Eugene Orest Sadowsky

Eugene Orest Sadowsky [Євген Орест Садовський], (b. 1913 in Ripne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine; d. August 2, 2014 in OH). Long-time choir director at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Parma, OH. Sadowsky—whose father was a priest—was born in 1913 in the tiny village of Ripne near Ivano-Frankivsk. He left Ukraine in 1944, traveling first to Austria and Germany, and then to the U.S. In 1955 he organized the well-known Dnipro Chorus, which for four decades gave concerts throughout North America, including a memorable appearance at Expo 67 in Montreal. An energetic and charismatic leader, Sadowsky aptly signed all his works with the clever monogram “OCA,” which he derived from “[О]рест [СА]довський” and the Ukrainian word for “wasp.” He died on August 2, 2014 at the age of 101.