Bohdan Kushnir

Bohdan Kushnir [Богдан Кyшнір], (b. 1921 in Horytsi, Poland; d. April 10, 2019, in New Boston, Michigan). Bohdan Kushnir was born in 1921 in the village of Horytsi, which is near the city of Peremyshl (present-day Poland). He studied at the Lysenko Institute in Peremyshl, and at the Music Academy in Vienna. In 1947, he earned a doctoral degree in musicology in Germany. He came to America in the early 1950s and became a major figure in the musical life of the Detroit area. He was the choir director at Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hamtramck, MI. In addition to directing the church choir, Prof. Kushnir led the “Trembita” Chorus. He succeeded the founder of that ensemble, Kyrylo Cependa. He was also a member of the Detroit branch of the Ukrainian Music Institute, as well as a professor at Michigan’s Wayne State University.