|
|
This is some of the
very finest ensemble singing I have ever heard, on a par with
great early music ensembles
such as the
Brussels Pro Musica,
New York Pro Musica,
Deller Consort;
and in some ways it is
even superior.
--Jonathan Chaves |
 |
|
Pure, unaccompanied
voices rising and
resounding as one.
It's angelic.
---Mary Armstrong:
“It Takes a Village,”
Philadelphia City Paper |
|
|
Wonderfully
unself-conscious.
It is obvious how much
they
love to sing.
---Mary Sherhart,
soloist with
Balkan Cabaret |
|
|
Svitanya gives us what
Le Mystère
des Voix Bulgares
cannot: intimacy.
Whether in concert,
in recording,
or in the middle
of a circle of dancers,
they make us feel
like part
of
their musical family.
---Bill Wadlinger,
Beaver Folk Dance |
|
|
|
Susan Anderson has long been actively involved in the international folk dance community as a dancer, singer and musician. As the leader of the International Folk Sounds orchestra and the recently formed Izvornotes, she sings and plays many instruments including gaida (bagpipe), balalaika, violin, guitar, and tambura. She is currently President of the Folk Dance Council of the Delaware Valley, and leads the Beaver International Folk Dancing group. She also performs Appalachian clogging with Fiddlekicks, and is a musician with contra dance band SPUDS. In her spare time, she jogs and skis around the world with her husband. She is also a volunteer docent at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown. |
 |
 |
Kayla Ankeny came to Svitanya during a year off from Sarah Lawrence College where she studied performing arts including dance, theater and puppetry, as well as politics and French. Past vocal experience includes Spiral Song, a feminist spirituality vocal group, the Sarah Lawrence Women’s Vocal Ensemble, First United Methodist Church of Germantown’s choruses, and numerous theatrical and musical productions during middle and high school. Currently, Kayla works in the Philadelphia area as a Certified Massage Therapist, and studies Capoeira, a Brazillian martial art, with ASCAB Capoeira. |
Anne Ehrhart has been an enthusiastic singer and folk dancer for most of her life. She has performed with diverse ensembles; from large choral groups such as Bucks County Choral Society and the Philadelphia Revels to tiny ensembles such as the Greenwood Singers, a Renaissance madrigal group she founded, directed & costumed. She plays percussion with Svitanya, is our primary administrator, and was the primary producer of the First Light CD. In 1998 she joined Slaveja with her daughter Leela, and they later became part of Svitanya together as well. After 20-plus years as a software engineer at Mellon Bank, she is now Managing Director of
Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. |
 |
 |
Leela Ehrhart is a student at Drexel University, where she is majoring in Psychology. She first began performing at age six, starting with several years in The Philadelphia Revels, then singing with school choruses and learning the recorder for several years. She began singing with Slaveja Slavic Folk Chorus at age 11, before becoming part of Svitanya. Jewelry making is her other artistic passion. She works regularly at BumbleBeads, and her jewelry is for sale at www.leeladesigns.etsy.com. She works from time-to-time at Junction Music, a recording and rehearsal studio, and in the past has worked as a Research Associate for International Corporate Management, Inc. |
Suzanne Erb has played keyboards and sung most of her life. Currently she is fulltime organist and choir director for St. John's Episcopal Church in Essington, PA, a position she has held for 15 years, and also works regularly for Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Philadelphia, PA. She has held similar positions throughout her adult life. Enjoying both composition and improvisation, she performs her pieces regularly within her church jobs. Through the years she has also sung with a variety of choruses, including Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia and the Mary Green Singers. In addition to her musical activities, Suzanne has been a social worker and advocate for people with disabilities.. |
 |
 |
Kim Fedchak is our musical director, and has also enhanced our repertoire with several original arrangements. In addition to singing, she plays a variety of instruments including piano, ney (Turkish flute), clarinet, recorders, accordion, flute and percussion. She currently performs Middle Eastern music as instrumentalist and vocalist with world fusion band Animus, and plays English country dance music with Socks. Kim is of Ukrainian descent, and -- small world -- turns out to be related to Mary! Kim earned a PhD in Russian, has taught Russian language at Swarthmore College, and currently teaches math at Lower Merion High School. |
Chrissy Steele sang along with recordings of Bulgarian folk music for many years before joining Svitanya in 2006. Inspired by the fun of making music, she is now learning the Macedonian tambura and the doumbek. Though she doesn't know any Eastern European languages, Chrissy has studied Tamil, Arabic, and French. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Chrissy makes Artists' Books (a genre of hand-assembled, limited edition books.) Chrissy has a Master's degree in TESOL and teaches English as a Second Language at Drexel University. |
|
 |
Born in Bulgaria, Petia Zamfirova moved to Baltimore with her family when she was 14 years old. Since then she has made it her goal to keep in touch with her roots and culture. As a child she would often stand at the steps of her grandmother's house (she really liked the acoustics) and sing folk songs. Her love and fascination with ethnic and international folk music and dance is what brought her to Svitanya. Petia's musical background also includes 12 years of classical training on the piano, and a future goal is to "rock out" the accordion! She recently graduated from Drexel University, majoring in "Unified Science" as well as studying Math, Biology, and Dance. Currently she contemplates graduate school while working as a research assistant in a Cancer Institute at University of Pennsylvania. |
|
|
|
