Waynesburg Central Elementary School performs Ukrainian National Anthem
Courtesy of Central Greene School District
Waynesburg Central Elementary School band members, led by music teacher/band director Jason Falvo, perform the Ukrainian national anthem.
Courtesy of Central Greene School District
Waynesburg Central Elementary School band students perform the Ukrainian national anthem.
Courtesy of Central Greene School District
Fifth- and sixth-grade band members from Waynesburg Central Elementary School performed the Ukrainian national anthem in support of the war-torn nation.
The Waynesburg Central Elementary School Band showed its support for the people of Ukraine with a special performance on Thursday.
Fifth- and sixth-grade band members played and recorded the Ukrainian national anthem, which Central Greene School District will send to the Ukrainian National Embassy in Washington, D.C.
The embassy informed the school district it will share the video with the warn-torn country via social media outlets.
Band students had been practicing the anthem, “Ukraine’s Glory Hasn’t Perished,” for three weeks.
Led by music teacher and band director Jason Falvo, the students performed the rousing melody while wearing blue and yellow shirts, representing the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Band members also learned how to say “We are with you” in Ukrainian “to show how we care, stand with them, and how students from across the globe from a little town in Southwestern Pennsylvania can do what we can for them,” said Falvo.
The phrase also was printed on blue and yellow sheets and displayed on the first row of music stands.
The performance was the idea of Falvo, who, along with the nation, has watched as Ukrainians fight courageously to repel the Russian invasion and preserve their democracy and independence from Russia. He especially was struck by the impact the war is having on Ukraine’s children.
“I was thinking of ways that our students could help. How could I help, a music teacher, a band director?” said Falvo. “It then came to me to arrange the Ukrainian national anthem for our students to play, and try and have it sent over to Ukraine.”
Students were excited about the chance to learn and play the song, and to let Ukrainian children know that people around the world, including in Greene County, care about them.
The performance provided an opportunity to experience the universality of music and students to gain insight about current global events and how they impact the world.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our students for their work and dedication, and for them thinking of other children,” said Falvo.
Ukrainian poet Pavlo Chubynsky wrote the lyrics to the national anthem in 1862. The score was composed by western Ukrainian composer and priest Mykhailo Verbytsky in 1863. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1992, following the country’s independence from the Soviet Union, and the lyrics were updated in 2003.
Falvo’s arrangement was one he adapted from the U.S. Armed Forces version of the anthem.
Superintendent Dr. Kevin Monaghan was moved by the students’ performance.
“It was amazing. It blew me away,” said Monaghan. “That’s what makes Central Greene a special place. Our kids are about more than themselves. They look at the world to see if there is something they can do to help. They looked beyond their own borders and showed solidarity with others who are in need.”