Vocal Workshop: Lyrical Songs of Love Lost with Benya Stewart

Join us in learning Ukrainian songs of love with Kyiv-based musician Benya Stewart.

Benya Stewart is an American folk musician from Ohio who has, since 2020, undergone a transition towards living and working in Ukraine. After studying musical theater and then folk singing in American and British styles for many years, a random and fortuitous connection with an Belarusian folklorist led him down the road towards a lasting fascination with traditional Ukrainian singing. For the last two years, he has lived in Kyiv full-time as an English teacher, where he has had the incredible fortune to study singing weekly with Yevhen Yefremov and Ilya Fetysov. This workshop will cover a range of songs learned directly from Mr. Yefremov and Mr. Fetysov, both of whom are widely known as some of the most important folklorists in Ukraine.

Put your heart on your sleeve and join us on Sunday, August 10, at 1:00 PM for a cathartic summer song share that's not to be missed!

Benya Stewart was born in southeastern Ohio to two university professors, who had themselves shelved hopes of musical careers to raise a young family. He was blessed with opportunities to study music and singing all his life, being drawn first into the world of musical theater and marching band drum lines. As a young adult, he even had the good fortune of being able to study the traditional rhythm and dance of west Africa, which mixed in parallel and contrast with an ever-growing interest in the fiddle tunes and ballad-singing of his home region.

Benya’s life path changed forever when he was first exposed to Slavic singing. In 2019, he encountered a Belarusian folk musician and archivist named Siarhei Douhoushau, who has done more than almost anyone for the preservation of Belarusian folk music. They, with Brett Hill, another American folk singer and a Ukrainian folk band, formed the international collaboration Slavalachia, which produced one self-titled record and performed at Zakhid Fest in Ukraine in September 2021.

From the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Benya and Brett began an aggressive grassroots fundraising campaign in Ohio and beyond based on musical performances and cultural advocacy. They ultimately raised over $100K for Ukrainian humanitarian causes, most of which became tourniquets and other critical medicine. After a delivery trip to the frontlines in October 2022, Benya became enthralled with the feeling of living in Ukraine, and especially with the opportunity to document and participate in the cultural renaissance which is now thoroughly underway. Presently he lives in Kyiv as an English teacher, where he has the incredible fortune to study traditional singing weekly with Yevhen Yefremov and Ilya Fetysov.