Cisyk
Kvitka
April 4, 1953, Queens, New York
March 29, 1998, Manhattan, New York
A Ukrainian singer born in the U.S. to Ukrainian immigrants, Kvitka Cisyk dedicated her life to sharing Ukrainian music with the world. Her family had deep roots in Lviv’s intellectual circles, and her father was a renowned violinist there. Escaping Soviet occupation, the family relocated to the United States in 1949
I am in America, but I am Ukrainian. We all search for what we can do, if only we could. I had this idea that maybe I couldn’t do much, but I could try to send the Ukrainian song into the world. So people would hear it, so people would know! We—Ukrainians outside Ukraine—have not forgotten our people. We all think about you; we simply don’t know how to help. But our love and our hearts are with you.
Portrait of Kvitka Cisyk
Artist: Natali Bondar
From a young age, Kvitka was immersed in music because her father taught her and her sister, Maria, to play the violin and piano. Kvitka began violin lessons at just four years old, while Maria pursued piano and went on to become a renowned pianist, eventually serving as the Director of the San Francisco Conservatory and leading master classes at Carnegie Hall.
In addition to the violin, Kvitka studied stagecraft at the ballet school of famed ballerina Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky, where she starred in productions such as the fairytale ballet ‘Cinderella’ (1967) and appeared in the ballet scene of the opera ‘Anna Yaroslavna’ at Carnegie Hall (1969). She also sang in choirs and took vocal lessons, often performing alongside a young Michael Jackson.
Balancing her American education with a strong Ukrainian upbringing, Kvitka attended Ukrainian heritage school every Saturday to maintain a connection to her cultural roots. This upbringing deeply influenced her life and work, leading her to record Ukrainian songs and share them with a global audience, keeping her cultural roots alive through music.