukraine has thousands of winter carols. A country known across centuries for its plentiful harvests of grain, it is equally bountiful in song. Its Christmas carols express joy and wonder at the Nativity, and its New Year's carols give thanks for all Creation: birds of many feathers, fields, land and sky, and bells that ring.

The program unfolds across the full range of the holiday season's repertoire, from early chant to carol fantasies by contemporary composers, with spoken poetry between the pieces. Ensemble Cherubim will sing carols and lullabies in Ukrainian, Yiddish, and English in the resonant acoustic of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Supertitles will provide translations. Together with the music, projected images will immerse the audience in this rich culture.

The Olena Zelenska Foundation's "Safe School" project has refurbished and equipped 38 underground shelters within schools and kindergartens, serving more than 18,000 children across Ukraine. With this project, more and more children have access to secure, in-person learning during the school year, even in the midst of air raids. Moreover, in winter months when civilian infrastructure is attacked by missiles and power outages are frequent, it offers entire communities a refuge from shelling to gather for warmth, recharge batteries, and lift their spirits.

The U.S. liaison for the Olena Zelenska Foundation and cultural arm of the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, DC, Ukraine House, is partnering with Ensemble Cherubim in the New York concert. The Harriman Institute of Columbia University, Selfreliance Federal Credit Union, Shevchenko Scientific Society, the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America, and the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America sponsor the performance.

Artistic Director Marika Kuzma has visited Ukraine many times as a conductor and as a music scholar. During a recent trip to Kyiv she experienced first-hand the courage, equanimity, and gratitude of Ukrainians amid precarious conditions.

“During an air raid evacuation, I saw a mother holding her baby,” Kuzma recalls. “The baby's huge eyes were looking at me, and I asked the mother her name: Vira, which in Ukrainian means faith. As a musician, I can't invent a drone or fight on the front lines, but I can create a beautiful concert and raise funds so that these innocent, vulnerable children can have a bright future.”

Ensemble Cherubim performs the program in Boston before coming to New York, on Thursday, January 7, 2027, at St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church, in a benefit for Doctors United for Ukraine (DU4U) that supports pediatric care at Okhmatdyt hospital in Lviv. Both events are vibrant concerts for a vital cause.

Ensemble Cherubim's singers, among the most coveted choral artists in America, come from diverse backgrounds and share a common passion for Ukraine's language, poetry, and music. Kuzma, a Ukrainian-American conductor, has drawn praise from critics who have called her work with choirs “first-rate” (New York Times), “exceptionnel” (Le Devoir, Montreal), and “stirring and spectacular” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Their  concerts have earned standing ovations coast to coast, and its recordings on prestigious labels have gained glowing reviews and reached more than a million listeners.

Concert Details

Saturday, January 9, 2027, 7:00 PM

Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street, New York, NY

Tickets: Cathedral of St. John the Divine

A portion of the ticket sales and all additional donations will benefit the Olena Zelenska Foundation's "Safe School" project.

More information: ensemblecherubim.org/events/

 

Ensemble Cherubim: Carols of Birds, Bells, and Peace

Marika Kuzma, conductor, with children's choirs Cathedral Choristers, Bryan Zaros, director; and "Moloda Dumka" Vasyl Hrechynsky. Guest solo artists to be announce

Benefit for the Olena Zelenska Foundation, presented in partnership with Ukraine House

Sponsors: the Harriman Institute of Columbia University; Selfreliance Federal Credit Union; Shevchenko Scientific Society; Ukrainian Medical Association of North America (UMANA); Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA).

Downloadable images

 

About Ensemble Cherubim

Ensemble Cherubim is a professional chamber choir of artists from across the United States. It aims to bridge Ukrainian culture with global audiences through choral music and innovative performance, introducing audiences to treasures long hidden from the international sphere. Its singers, of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds, share a deep interest in Ukrainian culture.

The ensemble's 2013 Naxos recording, Bortniansky, I cried out to the Lord: Hymns and Choral Concertos, earned glowing reviews and has reached more than a million listeners worldwide through CD and streaming. Voix des arts wrote, “With performances of this quality... the music of Bortniansky seems poised for rediscovery.” Its new album, Carols of Birds, Bells, and Peace from Ukraine, released in August 2026, is available on major digital platforms.

Ensemble Cherubim has performed at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York, Berkeley Festival and Exhibition, New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas, and Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, DC, and most recently for Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, CA, and at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in Los Angeles. Large, diverse audiences have welcomed these performances, which have illuminated and reframed perceptions of Ukrainian culture.

About Marika Kuzma

Artistic director Marika Kuzma was born in the United States to Ukrainian parents and draws equally on the music of her ancestors and on international repertoire. Having led choirs at the University of California, Berkeley, symphony choruses, and various professional ensembles, she has conducted works as diverse as the Monteverdi Vespers, Bach's B minor Mass, Britten's War Requiem, Reich's Tehillim, Weston Ma'at Musings, along with premieres of new works at prestigious venues including Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley; Grace Cathedral, San Francisco; Weill Hall and St. Paul's Chapel, NYC; St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna; and the Kyiv Mohyla Academy in Kyiv. As a chorusmaster, she has worked alongside Gustavo Dudamel, Nicholas McGegan, Mark Morris Dance Group, Kent Nagano, and Keri-Lynn Wilson in landmark concerts internationally.

Her research on Ukrainian and international composers has been widely published, and her recent book on Ukrainian carols has received acclaim from fellow American choral directors Grant Gershon and Craig Hella Johnson and historian Serhii Plokhy alike. Her recordings can be heard on the Centaur, Koch, and Naxos labels. Critics have called her work with choirs “first-rate” (New York Times), “exceptionnel” (Le Devoir, Montreal), “stirring and spectacular” (San Francisco Classical Voice), and “leaving no musical marvel unexplored” (San Francisco Examiner).