Meeting with Roman Rewakowicz at King Danylo University

Musical bridges between Ukraine and Poland: the well-known Polish conductor Roman Rewakowicz met with students of the King Danylo University in Ivano-Frankivsk on 14.03.2025.

Roman Rewakowicz has been promoting Ukrainian music in Poland and Polish music in Ukraine for many years. He was born in Poland to a Ukrainian family affected by Operation Vistula. His background inspired him to promote Ukrainian culture, especially as his musical education did not give him the opportunity to learn about it.

‘I grew up in Poland, where I completed all levels of musical education. At none of its levels did I ever have lessons on Ukrainian music. At Academy of Music, even in folklore classes, we didn’t discuss Ukrainian music – we talked about the Eskimos, the Balkans and Africa, but not about the Hutsuls or Polissya’. – Rewakowicz recalls.

Roman Rewakowicz began his conducting career in Poland with the Ukrainian choir ‘Zhuravli’. He shared with the students of King Danylo University his experiences of foreign concert tours, his first visit to Ukraine, his collaboration with well-known composers and the activities of the ‘Pro Musica Viva’ Foundation. He also introduced the festival ‘Days of Ukrainian Music in Warsaw’.

‘I am happy to be in Ivano-Frankivsk for the third time. The first time we were here was with the ‘Zhuravli’ choir in 1990, the second time I was in Ivano-Frankivsk in 2012 performing music by Wojciech Kilar on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the outstanding Polish composer. And today, for the third time, we are opening with Polish music the important ‘Carpathian Spring’ Festival organised by the Ivano-Frankivsk Philharmonic. This concert is being held as part of the ‘Polish Music in Ukraine’ project, based on a grant from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage,’ – concluded Roman Rewakowicz.‘’

An account of the meeting was prepared by Olha Reha.