Winnipeg Mandolin Orchestra keeps Ukrainian culture alive through music

Inside the hall of the Ukrainian Labour Temple, a symphony of sounds you may have never heard before fills the air.

Inside the hall of the Ukrainian Labour Temple, a symphony of sounds you may have never heard before fills the air.

“It’s just something that I do, it’s who I am I suppose,” said Annis Kozub, conductor of the Winnipeg Mandolin Orchestra.

The orchestra rehearses together every Monday evening creating lively melodies led by Kozub who has conducted the orchestra since 1998.

The musical group dates back to 1921 when 13 Ukrainian women struck the mandolin together for the first time in Winnipeg’s North End. The ensemble played traditional Ukrainian and eastern European arrangements, and over time turned into a group of two dozen musicians.

“Now we also have in our current orchestra; flute, clarinet, oboe, guitar, accordion, acoustic base and mandolins,” Kozub said.

“We have a violin, cello and piano player as well.”

Kozub, a graduate of the University Of Manitoba Faculty Of Music has spent his entire life surrounded by music, learning piano at age four and then switching his interest to violin at age 11.