Halyna Kvitka Kondracki – conductor

HALYNA KVITKA KONDRACKI IS THE CONDUCTOR AND DIRECTOR OF TORONTO’S AWARD-WINNING VESNIVKA CHOIR, WHICH SHE FOUNDED IN 1965 AND THE TORONTO UKRAINIAN MALE CHAMBER CHOIR, WHICH SHE FOUNDED IN JUNE 2001.
A graduate of University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, this accomplished musician has helped create a vibrant choral tradition in Canada and abroad and is highly regarded in the Canadian choral music community as an energetic and creative director.
Kondracki strongly supports Ukrainian-Canadian musicians and composers by commissioning works and promoting their performances and music. In recent years, she has been an adjudicator at the annual Ukrainian Music Festival in Toronto. Her tireless contributions to the Canadian choral scene and Canada’s cultural mosaic have earned her many honours, including awards from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Toronto Branch, and the Canadian Choral Conductor’s Association. In 2007, she received the Shevchenko Medal from the Canadian Ukrainian Congress, in recognition of her work in promoting Ukrainian choral music to Canadians. Most recently, on October 18, 2015, Kvitka was recognized by the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) with a Medal for Outstanding Contribution during the 2014 “Year of Shevchenko”, a beloved and revered poet of Ukraine, celebrating 200 years of his birth.
She is a member of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and the American Choral Directors Association. Recently, Kondracki spearheaded the formation of the Ukrainian Canadian National Arts Council under the auspices of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.