Yuri Kyrychenko

Yuri Kyrychenko [Юрій Кириченко], (b. in 1888 in the village of Luka-Meleshkivska, Vinnytsia district, Ukraine; d. July 2, 1951, in New York, NY).  Former singer in the Ukrainian National Chorus conducted by Alexander Koshetz, and director of choirs in New York City. He studied music with Mykola Lysenko at the Lysenko Institute in Kyiv, which is where he met Alexander Koshetz, another student at the Institute. Kyrychenko later  became a soloist with the Ukrainian National Chorus led by Koshetz. In 1921, when Koshetz became ill, Kyrychenko was asked to fill in as interim conductor of the Capella. Yuri Kyrychenko came to America in 1925 and became the choir director at St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in New York City. At the end of 1927, he organized a community choir called “Bandurist,” which gave hundreds of concerts and made recordings for Columbia Records. His life ended tragically in 1951 when he drowned while swimming in the ocean.

1920s: Member of Ukrainian National Chorus.

1925: Came to America.

1925: Director St. Volodymyr UOC (New York, NY).

1927: Founder of “Bandurist” Choir (New York, NY).