On December 13 at 2 p.m., Ensemble Cherubim and guest artists will perform “Carols of Birds, Bells, and Peace from Ukraine: A Holiday Celebration” at Zellerbach Hall at the University of California, Berkeley. The concert will be repeated, without the guest artists at 3 p.m. on December 14 in St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Los Angeles. The performance will include a generous variety of songs old and new in Ukrainian, Yiddish, Church Slavonic, and Crimean Tatar to show Ukraine’s diversity, beauty, and resilience. There will also be room for holiday stories and spoken poetry in English translation.
The performance will be directed by Marika Kuzma, a first-generation Ukrainian American and professor emerita of music at UC Berkeley, who organized the event. Participants include Ensemble Cherubim, a professional chamber choir of artists from across the United States, directed by Kuzma; mezzo-soprano Frederica “Flicka” von Stade; the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir; violinists Karen Bentley Pollick and Cookie Segelstein; and actors L. Peter Callender and Patrick Russell. There will be projected supertitles so audience members can follow the spoken and sung text throughout, and projections will show images of the Ukrainian landscape for an immersive experience.
Ensemble Cherubim, made up of professional singers from across the country, includes baritone Simon Barrad, tenor Brian Thorsett, and mezzo-soprano Ágnes Vojtkó, all of whom often appear as soloists in Bay Area concerts. The songs cover miracles of creation, the Christian nativity story, praise of Mary, the power of nature, and joyful New Year’s greetings.
“We will of course sing the famous ‘Carol of the Bells,’ which is by a Ukrainian composer but isn’t actually about bells in its original [version]. And we will sing the real carol of bells from Ukraine,“ said Kuzma.
Longtime Bay Area resident von Stade will sing several lullabies including one in Yiddish that will include a quotation from the music of Michael Tilson Thomas, a close collaborator with von Stade who served as music director of the San Francisco Symphony from 1995 to 2020.
Kuzma has been organizing various concerts relating to Ukraine in response to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. In 2024, Cambridge Scholars Publishing published her book Carols of Birds, Bells, and Sacred Hymns from Ukraine. The tome is a history of Ukrainian choral music and an anthology. Many of the Ensemble Cherubim singers are familiar with the repertoire for the upcoming performance, having recorded many of the carols in Kuzma’s book. Centaur Records is expected to release that album soon.
Kuzma’s immediate impetus to organize this program was the meeting, last February in the Oval Office, between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I saw that Zelenskyy was not treated with the dignity customarily given to world leaders. I wanted to respond somehow. The idea is to represent Ukraine’s vibrant culture and identity and its place in the world. I reached out to Cal Performances and was so glad they reached back,” said Kuzma.
“The sister of Hanna Havrylets, a beloved composer who died in the early days of the war, gave us permission to perform her carol ‘U Vyfleyemi’ (In Bethlehem). It’s fabulous. It will be our finale, combining everyone and including a special surprise,” said Kuzma.
The director hopes that the concert will take the audience to a deep place of wonder and gratitude.
“There is so much in this program for every person who will attend. We look forward to sharing Ukraine’s magic with you, as we continue to show our solidarity and empathy for Ukraine’s vibrant and generous people. I want to celebrate this luminous, colorful, glorious culture with all of our artists and with all who come,” said Kuzma.
For tickets and more information, visit: https://calperformances.org/events/2025-26/vocal-celebration/ensemble-cherubim-carols-of-birds-bells-and-peace-from-ukraine-a-holiday-celebration or EnsemblecherubimLA.eventbrite.com
