Ukraine vocal ensemble adds Tony Allen song to repertoire

A new song written by an acclaimed Athlone songwriter and sung by Moate's Tony Allen has been added to the growing repertoire of a local Ukrainian vocal group which has been wooing audiences with their haunting melodies since 2023.

'The Town of Athlone' which was written by Kevin Sheerin and got its first national airing on TG4 last month, has been added to the list of songs being performed by the Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble established by Tetiana Donchenko.

Tetiana has been living in Athlone since May 2022 after she was one of over 70,000 Ukrainian refugees forced to flee their homeland in the wake of the Russian invasion on February 24 of that year.

Coming from a background that was steeped in music in her native Ukraine, music has remained a very big part of her life since she moved to Athlone, culminating with the setting up of the Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble in 2023.

Since its establishment the choir has collaborated with many well-known Irish singers, including the late Dolores Keane. “We sang the song 'Where have all the flowers gone' with her and it was televised on TG4 as part of the Féile Festival in Mullingar,” says Tetiana.

One of the major problems facing the choir, according to Ms. Donchenko is that its members keep changing constantly. “This is due for the most part to the nomadic existence of the Ukrainian people as displaced refugees,” she says.

Today, the key members of the goup are singers Olena Koltsova, Snezhana Kashchuk and their 82-year-old mother who recently came to Ireland. The group is also made up of Rumiya Romanenko, another recent addition, and sound engineer, Tetyana Stinovska. All of them operate under the guidance and leadership of Tetiana Donchenko.

Olena, Snezhana and Tetiana are currently employed on a Community Employment Scheme with St Mary's Hall under what they describe as the “excellent professional guidance” of their supervisors Martin Carrigy and Noeleen Hamilton. In addition to valuable vocational training and work experience, the scheme gives them the opportunity to integrate and facilitates attendance at courses, English Language Classes and their concert rehearsals and performances.

The recent focus of the choir has been on highlighting the similarities between Ukrainian and Irish culture. When presenting concerts, Tetiana conducts the entire programme in English. “This helps our audiences understand us better and it also helps our Ukrainian community understand English better,” she explains.

Tetiana says the group decided to add the local song 'The Town of Athlone' to their repertoire because for many displaced Ukrainians the town has become “their second home". She adds that she “loves Athlone very much” and performs the local song “with great pleasure.”

Among their recent concerts was a performance at the annual Croí na hÉireann International Multicultural event in the Dean Crowe Theatre, and they also sang at the LWETB Further Education Centre where many Ukrainians study English and avail of other valuable vocational courses. “Our dedicated teachers attended the LWETB concert as well as Ukrainian and Irish students and we also were honoured to have a very appreciative large group of students from St Hilda's Services in the audience.”

The vocal ensemble were also very kindly hosted in Dún Mhuire on Lyster Street in Athlone by the Mercy Sisters in recent weeks. Tetiana's initial acquaintance with the Sisters began a few weeks ago with the pastoral support and coordination of Red Cross Community Volunteer Bríd Kelly.

“I learned of a very sad personal loss from my homeland, and when Bríd approached her fellow community volunteers in the Sisters of Mercy, they compassionately supported me and another grieving wife and mother with a commemoration for our Ukrainian war heroes in St Peter and Paul's church,” explains Tetiana, after which all the Sisters “consoled and embraced us in the warm family-friendly atmosphere of Dún Mhuire, following the old Irish funeral traditions.”

In appreciation, the members of the Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble promised they would return to Dún Mhuire to share their Ukrainian creativity and highlight the historical similarities between Ireland and Ukraine. “When they found out that I was an accordionist with the Ukrainian Military Orchestra, they asked me to play the accordion for them,” says Tetiana.

The members of the vocal ensemble try to make all their performances as interactive as possible, so their audience in Dún Mhuire joined in as the group sang 'The Town of Athlone' and they also joined forces with the Ukrainian singers for a traditional circular dance – despite the fact that some of the dancing Sisters are in their nineties!

“Our very appreciative Sisters said they're looking forward to our new creation encore next time, please God," says Ms. Donchenko.