CCV is proud to join our partners at the Clifden Arts Festival to once again bring our spirit of cultural exchange and artistic inclusion to the west of Ireland! This year CCV will be accompanying a trio of stellar old time musicians—Danny Knicely, Riley Baugus and John Flower—to meet, collaborate and perform with the stunning Ukrainian singing group Kurbasy.
The group’s appearance in Clifden and surrounding regions of western Ireland follows previous impactful CCV-sponsored visits by Richmond gospel’s first family The Legendary Ingramettes and the cross-continental musical collaboration Africa to Appalachia.
In addition to performing at this long-running and beloved festival, the trio and Kurbassy will perform, as our past groups have, at the Clifden Community School, the famous Matt Molloy’s (of the Chieftains) Pub in Westport, and of course can be found jamming late into the night at local Irish music sessions in pubs around town.
Along with having the U.S. and Ukrainian musicians engage in this unique cultural exchange, CCV will also be conducting interviews and filming performance videos of Kurbasy as we work toward the production of an educational film for our expanding World Culture in Context program.
About Kurbasy
Named after Les Kurbas—one of the 20th century most influential theater directors—Kurbasy is based in Lviv, Ukraine, a cultural hub of Slavic cultures and practices. Conceived and directed by the band’s actress-singers Natalia Rybka-Parkhomenko and Maria Oneschak, Kurbasy explores Ukraine’s rich trove of calendar song cycles, lullabies and legends. They conjure the natural world, beliefs and rituals, tracing contemporary connections to an archaic past.
CCV will interview Natalia and Maria along with their instrumentalist Vsevolod Sadovyj, who has recently moved with his family to County Galway. Vsev joins a large Ukrainian community that has come to Ireland to seek refuge from the war, and Clifden Arts Festival views their appearance and presence in Clifden as a powerful way to connect with their new Ukrainian neighbors.
If you happen to be on the Emerald Isle this September, come join us!
