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Grigoriy KitastyUkrainian musician, former conductor
Date of Birth: 17.01.1907
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Leadership of the Taras Shevchenko Bandura Capella
- World War II: Service and Collaboration
- Life in the United States
- Legacy and Death
Early Life and Education
Petro Kononovych Kistyi was born on January 17, 1907, in Kobeliaкy, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. He graduated from the Lysenko Kyiv Music and Drama Institute and embarked on a concert career in Ukraine in the 1930s.
Leadership of the Taras Shevchenko Bandura Capella
In 1935, Kistyi joined the Taras Shevchenko Bandura Capella, formed from the Kyiv Choir and Poltava Capella. He rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the artistic director of the collective, officially known as the Ukrainian State Exemplary Bandura Capella.
World War II: Service and Collaboration
With the outbreak of World War II, Kistyi was drafted into the Red Army. Captured as a prisoner of war, he escaped and returned to Nazi-occupied Kyiv. In 1942, Kistyi agreed to collaborate with the German occupiers and led the capella on a two-week tour of villages near Kyiv. In 1943, he and the bandura capella found themselves in Germany.
Throughout the war, the capella performed concerts in Nazi Germany and Western Ukraine, including performances for soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. However, Kistyi chose not to return to Soviet-controlled Ukraine, fearing imprisonment.
Life in the United States
In 1949, Kistyi emigrated to the United States. He settled in Detroit, briefly lived in San Diego, California, and eventually moved to Chicago in 1964. There, he founded the first bandura ensemble for the Organization of Democratic Ukrainian Youth (ODUM).
Kistyi continued to perform concerts and teach bandura playing to Ukrainian immigrants and their descendants, emphasizing the importance of preserving one's roots despite the vagaries of fate.
Legacy and Death
Petro Kistyi passed away on April 6, 1984, in South Bound Brook, New Jersey. He is buried at the Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery at St. Andrew the First-Called Memorial Church. Kistyi's contributions to Ukrainian music and bandura tradition continue to be celebrated and remembered. He was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine in 2006.
