biography

This wonderful singing group was founded in 1999.

It was created and managed for more than twenty years by Tetyana Andriivna Sherstyuk – a talented creative person, musician and teacher of high professional level, winner of the Pride of Balakliyshchyna contest, a man who has been in love with Ukraine and Ukrainian song since he was a child. Folk songs that little Tatiana heard from her grandfather, who lived in Poltava region, were still deeply ingrained in her soul. Some time passed – and a graduate of the Kharkiv Music School named after BM Lyatoshynsky and Kharkiv Institute of Arts. IP Kotlyarevsky returned to her native Balaklia Music School as a teacher of solfeggio. But the impressions of my grandfather’s songs were not in vain. Combined with vocational education, they have borne fruit. Thus, a group called “Slobozhanski Malyata” was formed, which included talented students who are not indifferent to Ukrainian folk songs. Later, the “kids” grew up, in addition, the number of participants increased – and the band was renamed the folk song group “Merry Sloboda”, which began working at the district House of Culture. Students of the folk singing class of the music school eventually join the main group of the group. Currently, “Vesela Sloboda” has one main (youth) group and four children’s: bands with melodious names “Nightingales”, “Spivanochka”, “Drops”, “Storks” are companions of the youth group and are part of a large singing family. In 2005, the band was awarded the honorary title of “People’s Amateur Band”.
The repertoire of “Vesela Sloboda” consists mainly of arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs, created by the leader of the team – teacher-methodologist Tetyana Sherstyuk. They have a rich harmony, combine features of different genres and styles. Well-known folk hits are performed in a non-traditional way. Over the years, the band has made a significant contribution to the development of folk song culture of Balakliia, promoting Slobozhansk song and introducing it to tens of thousands of people of different generations. Young amateurs also recreate folk rites, inheriting their features from their grandparents and just the guardians of folk art who live in the city and villages of the district.
The folk group “Vesela Sloboda” is an indispensable participant in all folklore festivals and cultural events taking place in the area. The high professionalism of the ensemble is evidenced by numerous victories at competitions and festivals of international and national levels both in Ukraine and abroad, including: Grand Prix of the International Festival of Choral Music. FI Shalyapin (Yalta), International Festival-Competition “Golden Note” (Dnipropetrovsk), All-Ukrainian Festival-Competition “Peasant Stars” (Genichesk), All-Ukrainian Festival-Competition of Folk Art at the Sorochyn Fair . These are also high titles of winners of international festivals-competitions “Our Land – Ukraine” (ICC “Artek”), “Kolyada” (Rivne), “On Ivan, on Kupala” (Dubichi Tserkovni, Poland), “Singer” (Velke Loziny, Czech Republic), Silver Voice (Moscow, Russia), Hotmizh Autumn (Belgorod, Russia), Flowers of Ukraine and North Star (Tallinn, Estonia), “White Lily” (Cahul, Moldova), festival-competition of folk art. AP Mistyukova (Lipetsk, Russia), “Song Land” (Poltava), “Colorful Wreath” (Dnepropetrovsk), “Crimean World: Constellations” (Simferopol), all-Ukrainian festivals competitions “Primrose – Hope” (Kyiv), “Rodoslavchyk” (Ivano-Frankivsk), “Slobozhansky Spas” (Svatove, Luhansk region), “Voice Bells” (Mariupol), “Flowers Zimcerli” (Kharkiv) and others.
Numerous performances of the band and its soloists on district and regional radio and television are also aimed at promoting Ukrainian folk songs. Videos of “Vesela Sloboda” songs can also be seen on the Internet.
The band consists of many talented soloists who are winners of international and national competitions. For some of them, classes in the group gave a ticket to professional music and a solid base for admission to higher educational institutions of art.
Young fans celebrate the memory of the “Ukrainian nightingale” – a prominent countrywoman, People’s Artist of Ukraine Oksana. Petrusenko and immortalize her image with their work, increasing the glory of the native land of Balaklia.