Greater Chicago Jewish Festival invites Chicago to take 'A Moment for Ukraine'

CHICAGO, Illinois-June 1, 2022-"A Moment for Ukraine" will be featured as part of The Greater Chicago Jewish Festival on Sunday, June 12, 2022, in the Cook County Forest Preserve in Morton Grove (Oakton Street west of Lehigh Avenue, St. Paul Woods). This special musical set will take place at 3 p.m. on the JUF Stage (North Stage).

Local Ukrainian-born cantor Pavel Roytman and fellow Ukrainian singer and songwriter Sofi Fraser, will perform several of their own compositions, accompanied by Alex Koffman, violinist and bandleader of the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. The twenty-five minute set will feature Ukrainian folk songs in Ukrainian, English, Yiddish, and Hebrew.

Bringing together people of all ages, of all denominations, from all parts of the greater Chicagoland community, the Festival is the largest Jewish cultural event in Chicago and the largest ongoing Jewish festival in the country. It is designed to express, share, and celebrate Jewish life while providing a platform for both local and established performers and artists, encouraging them to explore their Jewish expression and identity.

By inviting attendees to take part in "A Moment for Ukraine," the Festival seeks to increase awareness and support for the current humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, connecting to and through the heart and soul of Jewish Chicago.

"Emotion and sadness translate; art communicates this emotion,'' said Roytman. "The Festival is our place to recognize this moment, to learn about each other and create those connections." Both Roytman and Fraser will be singing original compositions, anti-war songs and lullabies, inspired by their connection and concern for their home country.

"This is a very personal issue for me," said Roytman. He was born in Mykolaiv Ukraine, where some of his friends are living today under the heavy bombardment. Since February 24, when Russia invaded his home country, Roytman has spearheaded and participated in multiple events raising funds and awareness for the people of Ukraine.

During the set, Roytman will premier "Little Dove," an anti war song he composed as a reflection of the current crisis. Roytman was inspired by the painting, "Голуб Миру (The Dove of Peace)," by Ukrainian artist Kateryna Tkachenko, who is also a featured artist at the Festival.

Fraser's original compositions that will be part of the set include a Ukrainian lullaby, "Тихі Сон/Tihi Son (Quite Dream)" and her patriotic anti war song "Вічно Жива/ Vichno Zhiva" (Forever Lives)."

The set will also include two Ukrainian folks songs, "О У Лузі / Oy U Luzi (In The Meadow, a Red Viburnum)", and "І шуме І Гуде / I shume I Gude (Making Loud and Thunderous sounds)," and two humorous folk songs that blend Ukrainian, English, Yiddish, and Hebrew, "Ти Ж Мене Підманула / Ty Zh Mene Pidmanula (You Tricked Me)," and "Несе Галя Воду / Nese Galya Vodu (Galya, Bring the Water)."

The Festival has built a relationship with the Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago, Serhiy Koledov, who will be attending the event. "We are honored to share our moment for Ukraine with Mr. Koledov, and through him, the people that he serves. We hope that in some small part, our voices in song will give strength to their voices in defiance," said Michael M. Lorge, Festival Chair and Founder.

Founded on the principle that the entire Jewish community must come together regardless of differences, the Festival provides a unique opportunity - the right moment - to express solidarity and reach people of all ages, races, denominations, and political views.

In his Noble Peace Prize acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel said, "Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe." (December 1986)

"At this moment, that place is clearly Ukraine," said Lorge.

The Greater Chicago Jewish Festival is produced by the non-profit corporation Jewish Production Organization for Cultural Events and Theater (P.O.C.E.T.). First held in 1980, it is the longest running Jewish festival in the United States.

Its mission remains to celebrate Jewish life and build an authentic American Jewish identity, founded on the principle that the entire Jewish community should, and must, come together regardless of differences. Today the Festival has grown to become the largest Jewish cultural event in Chicago and the largest ongoing Jewish festival in the country, inspiring many other Jewish communities to emulate the concept and success, including Cincinnati, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, St. Louis, and San Antonio.

This biennial outdoor event features seven (7) hours of continuous music and dance on three stages, family programming and children's activity area, a juried art fair, and information booths from 100+ Chicago area organizations.

This year, the Festival will take place on Sunday, June 12, 2022, 11am-6pm, in the Cook County Forest Preserve in Morton Grove (Oakton Street west of Lehigh Avenue, St. Paul Woods). For more information, please visit jewishfestival.org or contact Contact: Micheal Lorge (cell: 847-922-0411 or email: MMLorge@gmail.com).

Cantor Pavel Roytman is a Ukrainian-born cantor, conductor, arranger, composer, interpreter, and performer of traditional and contemporary Jewish music, Yiddish folk and theater music, blues, and world music. He serves as cantor for Beth Hillel B'nai Emunah, a conservative egalitarian congregation in Wilmette, Illinois. He is a member of the American Conference of Cantors, Cantor's Assembly, certified as a Conservative Cantor and through Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and Chicago-Milwaukee Association of Synagogue Music.

Since February 24, Roytman's fundraisers have included: "Ruach Ukraine: Music for Peace and Solidarity," an online/digital fundraiser viewed worldwide by more than 250,000 people, a collaboration of the Cantors Assembly and Masorti Olami (Conservative) movement in Israel, "Standing Together For Good - Peace In Ukraine" (March 13) in Northbrook at Congregation Beth Shalom, "We Pray and Sing for Ukraine" (April 7) in Wilmette, concert hosted by Roytman's synagogue Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah, "Standing Together for Peace" (April 24) at the Chicago Loop Synagogue, with the Jewish United Fund, and St. Peter's Catholic Church.

At the age of seven, Roytman was accepted to specialized music school, then continued his studies in piano and conducting at the Kaliningrad Rachmaninov Music College (Russia). While attending Petrozavodsk Glazunov State Conservatory, he joined the Klezmer Shpil Orchestra as a soloist. Pavel and the Klezmer Shpil performed extensively between 1991-1994 throughout Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In 1994, Roytman immigrated to the United States and moved to Chicago in 1994. He obtained his Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from DePaul University and Master of Music in Musicology from Northwestern University. For more information, visit www.cantorpavelroytman.com.

Sofi Fraser is a Ukrainian composer, songwriter, pianist, and vocalist, composing and performing under the name, "Sofi Fraser Project." Since 2017, Fraser has been spreading the powerful music and spirit of Ukrainian culture at concerts and festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada. Her children's music has been featured on Malyatko TV (Kyiv), on the radio in Ukraine, Montreal, and Chicago, and live in Ukraine, Europe, and Chicago.

In 2017, Fraser and her late husband, Myles, started the Fraser Scholarship for gifted students at Drohobych Music College. The Sofi Fraser Project supports orphanages in Ukraine in Stryi (near her hometown of Livi), and in Znamyanka (near Kirovohradska).

Fraser has been studying and performing music since the age of six. During her academic career, Fraser performed and composed for concerts, festivals, and competitions across Ukraine and throughout Europe. Fraser possesses her Masters from the Lviv National Musical Academy and her Doctorate from the national music conservatory. She is the winner of the SheFest2021 Grand Prix for "Best Song and Performance" based on the words of Taras Shevchenko and the Grand Prix for "Public Choice."

Kateryna Tkachenko is a Ukrainian artist with over two decades of experience as participant, curator, and designer of exhibitions and murals, teacher, and art director, director, and actor for both television and film. She received her Bachelor's from Kharkiv Art college, and has studied at Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts, Chernuy Kvadrat theatre studio, and Seredovushe Buttya theatre studio, and is a member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/KaterynaTka, www.instagram.com/Ukrainian.Art.Kateryna.