The Ukrainian Church Music Archive

The Ukrainian Church Music Archive A systematic effort to find and catalogue Ukrainian church music before it is lost forever. We are looking specifically for choral sheet music.

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?This manuscript was written in Montreal in 1936 by Stepan MAGALAS [Степан Маґаляс], a former c...
06/01/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

This manuscript was written in Montreal in 1936 by Stepan MAGALAS [Степан Маґаляс], a former choir director at St. Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He later became a priest and assumed the name Igumen Sviatoslav. There is another score by him posted on my website, the “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE” (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Stepan Magalas was born on September 28, 1898, in Lukashivka, a small town located about 75 miles northeast of Kyiv. While serving in the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic during the war for independence, he was captured and sent to a Polish internment camp in Kalisz (1922). Following his release, he set out for Montreal, joined the newly-formed parish of St. Sophie, and became the choir director there in the 1930s and ‘40s After his ordination in 1950 by Archbishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk), he served as the rector and choir director at St. Nicholas Orthodox Monastery in Grimsby, Ontario. He also pastored Holy Trinity Church in Buffalo, New York (1954-1957); St. Nicholas in Miami, Florida (1959-1968); and finally Holy Virgin in Arnold, Pennsylvania. The exact details of his death are not known, but it appears that he may have passed away in Hamilton, Ontario, around 1973 or 1974.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?These notes for Matins were written down in 1935 by Mykola JURYCHUK [Микола Юрійчук], one of t...
05/25/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

These notes for Matins were written down in 1935 by Mykola JURYCHUK [Микола Юрійчук], one of the founding fathers of St. Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Montreal, Quebec. His complete score is posted on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE” (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Mykola Jurychuk was born on October 22, 1897. He was part of the founding committee that established the parish in 1925. He was there when and Rev. Volodymyr Sluzar came from Winnipeg to serve as the first pastor. The Church of St. Sophie was known for its excellent choir largely through the effort of Father Sluzar, a well-trained musician. Some other individuals who contributed their musical talents to the choir during those early years were Stefan Magalas, Joseph Marciniuk, and Volodymyr Lach. It was a great loss for the congregation when Mykola Jurychuk passed away in 1955.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?Here are some compositions of M. Verbytsky that were transcribed in Lviv probably around 1910 ...
05/18/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

Here are some compositions of M. Verbytsky that were transcribed in Lviv probably around 1910 by Theodore HOPTIAK [Теодор Хоптяк], who at the time was the choirmaster at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of St. George in Lviv. The full manuscript is posted on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE.” (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/)

Thoedore Hopitiak was born in western Ukraine in 1876 and came to America sometime during the First World War. In the 1920s, he opened a music studio in Chicago, and offered lessons in piano and violin. He also spent time in Buffalo, NY, serving briefly (1932-38) as choir director at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church. After that, he relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to direct the choir at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church. His wife’s name was Maria, and together they had two sons: Theodore and Boris, both of whom became choir directors (Carnegie, PA and New Britain, CT). He died in 1944 and is buried at St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Baldwin, Pennsylvania--a suburb of Pittsburgh.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT'S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?These pages are taken from an early choir book written in 1912 by Rev. Gregory PYPIUK [прот. Г...
05/11/2026

WHAT'S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

These pages are taken from an early choir book written in 1912 by Rev. Gregory PYPIUK [прот. Григорий Пипюк], which is 17 years before he became an Orthodox priest. The rest of this book is posted on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE” (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Rev. Pypiuk, better known as Father Harry, was born in 1887 in the Ukrainian village of Lysychyntsi [Лисичинці, Тернопільська область]. He immigrated to America in 1908. He initially served as choir director in Passaic, New Jersey, and later in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Following his ordination in 1929, he was assigned to parishes in Sharon and Butler, Pennsylvania. In 1932, he was transferred to St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Monessen, where he served as both pastor and choir director for 21 years. He spent his final years working as secretary-treasurer for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA in South Bound Brook, New Jersey. Father Pypiuk passed away in 1962 and is buried in Monessen, Pennsylvania.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?Here are two modest compositions by Rev. Stephen MUSIYCHUK [прот. Степан Мусійчук], Ukrainian ...
05/04/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

Here are two modest compositions by Rev. Stephen MUSIYCHUK [прот. Степан Мусійчук], Ukrainian Orthodox priest, composer, playwright, and poet. Both pieces were performed in 1931 by the choir at St. Mary’s in Chester, Pennsylvania. I have many old scores like these posted on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE” (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Father Musiychuk was born in Western Ukraine and immigrated to America in 1912. Following his ordination in 1930, he spent his first decade as a priest serving at Holy Trinity in Buffalo, New York, and later at Holy Ascension in Passaic, New Jersey. In the 1940s, he was transferred to SS. Peter and Paul in Youngstown, Ohio, and finally served parishes in Sharon and New Castle, Pennsylvania.

Throughout his ministry, he was a dedicated promoter of Ukrainian music, frequently staging concerts and operettas with his choirs and drama groups in every parish he served. He passed away in 1952.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?This transcription of “Only-Begotten Son” was made in 1982 by Petro DLABOHA [Петро Длябога] of...
04/27/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

This transcription of “Only-Begotten Son” was made in 1982 by Petro DLABOHA [Петро Длябога] of Philadelphia, PA. I posted another one of his scores on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE” (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Petro Dlaboha was born on July 10, 1914, in the Lemko Region of Poland in a village called Bereska [Береска]. He came to America around 1963 and became the music teacher and choir director at SS. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Syracuse, New York. He also sang with the “Prometheus” Male Chorus of Philadelphia. He passed away in 1999 in Philadelphia.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?This is one of many beautiful manuscripts written in the 1960s by Walter CHERNYZ [Володимир Че...
04/20/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

This is one of many beautiful manuscripts written in the 1960s by Walter CHERNYZ [Володимир Черниш] of Baltimore, Maryland. It contains the Odes of the Paschal Kanon for the Midnight Office on Holy Saturday. I have more vintage material like this posted on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE” (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Walter Chernyz was born to Ukrainian parents in 1911 in Baltimore. He was still an infant when his family moved back to Europe. His early life was spent in a tiny village in Poland. He returned to the United States in 1938 and settled again in the Baltimore area. From 1966 to 1974, he directed the choir at St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He relocated to Parma, Ohio, where he sang in the choir at St. Vladimir Cathedral. He passed away in 2004 and is buried in Brooklyn Heights Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?I discovered this 1931 transcription of Leontovych’s Liturgy made by Rev. Gregory PAVLOVSKY [п...
04/13/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

I discovered this 1931 transcription of Leontovych’s Liturgy made by Rev. Gregory PAVLOVSKY [прот. Григорий Пaвловський], who at the time was living in Cleveland, Ohio, and directing the “Bandurist” Choir at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The complete manuscript is posted on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE“ (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Father Pavlovsky was born in 1884 in the Ukrainian village of Lisovychi [Лісовичі], Kyiv oblast. He was only nine years old when he entered the Kyiv Theological Seminary and began studying music with Alexander Koshetz. Years later, Koshetz accepted him into his Ukrainian National Chorus, which toured Europe and the Americas (1919-1924). After the tour, Pavlovsky remained in the U.S., performing and teaching music in the New York area. He was ordained in 1934 and was assigned to parishes in the states of Pennsylvania (Chester, Arnold), New York (NYC), and New Jersey (South Bound Brook, Millville, Perth Amboy). Father Pavlovsky passed away on December 7, 1967, and is buried at St. Andrew‘s Cemetery in South Bound Brook, New Jersey.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?These pages were written in the 1970s by Walter Victor BOHONOS [Віктор Богонос], former choir ...
04/06/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

These pages were written in the 1970s by Walter Victor BOHONOS [Віктор Богонос], former choir director at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Winnipeg, Manitoba. More of his notes are posted on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE“ (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Walter Bohonos was born in 1913 in St. Julian, Saskatchewan. After 1919, his family lived in Winnipeg. He received his musical training at the University of Toronto; then in 1946, he became a voice teacher and instructor of liturgical music at the Orthodox Seminary at St. Andrew’s College in Winnipeg. He is also remembered as the founder and director of a group called the Ukrainian Male Chorus, which won awards for three years in a row at the Manitoba Music Festival. He passed away in Winnipeg in 1997.

If anyone knows where I can find more material like this, please send me an email at [email protected].

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT? Here are a few excerpts from a Divine Liturgy composed by Zakhar KURDYNOVSKY [Захар Курдинов...
03/30/2026

WHAT’S IN YOUR CHOIR LOFT?

Here are a few excerpts from a Divine Liturgy composed by Zakhar KURDYNOVSKY [Захар Курдиновський]. Although the work was never published during his lifetime, it was eventually issued posthumously by his family in 1950 in London, England. The complete Liturgy is available for download on my website “UKRAINIAN CHURCH MUSIC ARCHIVE“ (https://ukrainianchurchmusicarchive.com/).

Zakhar Kurdynovsky was born in 1863 in the village of Lutenski Budyshcha [Лютенські Будища, Полтавської області]. In addition to his academic training at the local Theological Academy, he was also trained in music theory and composition. He composed both secular and sacred works which were performed by several choirs in Poltava, most notably the choir of the “Prosvita” Society and the choir at Ascension Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He died in 1942 in Kyiv.

If anyone knows where I can find more items from the past, please send me an email at [email protected].

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